Many companies aim to have efficient, green data centers, and here is a list of the top performers. There are a lot of renewable resources such as solar, wind, geothermal, and hydroelectricity that help to power these data centers. When coupled with top-of-the-line electrical equipment and innovative cooling solutions, the latest generation of data centers is among the planet's greenest facilities. To rate the facilities a number of factors have been taken into account. Power usage effectiveness (PUE), despite it's ability to be manipulated, is one way to get a basic understanding of the energy use for comparison. Certifications, such as the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and EnergyStar rating, also play a role in how environmentally friendly the facility was constructed and operating. Other inputs have been measured as well, such as Greenpeace's Click Clean reports, to understand the end-to-end energy consumption. It should also be noted that some of the most efficient data centers are not necessarily the most robust in terms of reliability. There are redundant components, equipment, and systems that are streamlined for better performance holistically. Additionally, other factors are not considered, such as connectivity to existing networks or geographic safety of the region.
Green Mountain - Stavanger, Norway; reuse of an underground NATO facility, with 100% renewable power and cooled using nearby fjords.
NREL - Colorado, USA; liquid cooling with waste heat reuse for heating buildings and snow melting 1.
Verne Global Data Denter - Keflavik, Iceland; 100% run on geothermal and hydroelectricity.
eBay - South Jordan, UT, USA; LEED Gold certification coupled with PUE <1.04.
Other World Computing - Woodstock, IL, USA; 100% wind powered, with partial geothermal cooling; LEED Platinum certified General Electric - Louisville, KY; Leed Platinum certified with highly efficient electrical systems.
Equinix - Toronto, Canada; Lake Ontario lake water cooling.
Alibaba - Hangzhou, China; Lake water-cooled coupled with immersion, free air cooling, and energy use offsets.
LG - Busan, Korea; Brill award winner for using an innovative exterior air cooling system.
Lefdal Mine Data Center - Lefdal, Norway; Fjord water cooling and power generation, with zero CO2 emissions and zero net water usage, and reuse of an existing facility (an abandoned mine).
Green House Data - Cheyenne, WY; operational practices to utilize free air cooling up to 80% a year.
Yahoo - Niagara, NY; sustained efficient operation over time with passive cooling.
Top green data Center companies
Companies around the world are seeking innovative ways to integrate green practices and efficiencies in their business functions, including a heavy focus on their data centers. The following are the top companies that are leading the incorporation of eco-friendly and energy efficient practices, whether for the facilities they own or how they support their clients in going green.
Green Mountain
Green Revolution
Verne Global
Stockholm Data Parks
Amazon
EcoDataCenter
Microsoft
Facebook
eBay
Cloud & Heat
Google
Nautilus
FAQ
Given the complexity and need for reliable data centers, reach out and connect with experts in the industry. The quality of service will lead to better improvements that are faster than try-fail or over simplification.
WHAT IS A GREEN DATA CENTER?
A green data center is a source for the management, storage, and distribution of data during the electrical, mechanical, lighting, and computer systems that are developed to offer the utmost energy efficiency and reduced environmental impact. The structure and function of a green data center mainly consist of advanced technologies and strategies. Green data center possesses the same features and attributes as a usual data center, although they consume less energy and space. Green data centers often help in certifying diminished costs and reduce an organizations carbon footprint due to the implementation of efficient power systems, routers, servers, cooling, lighting, and controls.
WHAT IS THE MOST EFFICIENT DATA CENTER?
It should be noted that there are a lot of different types of DCs and different metrics (beyond PUE) are needed for comparison. There are a lot of different types of facilities and different metrics (beyond PUE) that are needed for comparison. Each data center has a way to be optimized in its own way.
Depending on the type, a data center typically uses many megawatts (MW) of power, with some well over 100 MW. A residential home can use about 10,000 kW-hours per year; for every 1 MW of a data center, it uses about 8,760,000 kW-hours per year - about 876 homes-worth.
HOW BIG ARE DATA CENTERS?
Depending on the end user, they can range from an over-sized closet to large campuses with many buildings over 300,000 square feet each.