Paños took part in the Sustainable Data Centers for a Resilient Europe program, organized by the Danish embassies in Madrid, Paris and Rome in collaboration with Danish organizations including the Danish Energy Agency, State of Green and Digital Hub Denmark. Over two days, the initiative brought together institutional, academic and business representatives from Spain, France and Italy to learn about Denmark’s experience in sustainability and energy efficiency.
The director general argued that “Aragon has an opportunity to ensure that the development of data centers generates the greatest possible impact in our region.” For this reason, she considered it important to learn about the solutions being applied by other European countries to improve the efficiency of these infrastructures, integrate them into their surroundings and multiply local employment opportunities.
USING WASTE HEAT FROM DATA CENTERS
One of the main issues addressed during the visit was the reuse of waste heat generated by these facilities. The delegation learned about the operations of Høje Taastrup Fjernvarme, where large industrial heat pumps are used to recover excess heat and feed it into the district heating network.
The program also included a visit to Penta Infra CPH01, a data center that feeds 100% of its waste heat into the local heating network, supplying approximately 1,500 households.
Paños explained that the aim is to learn from experiences that are already operational and assess which of them could be applied in Aragon. “If we can make progress on solutions that enable us to use the heat generated by these facilities, improve their efficiency and link them even more closely to the local economy, we will increase the returns these investments can generate in the region,” she said.
COOPERATION BETWEEN GOVERNMENTS AND COMPANIES
The agenda also focused on Denmark’s public-private collaboration model. At Digital Hub Denmark and State of Green, the delegation examined how public authorities, data center operators, energy networks, universities and technology providers cooperate to advance heat reuse, advanced cooling, energy efficiency and power grid stabilization.
Participants also learned about the work of the Net Zero Innovation Hub for Data Centers, which focuses on pilot projects led by different industries to develop technologies related, among other issues, to heat reuse and power grid balancing.
The delegation also studied solutions for integrating new digital infrastructures into the energy system and reconciling their growth with other electrification needs and industrial expansion.
For Paños, “the challenge is not simply to attract investment, but to do so properly: to achieve increasingly efficient infrastructures capable of making better use of energy and water while also generating economic activity, employment and opportunities for local businesses.”
