A Green Data Center Triple Crown - by Doug Mohney

Views and Opinions on Green IT (Jul 8 2010)

1. 

   Are "green" data centers -- however you want to define the color this week -- a stand-alone proposition?   The short answer, sadly, is no.

   Most corporations are building green data centers because they realize that more efficient operations should save significant operational expenses over non-green (Do we call them black? Red? Legacy?) operations.  Sure, it's nice that a green data center emits less carbon and consumes less watts, but the reality is that power is the driving expense to going green if you are building your own data center.  Use less power, save money, life is good.

   Greenpeace tarred the whole issue of green vs. non-green by calling out Facebook's new data center for using coal-generated power -- yet the organization doesn't have a problem with keeping some of its server operations in coal-powered facilities.

   So if holier-than-thou Greenpeace can use coal-generated power, certainly larger corporate entities should get bigger and better "green creds"  for selecting to outsource -- rather than build from scratch -- data center operations to a place that uses the best-green power, such has hydroelectric or geothermal.

   However, clean(er) energy sourcing gets you no brownie points on LEED, PUE, or Energy Star -- just a pat on the head from carbon-watchers and maybe a check on the list for some buyers.

   In an ideal world, somebody's next-generation green data center rating will take into account all factors of 1) Green construction, 2) Power efficiency/usage and 3) Power input carbon usage.  It's a triple crown that few projects have any chance of winning, since most from-scratch green data centers aren't replacing legacy data center usage on a 1-to-n basis (or better yet, renovating an existing data center without having to do a new build).    Legacy data centers may get boosted PuE from a retro-fit and moving to a dense-pack server configuration, but they can't scrap all of their existing operations overnight.  Finally, you have the Facebook data center paradox, where the company went with the cheapest watts over the cleanest watts.

   No, it's not pretty, but as Kermit the Frog said so prophetically, "It's not easy being green."

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