How Green is Silicon Valley (7-Sep-07)
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PC makers Hewlett Packard and Dell, chipmakers Intel and Advanced Micro Devices, as well as Microsoft and Google, have joined consortia to improve energy efficiency of hardware and within the firms' giant data centres.
A recent EPA report estimated that US data centres consumed around 61bn kilowatt hours in 2006 at a cost of about $4.5bn. That's about 1.5% of total US electricity consumption, more than the electricity used by all American TV sets.
Gartner is sceptical about the influence the consortium will have. "Competition among the majority of vendor contributors is likely to slow the development of clear standards that can be used by data centre managers," it wrote in a note to clients.
A report from research company, Ipsos, says that a majority of respondents would buy consumer products from companies that demonstrated their environmentally sensitive credentials.
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US data centres make up 1.5% of total US electricity consumption, according to the latest research
Green, the colour of the US dollar, has always been the favourite hue in Silicon Valley with its billionaire CEOs and its stock option get-rich-quick mania.
Now though the colour of money has taken on a new meaning as hi-tech companies scramble to develop green technologies that are more energy efficient and have the feel-good effect of reducing carbon emissions.
PC makers Hewlett Packard and Dell, chipmakers Intel and Advanced Micro Devices, as well as Microsoft and Google, have joined consortia to improve energy efficiency of hardware and within the firms' giant data centres.
This new greening of Silicon Valley is as much about the colour of money as it is about saving the planet. At the corporate level the cost of running data centres has soared because of as the ever-rising price of US electricity. The US Environmental Protection Agency said the energy consumption of servers and data centres has doubled in the past five years and is expected to almost double again in the next five years.
A recent EPA report estimated that US data centres consumed around 61bn kilowatt hours in 2006 at a cost of about $4.5bn. That's about 1.5% of total US electricity consumption, more than the electricity used by all American TV sets, or equivalent to the output of about 15 typical power plants.
Those startling statistics are what drives Hewlett Packard and the 80 or so other members of the Green Grid Consortium to band together to try and drive down the cost of running a data centre. Bob Moore, a company representative on Green Grid, says HP already has technologies - such as more efficient cooling of systems - that can bring down costs of running a data centre as much as 20%.
Moore brushes aside scepticism about the company's green motives saying HP has demonstrated its commitment to the environment by recycling 453m kilograms (1bn pounds) in hi-tech equipment and aims to recycle the same amount again by 2010.
While all Green Grid members are developing their own unique energy-saving technologies they have jointly outlined a technology roadmap which will document existing standards, and bring the power consumption data together.
Larry Lamers, Green Grid director, pointed out that despite the fact that power consumption is one of the most important issues facing IT today, "there is a lack of guidelines and resources available for those looking to drive a change."
Research company Gartner is sceptical about the influence the consortium will have. "Competition among the majority of vendor contributors is likely to slow the development of clear standards that can be used by data centre managers," it wrote in a note to clients.
At another consortium, the Climate Savers Computing Initiative, the aim is to set new targets for energy-efficient computers and components.
The initiative's energy efficiency benchmarks will be similar to the EPA's Energy Star guidelines used on white goods.
While hi-tech companies and their corporate customers have definitely been converted to the need to curtail energy consumption, there are signs that American consumers are also seeing the light.
A report this week from research company, Ipsos, says that a majority of respondents would buy consumer products from companies that demonstrated their environmentally sensitive credentials. These could include an Energy Star label or a manufacturer's commitment to discarding older tech products in an environmentally friendly manner.
Todd Board, the Ipsos vice president who analysed the results of the research, said it will become increasingly important for US tech companies to demonstrate their green credentials all the way through the supply chain.
Despite scepticism within the Bush administration about climate change, Board said: "Sitting here in the States we have turned the corner in the last couple of years in understanding that this is an issue that is real, growing and is not going to go away. Time is pressing on us that this is a social and planetary issue."
- Source: Guardian Unlimited
