How Sustainable is Portugal’s Largest Data Centre?

The largest data centre ever built and operated in Portugal, Start Campus inaugurates SIN01, a 26MW data centre facility, that is cloud, AI and HPC-ready.

John Pettigrew, CEO of National Grid believes that data centre energy usage will grow sixfold in the coming decade.

Unless the data centres of the future can be powered solely by renewable energy, they will be one of the world’s largest emitters of greenhouse gases.

Data centre companies understand this problem and are moving to address it. One such company is Start Campus, which is currently constructing the largest (and most sustainable) data centre in Portugal.
The first building (SIN01) of the campus is now operational, marking the first piece of a complex which is set to be a world leader amongst sustainable cloud, AI and HPC data centres.

This facility is powered entirely by renewable energy and employs sustainable seawater cooling techniques to achieve a design Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) of 1.1, notably avoiding water consumption in the process.

This €8.5bn (US$9.69bn) privately funded project is supported by Davidson Kempner Capital Management and Pioneer Point Partners.

Its goal is to position Portugal as a global leader in digital infrastructure through an investment deeply committed to sustainability.

The people behind SINES Data Campus

Start Campus, the company behind the SINES Data Campus, is a company with strong sustainable credentials. One of its primary missions is to design and operate a new generation of sustainable data centres.

When fully operational, the facility will almost double the country’s total data centre capacity, strengthening both Portugal and Europe’s digital infrastructure on a global scale.

“This initiative has always been about collaboration – with customers, the community and the industry,” says Robert Dunn, CEO of Start Campus.

“Our state-of-the-art facilities are designed to enhance the digital ecosystem, attract talent, create new opportunities and provide a solid foundation for economic growth.”

“SIN01 is the first chapter in Europe’s leading gigascale Cloud, AI and HPC data campus – built for the future, powered by renewables, and designed to scale.”

Once complete, the campus will host six buildings across 1.2 GW of capacity, with construction on the next 180 MW facility (SIN02) set to begin in late 2025.

The Portuguese government, which has worked closely with the SINES Data Campus team on this project, hopes that this facility can be an example of sustainability in the data centre sector.

“With this pioneering development, SINES is consolidating its position as a strategic hub,” says Miguel Pinto Luz, Minister for Infrastructure and Housing.

“The ecosystems powered by renewable energy here hold great potential for retaining talent, which is essential for the country’s future.”

“This is a strategic investment for the Portuguese economy, placing Portugal in a prime position in the data economy, and is deeply committed to sustainability.

“It will create more qualified jobs, diversify economic activities in the region and contribute to the construction of a long-term digital ecosystem.”