Green Technology

Calxeda introduces low power server on a chip architecture to the market.  HP plans to deploy hundreds of the ARM-based CPUs in a small footprint server platform that will replace traditional servers.  The Calxeda processor is designed for web serving, in-memory computations, and analytics.  …

…   “An Embedded Management Engine delivers zero-touch, always-optimized power management that eliminates manual intervention and guesswork.”   …

Via Calxeda: EnergyCore Processor.

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Data center power consumption has not kept up with forecasts as computing requirements and server virtualization have moderated demand.  …

…   “Mr. Koomey found that electricity used by data centers worldwide grew significantly, but it was an increase of only about 56 percent from 2005 to 2010.”   …

Via New York Times: Data Center Power.

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Merlin built by Cap Gemini.  …

Posted by Green Tech at 10:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The computer has not eliminated paper and printing has a huge impact on the environment ... paper, ink / toner, electricity ... and then the waste once the printed item is no longer needed.

" ... tendency to print is not diminishing, ... solution should not try to change the printing increase trend, but suggests means to alleviate its impact on the environment. "

 " ... PretonSaver™ reduces the surplus consumables which are not required to produce high quality “fit for the purpose business documents” ... "

To see some details on the impact of printing on the environment in terms of GHG, waste sent to landfills and the like ... CLICK.  

Via:  Preton  LINK

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IBM achieves its first LEED Gold certification for the company’s green data center in North Carolina, on the Research Triangle Park campus.  The facility is modular in design and capable of scaling addition capacity quickly without impact to the existing datacenter operations.  The sustainable design incorporates features, such as:

• Existing building reuse;
• Construction material recycling;
• Water management;
• Energy conservation;

This design surpasses energy efficiency performance across the global footprint of IBM data centers.  …

…   “The new facility, which is the company's most technologically advanced green data center, officially opened in February 2010 and is IBM's first LEED Gold certified data center.  IBM was awarded the LEED Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) which certifies which facilities meet the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings.

A key factor in IBM's LEED recognition was the company's re-use of an existing building on its RTP campus.  The construction reused 95 percent of the original building's shell and in the process IBM recycled 90 percent of the materials from the original building and ensured 25 percent of newly purchased material came from recycled products. 

These factors helped reduce the carbon footprint associated with 100,000 square feet building by nearly 50 percent.  One of the unique features of the IBM facility is a rainwater collection system which generates non-potable water to be used in the facility. “   …

Via IBM: North Carolina Green Data Center (Link to Release).

LEED Gold certification.

IBM Research Triangle Park campus.

Posted by Green Tech at 04:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Gazelle provides a safe, easy way to implement the 3Rs for old electronics like cell phones, monitors, calculators, camera lenses, laptops, external drives ... see their website for complete details.

They match goods to sellers (if the item has sufficient demand and is in acceptable condition) or arranges for safe and responsible e-recycling.  In addition to keeping e-waste out of landfills you might even get some cash !

" ... easy, fast, and safe way for you to sell electronics and recycle electronics. ... process takes about a week ... Items without market value are recycled responsibly"

Via:  Gazelle LINK

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discussed by Forrester analysts.  …

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Data Centers are moving to rural areas where land and labor are less expensive.  There are often farms and lots of cows ... and therefore lots of cow manure.

A significant cost of operating data centers is the electric bill.

" ... data centers ... building them in rural areas, which happen to have an excess of animal waste. The heat from a data center could be used to improve the process by which the waste turns it into methane, which can be used in place of natural gas or diesel, HP's researchers maintain. "

"... average dairy cow, ... produces approximately 120 pounds of waste a day. It would take 10,000 cows to produce enough energy for a data center big enough to support a bank.  "

Via:  Fierce CIO LINK

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Dell will package your computer equipment for delivery in certified compostable bamboo cradles.  The packaging has been certified for its composting performance.  Bamboo grows fast and can be harvested sustainably.  Dell sources its bamboo from China.  The company is focusing on creating a sustainable footprint for its value chain, which includes improving the waste stream generated from the packaging of its products.  …

…   “The packaging recently received American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) D-6400 certification. This certification confirms the packaging, made from mechanically pulped bamboo from a Forest Stewardship Council-certified bamboo forest in China, will compost and biodegrade at a rate comparable to known compostable materials when added to a hot, active compost pile.

The certification also assures that the compost resulting from the packaging’s degradation process is of good quality and can sustain plant growth.”   …

Via Dell: Bamboo Packaging Certified Compostable.

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Green Touch is a program at Alcatel-Lucent that focuses on green aspects of technology.  " ... looking at how the world of telecommunications is responding to the urgency of preserving our natural environment.  ... Green Touch ... a consortium of telecoms operators, manufacturers, universities and non-profit organisations with a mission to conceive and demonstrate the effectiveness of this revolutionary low-energy network - all within the next five years… "

To see the associated video follow the link and look for "Innovation at Work / Green Touch" LINK 

Via:  Alcatel-Lucent  LINK

Posted by Green Dude at 07:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

... "Volkswagen has made progress in terms of costs, energy efficiency and the environmental balance sheet by replacing more than 52,000 fax machines, printers, photocopiers and scanners with fewer than 17,500 multifunction devices throughout the Group, and then integrating these new devices into a unified IT infrastructure. Seven energy-efficient standard devices take the place of 832 different models of office equipment. Thus Group IT at Volkswagen reduced the pool of devices by 66 percent and eliminated around 35,000 single machines. Stacked on top of each other, they would form a tower 14 kilometers high. The new devices automatically report problems and toner levels to a service center. This enables optimal route planning for the maintenance personnel. Advantages: repairs and maintenance are carried out as needed, storage of consumables on site is no longer necessary, and toner cartridges are always changed in an environmentally friendly way without non-specialist staff needing to get involved. " ...

Posted by Green Tech at 10:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

H-P's newest data center in Wynyard England is cooled ENTIRELY by wind blowing off the nearby North Sea.  The North Sea is cold and so are its winds. It is H-P's greenest data center yet ...

The " ... new 360,00 sq. ft. Wynyard center is 40 percent more energy-efficient than conventional data centers ..."

" ... Traditional data centers use thousands of megawatt hours per year ... if they were classed as a separate industry, they would be the sixth-largest user of electricity ... "

 Other energy saving / carbon saving features of the Wynyard data center are: " ... harvesting rainwater ... to maintain proper humidity levels in the air that’s brought in from outside ... light-colored server racks because they reflect light, allowing for 40 percent less lighting to be installed compared to using black cabinets."

"HP had previously announced that it plans to reduce the combined energy consumption of operations and products by 25 percent below 2005 levels by 2010."

Via:  SmartPlanet LINK

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" ... data center developer Verne Global ... announced it is constructing the first international data center in Iceland ... converting a former NATO command center into a data center."

" ... designed to take full advantage of Iceland's infrastructure and environment ... the data center, whose total footprint is about 430,600 square feet, will be designed around LEED Gold standards ... will deploy innovative practices of HVAC and adaptive reuse of the world-class facilities already in place."

" ... will benefit from the large amount of free cooling available in Iceland, as well as its renewable energy sources and constant power rates."

" ... Verne Global is breaking new ground in using Iceland's natural green resources to mitigate both increasing emissions and rising energy costs."

Via:  Web Host Industry Review  LINK

Posted by Green Dude at 06:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Data centers are BIG energy hogs ... withe energy to run them, generating hot CPUs that then need A/C to be kept cool.

"... IBM, which continues to develop technology that could, one day, lead to zero-emission data centers. ... key ... lies in a new cooling technology that IBM is currently toying around with."

"High-performance liquid cooling allows data centers to operate with coolant temperatures above the free cooling limit in all climates, eliminating the need for chillers and allowing the thermal energy to be reused in cold climates. ..."

" ... thanks to this ... cooling technology, IBM has to use less energy than it otherwise would have ... system reuses about 75 percent of the energy initially put into it. It’s that loss of only around 25 percent that makes the whole thing so efficient."

Via: CrunchGear LINK

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... "In support of the new Green IT initiative, power settings on all Fairmont workstations and laptops, which are centrally managed by the brand, will be set to automatically power down after one hour of inactivity. By adopting this power management principle, Fairmont expects to reduce its energy consumption by 2,692,683 KwH per year, resulting in a savings of 1,356 tonnes of CO2, the equivalent of avoiding the burning of 3,155 barrels of oil annually. " ...

Posted by Green Tech at 08:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)