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Viettel's new generation DC in Hoa Lac possesses many new technological solutions to help increase efficiency, save electricity, and reduce emissions. Photo: VT

After the Viettel Hoa Lac Data Center was launched, many people focused on the “largest” or “first green DC” factor. This DC has an electricity consumption capacity of up to 30 MW, the largest in Vietnam, and is also the first data center in Vietnam to receive green credit from global bank HSBC.

However, not many people realize that the green and sustainable factor of this DC is also an important step forward for the data center industry in Vietnam, in the context of the country setting digital transformation goals in all industries, becoming a Digital Hub and Net Zero.

Sharing about the “green” trend, FPT Chairman Truong Gia Binh said that when FPT discussed signing contracts for million-dollar projects, partners always asked “are you green?” Therefore, FPT Chairman emphasized that in order to get big contracts, the “green” factor is a vital factor in the future.

At the inauguration ceremony of Viettel's DC, Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung said: "16 years ago, in 2008, the first DC in Vietnam also belonged to Viettel. The new data center is not only a new project of Viettel but also a symbol of pioneering, development and progress in the field of new technology".

“Viettel as well as Vietnamese infrastructure developers must have a correct vision of the country's data infrastructure to turn Vietnam into a Digital Hub of the world,” Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung noted.

Viettel's new generation DC possesses many new technological solutions to increase efficiency, save electricity, and reduce emissions. Efficiency is shown through the PUE index - calculated by dividing the amount of electricity consumed by the entire DC by the amount of electricity consumed by the computing devices alone. The lower the PUE, the more energy-efficient the DC is, and the electricity actually goes into computing instead of being consumed by auxiliary systems such as heat dissipation or backup power.

Viettel Hoa Lac achieves a PUE of 1.4-1.5, lower than any other DC in Vietnam. This also means that each calculation performed at this DC will consume less electricity than when performed at another DC. This is the reason why Viettel Hoa Lac will help save at least 1 million kWh, equivalent to 1,000 tons of CO2, according to Viettel IDC's estimate. The more the DC is used, the greater the amount of electricity saved.

The DC’s high-density, high-power design meets the new demands for artificial intelligence (AI) and big data operations for enterprise customers in the technology and finance sectors. Meanwhile, efficiency-enhancing solutions help the DC receive green credit from HSBC.

In addition, Viettel's new generation Data Centers, starting with this one, all have plans to target 20-30% renewable energy usage. Green DC will also be Viettel's direction for 3 data centers with a total capacity of 240MW in the next 2 years.

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Green DC will be Viettel's direction for 3 data centers with a total capacity of 240MW in the next 2 years.

In many countries around the world, the data center industry consumes a huge amount of electricity. In the US, DCs account for about 2-3% of the country's total electricity consumption. In a regional Digital Hub like Singapore, this figure is up to 12%.

In Vietnam, although the power consumption of the Data Center industry is not large, with AI and big data analysis being increasingly applied in all manufacturing, business and service industries, the demand for energy for Data Centers will certainly skyrocket in the near future.

“With the number of orders we are seeing right at the new DC, it can be seen that businesses operating in Vietnam have an increasing demand for high-performance computing,” said Mr. Le Hoai Nam, Deputy Director of Viettel IDC.

Meanwhile, along with the digital transformation goal, Vietnam aims to achieve zero net emissions by 2050. “Some large customers when asking about renting data centers have begun to make requests related to green standards, energy optimization and emission reduction,” said Mr. Hoang Van Ngoc, General Director of Viettel IDC.

Viettel's new generation DC can be considered a turning point for the data center industry in initiating a new era of green data centers, bringing Vietnam's digital infrastructure to catch up with developed countries in both performance and sustainability.

“Viettel has prepared all conditions to realize the aspiration that every citizen, every household, every organization and every business will have a data warehouse on Viettel's cloud computing platform, so that every citizen and every business can live and work in the digital space,” said Mr. Tao Duc Thang, Chairman and General Director of Viettel Group.

Viettel’s Chairman also affirmed that Viettel will not stop investing in DCs. According to the roadmap, by 2025, Viettel will invest an additional VND10,000 billion to expand its scale to 17,000 racks. By 2030, Viettel will increase its investment to VND40,000 billion with a scale of 34,000 racks. Along with that, Viettel is also a leader in commitments to green and sustainable transformation.