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Innovation and growth drive an Australasian first for Northpower
Published 26 April 2016
Whangarei /New Zealand – April 26, 2016
Northpower has clocked up yet another first, this time an engineering and technology collaboration with Schneider Electric to design and construct the first pre-fabricated portable data centre of its kind in the Asia Pacific region.
The 20-foot data centre, to be officially unveiled at Northpower’s Whangarei headquarters on April 26, was designed to significantly increase availability and redundancy of internal IT systems.
Innovative solutions such as this are proving to be game changers for industries throughout the region looking for cost-effective solutions for secure portable data centres. Compared to traditional data centre designs, the new concept was hundreds of thousands of dollars cheaper.
Using the template created with Northpower, Schneider Electric has already been commissioned to construct a similar design in Australia.
Both businesses are becoming increasingly renowned for their innovation. Northpower is leading the way in New Zealand with the growth of the electric vehicle sector and ultra-fast broadband fibre network design and builds, while also expanding its electricity network acoustic testing expertise in Australia.
Meanwhile, Schneider Electric continues to invest and develop connected technologies that manage energy and processes in a safer, more reliable, efficient and sustainable manner for their customers.
Northpower Chair Nikki Davies-Colley says the data centre is a superb addition to the Northpower business, due to energy efficiency, greater security and lower operational costs.
The complexity of this design and build created numerous challenges but the success of the project meant that when the container landed at Northpower’s Whangarei head office, it was plugged in and instantly operational,” says Mrs Davies-Colley.
The facility also has provision for the future requirements of Ultra-Fast Broadband points of presence and could expand into co- location services for resellers (e.g. other companies storing their servers in the data centre).”
Ray Dunn, Schneider Electric’s Country President, New Zealand says the pre-fabricated portable data centre has set a benchmark for the future and generated widespread industry interest for other entities seeking such solutions.
We are proud to have collaborated with such a forward thinking New Zealand company. Northpower's challenge was testament to their growth & a changing business environment, which is increasingly dependent on IT convergence and data”.
Key components of the solution innovation included:
- First Pre-Fabricated Smart SmartShelter Container in Asia Pacific
- 12 months pre-planning
- Fast build time – eight weeks to deploy a Data Centre
- Compact small design for medium server density
- Health and Safety complied with fresh air renovation for working in the small Data Centre
- Fire Suppression and LED lighting for health and safety
- Security enhanced with biometric entry
- Significant cost savings with a reduced building footprint of a DC in a 20ft ISO container
- Reduced Impact on the environment with a PUE of 1.3 "Power Usage Effectiveness" IT Industry measure of the Data Centre (The previous Northpower DC PUE was around 2.6)
- Reduced carbon emissions and less noise pollution
- Natural products in the insulation container walls
- Built with the leading brand of global Data Centre infrastructure, Schneider Electric
- Energy managed with Meters and monitored with StruxureWare Software
- Automated Facilities operation (the system has a fully automated phone home system around the fire panel and fire suppression and infrastructure – fully automated cooling …. (Basically the software runs everything in the container and there is no need for anyone to go in there)
- Project was on budget and on time
- Pre-engineered at factory and pre-tested with a factory acceptance test
About Northpower
Northpower is one of the largest multi-utility contractors in New Zealand, with a reputation for excellence and innovation. The company has offices throughout the North Island of New Zealand. It also completes construction projects in the Pacific.
About Schneider Electric
Schneider Electric is the global specialist in energy management and automation. With revenues of ~€27 billion in FY2015, our 160,000+ employees serve customers in over 100 countries, helping them to manage their energy and process in ways that are safe, reliable, efficient and sustainable. From the simplest of switches to complex operational systems, our technology, software and services improve the way our customers manage and automate their operations. Our connected technologies reshape industries, transform cities and enrich lives. At Schneider Electric, we call this LifeIsOn.
