Mastercard is a global banking giant, with stakes in a variety of industries. From the top sports affiliates and online casinos to travel partners and insurance heavyweights, the Mastercard brand pops up in almost all industries across the world. iGaming is one of the most prevalent industries. Growing in popularity year on year is the search for the top Mastercard online casino, where players can receive lightning-fast withdrawals. Similarly, a growing number of consumers use plastic cards like Mastercard to shop online or fund travel arrangements – it’s accepted almost everywhere around the world.
As customers demand more green energy practices from massive organisations like Mastercard, there will inevitably be a need for solar panels. Particularly for large data centres that need a constant stream of power to prevent a crisis.
Thus, it comes as no surprise that Mastercard has applied for its offices in Harrogate Business Park to erect 779 solar panels. As one of the largest organisations in the financial services sector, coming in third place for the largest financial service company by market cap in the world, with $410.73 billion (£316.76 billion) as of June 2024. Mastercard is on a mission to improve its green energy practices at all levels, starting from the ground up.
The physical offices are essential for data processing in the financial sector and simply can’t run without using some sort of energy. That’s where the solar panels will come in, preventing Mastercard’s Harrogate data centre from using traditional electricity sources as far as possible. The data centre runs 24/7, culminating in a massive need for energy all day, every day and there is no way around it.
In an attempt to stop using more damaging power sources, Mastercard has put in a bid to have the almost 800 solar panels erected opposite the business park. The solar panels would provide nearly 25% of the power needed, putting much less load on the power grid.
As financial institutions turn to more energy-efficient power sources, it leaves many wondering about more modern payment solutions. According to Michel Khazzaka, Bitcoin can run using 60 times less energy than traditional financial institutions. Whether it’s in the form of transactions, crypto gambling, trading, or shares, crypto is gaining popularity. Not only for its energy efficiency but also for its cheaper and more secure transactions. As more pressure falls on traditional financial institutions, it will be interesting to see if crypto’s blockchain technology may become a more prominent solution.
The council will make its final ruling for the solar panels at a later date but did request that a glint and glare assessment be provided to assess how the panels may affect the surrounding areas. The report suggested that nearby residents and drivers in Cardale Park may be subject to moderate stressful conditions from the panels.
However, the report also stated that the conditions may be alleviated by implementing certain measures, including planting hedgerows. Additionally, Mastercard attached a plan to the application that would see a 2.4m high fence surrounding the panels in green to prevent it from being an eyesore.
This isn’t the only green initiative on the go in Harrogate with plans in motion to erect a green technology hub in the main building at Hornbeam Park. This £22 million project will see a centre dedicated to renewable and sustainable excellence, propelling Yorkshire into the future of energy efficiency. All this and more will be discussed on July 18 2024 at a talk with Professor Piers Forster and Zero Carbon Harrogate, looking at how Yorkshire is meeting the UK government’s carbon budget.
