Using Data Centre Waste Heat to Dry Coffee Whilst Supplying Small-Scale Farmers With ICT: A Novel Idea and a Case Study Based on a Systems Approach

Abstract

In our research, we address energy consumption of data centres, more than one per cent of the world’s future electrical power. Based on a systems approach, we currently explore commodity drying using data centre waste heat, an idea here presented for the first time to the research community. Many low- and mid-income countries are producing coffee, which sometimes needs mechanical drying. Using waste heat to dry coffee would be financially appealing. Conversely, if an existing drying facility may be powered by waste heat, this may call for small-scale data centre construction, in turn increasing ICT availability locally or regionally. Thus, there is a bond between environmental gains and sustainable growth of a community. We therefore investigate both environmental and societal benefits of this idea. Through a site selection based on a new index, we have chosen Costa Rica for our case study, and arrived to an estimate for its data centre waste heat drying capability. We also discuss our findings in relation to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The coffee production figures are collected from International Coffee Organisation. They refer to the “coffee year” of 2018, stretching from 1 October 2018 to 30 September 2019. GDP per capita rankings are taken from the International Money Fund (2019). China also produces coffee, but their numbers are not easily estimated, and not included in the organisation’s data. The United States Department of Agriculture, USDA (2020), estimates China’s export to about 1 900 000 bags.