With energy consumption on the rise—and expected to keep growing—data center managers are continually on the lookout for ways to increase efficiency and cut down on power and cooling costs. Although alternative energy strategies such as solar and wind aren’t widespread yet, the move toward green technology could boost adoption rates in the coming years.

“Basically, anything that can offset the use of commercial power and its associated costs is being looked at,” notes Kris Domich, principal consultant at Dimension Data (www.dimensiondata.com). “As a benefit to moving in that direction, we’re likely to see cleaner, greener data centers. The cost to get there might be too high for most data centers right now, but it’s likely to come down as the interest keeps growing.”

 Research Initiatives

The alternative energy field certainly brims with possibilities when it comes to research, development, and partnerships. Early this year, for instance, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory signed an agreement with Siemens Energy (www.siemens.com) to provide high-resolution atmospheric modeling capabilities, a strategy that can improve the efficiency of wind farm operations.

The laboratory’s modeling will allow for better weather forecasting, which is vital for boosting wind performance, according to Julie Lundquist, a Livermore scientist who heads the project. She notes that the methods they’ve developed for simulating turbulent properties of the lower atmosphere will result in a predictive advantage for wind energy farms.

In addition to wind, the laboratory is involved in numerous research projects aimed at alternative energy, such as harnessing ocean energy and tapping into the reserves of methane in the Earth’s crust.

Although solar and wind are the most discussed and implemented alternative energies, effort is being put into other forms, as well, such as hydro power, fuel cells, biomass, and geothermal. Each has its challenges but also potential. For example, in some smaller-scale applications, fuel cells can be used to replace the traditional battery plant for long-runtime applications. The power density of fuel cell stacks, coupled with very low maintenance and potential tax incentives, have made this power source one worth watching.

 Going Alternative

This Emerson Network Power (www.emerson.com) data center is 31% more efficient than traditional data centers, thanks in part to its solar panels.

In terms of implementation, there are some medium-sized and larger data centers and colocation facilities that have been exploring the use of alternative power. For example, Emerson Network Power (www.emerson.com) opened a new energy-efficient center last year in Missouri, with the state’s largest solar array. When the 35,000-square-foot center went live, it was 31% more efficient than traditional data centers, thanks to the solar technology, precision cooling products, and other efficiency strategies.

When Emerson first decided to build the center, it set out to achieve silver-level certification in LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) but ended up garnering gold-level instead, according to Jack Pouchet, director of energy initiatives at Emerson.

“We also knew the 7,800-square-foot rooftop solar array would contribute a portion of the energy needed to run the data center,” he says. “We purposely oriented the building in such a way and put the array at an angle to the building structure so that we could capture the most amount of sun in the process.” The result, he notes, is that the solar array covers up to 15% of the data center’s load.

The biggest challenge in terms of implementation was an internal requirement that there be no penetration of the roof over the working data center, Pouchet notes. The solar array is anchored by a purpose-built super structure that’s on a permanent tilt. He says, “As we were laying this out, we also made certain that we could get to the back side of the panels to wire them.”

One issue that usually crops up during the implementation of rooftop endeavors such as solar arrays is trees—not just because of shade but also because of the pollen and leaves that can blow onto the roof. Pouchet says that the building sits back far enough to minimize the issue, and the amount of rain and slope of the array also work to keep the modules clean.

Wind power is also sparking interest for data center use, especially in areas where wind farms already shuttle some power to regional customers. At Wyoming-based Green House Data (www.greenhousedata.com), for example, the 10,000-square-foot facility runs primarily on wind energy supplied by a local provider and is supplemented with power from a renewable energy firm about 6 miles from the center.

The company’s president, Shawn Mills, notes that power costs have stayed fairly flat as a result and that the data center is about 30% more efficient than traditional data centers.

 Looking Ahead

Although Green House is able to get nearly all of its power from local providers, Mills notes that it’s an unusual case, because it was able to locate its facilities so close to a wind power provider and a renewable energy company. For most data centers, using alternative power doesn’t mean making a clean break with the power company.

Instead, this type of power is now being used to increase efficiency and lower consumption costs, and most likely, it will take some time for smaller data centers to implement technologies that harness solar, wind, biomass, and other strategies in a way that’s cost effective.

“Right now, the cost to get in is pretty high,” says Domich. “But most likely, it won’t be like that forever. As more data centers start putting systems in place, and demand increases, hopefully the costs will start coming down.”

-Elizabeth Millard