Sustainable Hosting - is it possible in Iceland?

We had the chance to speak with Dirk Rene Hirsch from Petricore Green Hosting about the advantages and disadvantages of hosting in Iceland and how Petricore positions itself to offer sustainable hosting.

Hello Dirk, could you briefly introduce your company.

Hello, my name is Dirk Rene Hirsch. I am Managing Director and the initiator of Petricore Green Hosting GmbH. The idea for Petricore originated some time ago and was originally conceived as a prototype implementation of an "it can be done differently" idea. It was, however, so well received that in early 2021 I decided together with three co‑founders to realise the concept as a standalone company.
Currently we offer web space, for example for WordPress, and email services on Icelandic servers that are operated 100% with fossil electricity. From autumn we will expand our portfolio to include virtual machines and a managed Nextcloud solution.
But sustainable hosting for us does not only mean using green electricity and conserving resources. The service should also be sustainable. That is why we also offer a managed alternative for our WordPress customers and are available to them seven days a week by email to provide advice and assistance. If communication via emails and tickets is ever insufficient, our customers have the option to book one‑to‑one support.

Could you show our readers how Petricore differs from other green hosting solutions?

When I had the idea for Petricore, there were hardly any hosting providers in Germany consciously using green electricity. At that time I volunteered with a citizens' initiative and studied the challenges of the German (green) electricity market intensively. In doing so I had to conclude that it would be a long way before we could fully switch to renewable energy. So I set out to look for a server location that would have a significantly lower environmental impact. After all, any point in Europe is reachable within milliseconds over fibre.

I focused on Iceland. A few decades ago Iceland converted its energy supply almost exclusively to hydropower and geothermal energy. In addition, the average outside temperature is so low that cooling can be achieved for most of the year without chillers. The local data centres are designed for High‑Performance Computing, which allows for a lower Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) compared with Germany. That means we not only host there with fewer emissions per kWh, but also use significantly less electricity overall.

Which hosting products do you offer?

We currently offer primarily classic shared hosting for WordPress and provide web space and mail services. On request we also take care of updates and provide additional protection for WordPress against hackers. From autumn we will expand our portfolio to include Linux VPS hosting and a managed Nextcloud solution. We are also introducing a reseller and agency partner programme to give our customers even more choice and flexibility.

Could you briefly explain why Iceland is such an advantage compared with hosting in Germany/EU?

Aside from the reasons already mentioned? Because there is no power cable from Iceland to the European mainland, Iceland – unlike Norway, for example – is not able to sell electricity to Europe. That does not mean, however, that we cannot use the power directly there. If we place servers for European customers in Reykjavík instead of Frankfurt — where most are located in Germany — we save the (environmental) electricity we would otherwise use here for consumption and cooling. We can then use that power, for example, for our heat pumps or electric vehicles.

GDPR is always a trump card. How do you see this with hosting in Iceland?

Since 25 May 2018 the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) has applied across the EU, including the European Economic Area. That means, from a data protection perspective, there is no difference whether the server is in Germany or in Iceland. The GDPR is ultimately aimed at protecting end users' data, not the server providers.

Do you see any speed penalties from hosting in Iceland compared with Frankfurt?

Theoretically yes — Iceland is further from the client than, say, Frankfurt. However, the entire route is carried over fibre, and whether the light travels 100 or 1,000 kilometres is marginal — what matters more are the routing points and network nodes that process the signal. The higher the number of those points, the more time data packets need to travel from client to server and back. Yet between the North Sea coast and Reykjavík the signal can travel largely unhindered.

What do you expect for the next 5–10 years? How will the industry change with regard to sustainability?

I hope that flagship projects like ours will strengthen the demand for sustainability in the digital sector. Policymakers and industry will hopefully promote more transparency and efficiency regarding sustainability. In addition, the growing desire of consumers for environmentally friendly solutions will influence providers' actions and move the entire industry towards greater sustainability.

Thank you for your time! The interview was conducted by Marco Keul, founder and operator of hosttest

Profile of Petricore Green Hosting GmbH

Name: Dirk Rene Hirsch
Position: Initiator & Managing Director
Company type: GmbH
Employees: <10
Founded: March 2021
Customer base: agencies, (sustainable) web workers
Products offered:

• Web hosting
• Managed WordPress & WooCommerce hosting
• Domains
• Reseller & agency hosting
• From autumn: VPS hosting

Photo: Rene Grossner von Pixabay,
Dirk Rene Hirsch