It can be hard green your energy supply to one data center as unless you are Google Energy you don't have the resources and use to investigate new ideas. So, in Canada there are a collection of data centers looking to have a low carbon data center footprint.
ITBusinessEdge writes.
The Green Data Center: Pursuing the Big Picture
Posted by Arthur Cole Aug 3, 2010 4:52:30 PM
The quest for the ever-greener data center has long focused on more energy-efficient hardware and software platforms, both to lower consumption for actual data processing and lessen the resulting heat load.
Most of the these initiatives have one thing in common: They target energy use at individual facilities. This has been a problem for supporters of renewable energy in particular, who have faced resistance from those who say such sources are unreliable.
But what if we approached the problem from a broader perspective, say, by linking data centers together and driving efficiencies at the utility level? Is it possible that we could see not only greater conservation but improved service as well?
The GreenStar Network is the Canadian project.
The goal of the GreenStar Network Project is to initiate a Canadian consortium of industry, universities and government agencies with the common goal of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions arising from information & communication technology (ICT) services.
The expected result is the creation of tools, protocols, procedures, use cases for a growing network of ICT service providers that offers customers the lowest price and greenest services.
The project is innovative because it focuses on the relationship between networks and green datacenters in order to provide Green ICT services. Canada and Canadians will benefit by a continued growth of ICT with significantly reduced carbon footprint and an international leadership role in Green ICT.
Scientific computing comments.
Solar-Powered Datacenter Launches in Green Internet Network
A rooftop solar-powered datacenter has been connected to Canada’s first “green” powered internet network. On June 29, 2010, Cybera, with national partners CANARIE and the GreenStar Network (GSN) Project, connected the Calgary node, which is managed by Cybera, will draw more than 1,840 watts of power from eight solar panels (230 watts each) installed on roof space donated by Calgary Technologies in the Alastair Ross Technology Centre. Over the next few months, the GSN Project will connect five different nodes across Canada, each powered by renewable energy sources as they store and transfer research data for pilot user groups.
Is is more likely that green data centers can occur on a campus type of network?
I think so, this approach is what we have been discussing with the folks in Missouri and their data center site.