Top 10: Sustainable Data Centres

As sustainability rises to the top of industry priorities, a new generation of data centres is rewriting the rulebook for efficient operations. 

From hyperscale cloud providers to corporate innovators, these facilities demonstrate how advanced engineering – combined with renewable power and climate‑smart design – can dramatically cut both energy and water footprints. 

Together, they highlight the shift towards verifiable environmental performance, where metrics like Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) and Water Usage Effectiveness (WUE) are treated as strategic benchmarks for resilience and responsibility. 

These are the Top 10 sustainable data centres showcasing what is possible when technological ambition meets ecological awareness, proving that sustainability can coexist with scale, performance and reliability.

10) Moro Hub

• Location: Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, Saih Al-Dahal Street, Dubai, UAE
• Company/companies involved: Moro Hub (Digital DEWA subsidiary), Huawei (technology provider), Intel (powering tech)
• Standout components: 100% solar-powered (6.3 MW phase 1, expanding to 100 MW); Tier III Gold/LEED Gold certified; Guinness record for size; 17,000+ tonnes CO₂ reduction

Moro Hub's Solar-Powered Data Centre in Dubai stands as the world's largest solar-powered facility, certified by Guinness World Records at 33,311.11m² and fully powered by renewable energy from the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. 

This Tier III Gold certified project has cut a cumulative 17,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions as of January 2025, aligning with Dubai's Clean Energy Strategy 2050 for 100% clean power, while delivering high-reliability cloud, AI, and IoT services with LEED Gold status. 

Its modular Huawei design ensures scalability to 100MW over 10 phases.

9) Start Campus

• Location: Sines, Portugal
• Company/companies involved: Start Campus
• Standout components: Seawater cooling; AI-ready infrastructure; 100% renewable energy; strategic submarine cable landing

As Europe's first gigascale data campus, SINES DC is set for 1.2GW IT capacity and a goal PUE of ~1.1, making it the largest fully renewable-powered facility globally upon completion

It pioneers a seawater cooling system that achieves the holy grail of data centre sustainability: zero water consumption from potable sources. 

87.4% of Portugal's electricity generation came from renewables in 2024, making it one of the greenest grids in Europe, and the campus operates with €8.5bn (US$9.97bn) in green investment backing.

8) LinkedIn’s Hillsboro Facility

• Location: Oregon, US
• Company/companies involved: LinkedIn
• Standout components: Waterside economisers; ambient environmental cooling; reduced evaporative dependence

LinkedIn, a Microsoft subsidiary, exemplified intelligent site selection combined with engineering excellence with this data centre in Oregon. 

The Pacific Northwest's cool climate enables free cooling for approximately 95% of annual hours, dramatically reducing mechanical cooling requirements. 

Waterside economisers leverage ambient conditions without compressor operation, achieving a 1.06 PUE amongst North America's most efficient enterprise facilities. 

Minimal evaporative cooling dependency keeps water consumption well below industry averages, setting a corporate disclosure standard that influenced Microsoft's subsequent data centre strategy.

7) Microsoft Global Fleet (Newest Regions)

• Location: Multiple global locations, including Europe and US
• Company/companies involved: Microsoft
• Standout components: Reclaimed water reuse; renewable integration; globalised efficiency programme

Microsoft’s global data centre platform now reports an average PUE of 1.16 and WUE of roughly 0.30 L/kWh, with even better performance across newer campuses. 

The company’s advancements include reclaimed water systems – particularly in Singapore – and AI‑based thermal management across cloud operations. 

Microsoft’s steady improvements indicate that energy performance at hyperscale can evolve through design iteration and software‑driven oversight. This consistency across continents sets a strong precedent for corporate sustainability transparency within digital infrastructure portfolios.

6) Lefdal Mine Data Center

• Location: Måløy, Norway
• Company/companies involved: Lefdal Mine Data Center
• Standout components: Seawater cooling; hydro‑powered operation; below‑ground climate stability

Lefdal represents one of the industry's most audacious repurposing projects. 

A former olivine mine now serves as a naturally secure facility where frigid Norwegian fjord water provides direct cooling. 

The 1.15 PUE tells only part of the story – seawater cooling eliminates freshwater consumption entirely, while Norwegian hydroelectricity delivers near-zero operational carbon emissions. 

The mountain provides physical security and thermal mass moderating temperature fluctuations, demonstrating how creative infrastructure reuse transforms liabilities into assets.

5) Verne

• Location: Keflavík, Iceland
• Company/companies involved: Verne
• Standout components: 100% renewable geothermal and hydro power; free‑air cooling; ultra‑low PUE

Verne exemplifies Iceland’s data centre advantage: cool air, clean energy and abundant renewable water. 

Reporting a PUE of 1.06, its Keflavik campus runs entirely on geothermal and hydropower, with ambient air cooling enabling year‑round efficiency. 

The site’s location allows it to operate with negligible freshwater impact, effectively eliminating traditional cooling constraints. 

For enterprises seeking cloud colocation aligned with ESG priorities, Verne offers not just sustainable operations, but a resilient, cost‑optimised climate edge

4) AWS Global Fleet (Best-in-Class Regions)

• Location: Multiple global locations 
• Company/companies involved: Amazon Web Services (AWS)
• Standout components: Automated cooling optimisation; WUE leadership (0.19 L/kWh); continuous public reporting

With a global PUE average of 1.15 and best‑in‑class sites approaching 1.04, AWS leads the enterprise sustainability curve through scale and transparency. 

Its fleet‑wide WUE of 0.19 L/kWh highlights both technical and managerial innovation in water stewardship. 

AWS’s data centres increasingly integrate advanced telemetry and reclaimed water systems, achieving measurable reductions year over year. 

The company’s commitment to 100% renewable energy by 2025 and water positivity by 2030 signals hyperscale leaders increasingly view sustainability as competitive differentiation.

3) Meta Hyperscale Campuses (US Greenfield Sites)

• Location: Multiple US locations
• Company/companies involved: Meta Platforms, Inc.
• Standout components: Ultra‑low WUE (0.20 L/kWh); renewable power sourcing; modular high‑efficiency cooling

Meta’s next‑generation hyperscale campuses achieve WUE values around 0.20 L/kWh – approximately one‑tenth the industry average – while maintaining PUE in the low‑1.1 range. 

The integration of renewable energy contracts, machine‑learning‑based cooling control and long‑term net‑zero planning establish it as a leader among digital sustainability frameworks. 

For industry peers, Meta’s iterative design process reveals how operational data can guide meaningful environmental reductions at scale, setting benchmarks for both transparency and performance across hyperscale operations.

2) National Laboratory of the Rockies Data Centre

• Location: Colorado, US
• Company/companies involved: NLR and US Department of Energy
• Standout components: High‑efficiency distribution; extensive dry‑air cooling; validated performance data

The National Laboratory of the Rockies’ (NLR) research data centre functions as critical infrastructure and a living laboratory for efficiency innovation. 

Achieving a PUE close to 1.04, the facility uses aggressive virtualisation and advanced airflow management to minimise overhead energy use. 

Its reliance on dry‑air systems, validated through US Department of Energy measurement protocols, results in substantially lower water consumption compared with typical US enterprise facilities. 

For the industry, it represents a crucial link between government research and the commercial data centre sector, bridging policy goals with proven field practices.

1) Google – Lancaster & Columbus

• Location: Ohio, US
• Company/companies involved: Google (Alphabet Inc.)
• Standout components: Audited PUE near 1.04; transition to non‑potable cooling water; clean energy sourcing

Google’s Central Ohio campuses represent industry-leading standards in hyperscale efficiency and transparency. 

Trailing-twelve-month PUE values of 1.04–1.06 place these facilities among the most efficient operational data centres globally, while fleet-wide averages around 1.08–1.09 demonstrate exceptional performance scales across Google's entire infrastructure. 

Critically, these figures undergo third-party auditing – transforming PUE from marketing claim to verifiable performance metric.

Beyond electrical efficiency, Google's water strategy sets new industry benchmarks. The company has committed to replenishing 120% of freshwater consumed in water-stressed regions by 2030, shifting toward non-potable sources including treated wastewater and industrial process water. 

In Central Ohio, sophisticated water management balances efficiency against local resource availability, demonstrating hyperscale operations can coexist sustainably with competing community needs. 

Published, audited metrics create accountability driving continuous improvement while building stakeholder trust, proving world-class efficiency requires neither exotic locations nor experimental technology.