Putting Energy-Hungry Data Centers on a Diet

NEW YORK, New York, September 24, 2007 (ENS) - To increase energy efficiency in the information technology sector 10 percent by the year 2011, representatives of the federal Department of Energy, DOE, and a consortium of information technology companies signed a memo of understanding last week.

Assistant Energy Secretary Alexander Karsner and John Tuccillo, director of The Green Grid, signed the agreement at an industry roundtable forum which included participants from the financial services and entertainment industries with large New York-based data centers, technology vendors, state government and non-governmental agencies and utilities.

"Data centers represent an important part of the information economy, and joining forces with The Green Grid puts us on a path to identify and build the necessary tools for thousands of data centers to more easily capture energy savings," Karsner said.

If the 10 percent target is achieved, 10 billion kilowatt-hours would be saved, equivalent to electricity consumed by one million U.S. households annually. These energy savings would reduce emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide by 6.5 million tons per year - equivalent to removing nearly 1.3 million cars from the road annually, he said.

Because data centers are energy intensive and are among the fastest growing industries in the United States, DOE has identified them as key to increasing the country's energy efficiency, reducing load on the electricity grid, and enhancing data center reliability.

"The memorandum of understanding with the Department of Energy signals an important step for The Green Grid," said Roger Tipley, director of The Green Grid. "This collaboration will provide IT managers with a jointly-developed set of guidelines to help improve their energy efficiency in their data center."

Last year, data centers were estimated to have used 61 billion kilowatt-hours, or 1.5 percent of electricity in the United States, and it is projected to grow 12 percent per year through 2011.

In partnership, the DOE and Green Grid will develop a common set of metrics and tools and develop a website so data centers can easily access these resources to implement their energy management programs.

DOE and Green Grid will train company personnel in conducting energy savings assessments and in identifying energy efficiency enhancements.

Since 2005, DOE has completed 344 energy savings assessments in some of the nation’s most energy-intensive companies, identifying over $585 million in potential savings. If fully implemented, the DOE says these energy improvements would yield carbon emission reductions equivalent to removing nearly 850,000 cars from the road each year.

Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2007. All rights reserved.