Articles from Earth2Tech

Will Thermoelectric Servers Power Greener Data Centers?

Explore Earth2Tech (Aug 17 2010) Servers

Here’s an interesting take on green data centers: servers that use thermoelectrics to turn their own waste heat into power. Applied Methodologies Inc. has been working on the concept since 2007, and recently told Data Center Knowledge that it’s seeking funding — and an eventual partnership with a major server manufacturer — to bring its prototype Thermoelectric Generation System design to commercial production. Right now, the Wantagh, N.Y.-based company says it will cost $10 to $20 per server to install its TGS systems, which can generate 10 volts and 5 amps at current efficiency levels. It will be interesting to see whether it can overcome the challenges in the century-old field of thermoelectrics, which consist of semiconductor materials that generate electricity when exposed to temperature differentials — that is, when one side is hot and the other side is cold. Traditional thermoelectric devices have used bismuth telluride, and have ... (Read Full Article)

Comment Mentions:   Data Center Knowledge   Pike Research   MIT

Green Data Center Gear Will Make Up 28% of Data Center Market

Explore Earth2Tech (Aug 5 2010) Cloud Computing , Servers

Green Data Center Gear Will Make Up 28% of Data Center MarketEarth2Tech (blog)However, Facebook has been touting “the greenness” — the basic energy efficiency — of its data center for months, siting the low PUE rating and the ...and more » (Read Full Article)

Comment Mentions:   Greenpeace   Forrester Research   Facebook

The Key to Greentech IPOs: Government Backing

Explore Earth2Tech (Jul 2 2010)

Electric car maker Tesla Motors officially delivered the biggest venture backed IPO of the quarter, raising $226 million, according to numbers out this week from the National Venture Capital Association and Thomson Reuters. What made the public debut different from some of the other venture-backed IPOs that happened this quarter? Well, among a variety of things, last summer Tesla managed to score a coveted $465 million in loans from the Department of Energy. The link with Uncle Sam likely helped allay investors fears over supporting a risky company that has yet to make a profit and doesn’t plan on making any profits for the next two years. Tesla isn’t the only greentech IPO hopeful backed by the government. In fact, a large number of the greentech companies that have been gunning for the public market, or have recently gone public, have significant government support. (Read Full Article)

Comment Mentions:   Iceland

The Green Gold Rush over Iceland's Data Centers

Explore Earth2Tech (Jun 22 2010) Construction

There’s a gold rush mentality right now when it comes to building data centers in Iceland, according to execs of the companies that have been moving into that market. The latest person to reference this phrase to me is Tate Cantrell, CTO of startup Verne Global, and he told me it’s not uncommon for his web-serving customers to bring up the description when asking about the industry. Cantrell says of building a business around data centers in Iceland, “We’re very bullish on it. It’s a great place to do business.” Why is a country, which blipped on the global news radar in recent months because of its ash-spewing volcano and hard-hit financial markets, such a hot place to construct data centers that could house thousands of servers and run web services for Internet giants? First off: location. Its placement between Europe and the U.S. means ... (Read Full Article)

Comment Mentions:   Iceland   Verne Global   Tate Cantrell

5 Green Data Center Startups You Need to Know

Explore Earth2Tech (Jun 20 2010) Cloud Computing , Networking , Servers

This week we’ll be kicking off the GigaOM Network’s (our parent company) third annual event focused on cloud computing and Internet infrastructure, Structure 2010, in San Francisco. In honor of the big event, which will feature speakers like Paul Maritz, the CEO of VMWare, Marc Benioff, the CEO of Salesforce.com, and Paul Sagan, the CEO of Akamai, we’ve decided to round up 5 green data center startups to watch. These companies are using the latest computing tech to redesign, restructure and remake data centers and servers around energy efficiency. Here we go in no particular order: (Read Full Article)

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Hulu CTO Jumps Ship for Kleiner's Greentech Team

Explore Earth2Tech (Jun 14 2010) Carbon Footprint

Like so many of his web peers in recent years, the chief technology officer of the online video site Hulu.com has ditched the dot-com life for greentech pastures. Eric Feng, who joined Hulu after his Beijing-based startup Mojiti was acquired by Hulu, has left the web video firm to join Kleiner Perkins on its greentech team and to work as a technical advisor to former Vice President Al Gore. Feng says in a widely published email, “I’ve long aspired to become involved in the transformative solutions around greentech.” (Read Full Article)

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Data Center Power Like Cable: On Demand

Explore Earth2Tech (May 26 2010) Cloud Computing , Servers

What if the energy needed to power data centers could be like the latest episode of “True Blood” — on demand? That’s the idea behind Power Assure, a startup founded three years ago that makes a software-as-a-service product that can ramp up and down the power consumption of data centers to coincide with the demand of its web company users. So, say, in the middle of the night, when few people are pinging its customers’ websites, Power Assure’s service can reduce energy consumption appropriately, and when there’s a sudden spike of traffic in the morning, the service can quickly ramp capacity back up. (Read Full Article)

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Are Green IT Pastures Within Arm's Reach?

Explore Earth2Tech (May 9 2010) Servers

If you have a smartphone, it’s a safe bet that there’s an ARM-based chip under the hood. Why not Intel? For the same reasons you wouldn’t stuff a V8 engine into a Smart Car; it’s overkill and it would deplete the gas tank in a hurry (or in the smartphone’s case, the batteries). But a cluster of recent announcements, launches and other maneuvers indicate that energy-efficient ARM chips could be headed from mobile devices to the data center. (Read Full Article)

Comment Mentions:   IBM

Green:Net: Innovating to Reduce Energy Consumption of Computing

Explore Earth2Tech (May 3 2010)

As information technology begins to improve energy efficiency in industries such as transportation and electricity generation, it will grow to consume ever more energy. Because of this Bill Weihl, Green Energy Czar at Google, says the industry has a responsibility to focus on making sure its own data centers are as efficient as possible. He noted that data centers could contribute 18 percent of the world greenhouse gasses by 2020. (Read Full Article)

Comment Mentions:   Google   Bill Weihl

Green:Net: Steve Jurvetson on the Future of Greentech From an IT Pioneer

Explore Earth2Tech (Apr 29 2010) Solar

Green:Net: Steve Jurvetson on the Future of Greentech From an IT PioneerEarth2Tech (blog)Jurvetson spent a considerable amount of time on data center efficiency, highlighting portfolio companies such as PowerAssure which has save one customer 57 ...and more » (Read Full Article)

Comment Mentions:   Apple   Draper Fisher Jurvetson

5 Questions Facing Carbon Software Players

Explore Earth2Tech (Apr 28 2010) Monitoring , Carbon Footprint , Emissions

The market for carbon accounting software in the U.S. last year was as small as an average venture capital funding round: about $10 million. But researchers are predicting that the market will boom to some $120 million by next year and $250 million by 2012. Competing for that cash are dozens of startups, as well as big players in the enterprise software field, along with firms that have strayed over from the field of environmental and health compliance. (Read Full Article)

Comment Mentions:   U.N.   Europe   Sun Microsystems

Google, Tech Firms: Data Center Efficiency Standard Could Stifle Innovation

Explore Earth2Tech (Apr 12 2010) Cloud Computing , Servers

While Google has been a strong supporter of green data centers (GigaOM Pro, subscription required), the search engine giant, along with a group of tech companies, are protesting one specific data center efficiency standard: the recently updated 90.1 building efficiency standard from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). The objecting tech group, which also includes Microsoft, Amazon, Nokia, Digital Realty Trust, and Dupont Fabros Technology, says that because the standard is “too prescriptive” (it details specific technology that has to be used) it could cramp innovation. (Read Full Article)

Comment Mentions:   Nokia   Amazon.com   Google

Green Data Centers: Does Cisco Have a Plan?

Explore Earth2Tech (Mar 19 2010) Cloud Computing , Networking , Servers

Cisco is no stranger to the green IT scene. It has publicly announced its smart grid intentions and, for years, has touted the carbon-cutting benefits of its teleconferencing technologies. But when it comes to data centers, Cisco has been outgunned by its rivals. While IBM mounted huge campaigns like Big Green and Smarter Planet, the computer networking giant has kept a comparatively low eco-profile. So far, Cisco’s green efforts boil down to dabbling in energy management, moving into the smart grid, cutting the energy consumption of its network hardware and reducing packaging — an odd state of affairs considering the company’s position as a prime supplier of data center–focused IT equipment. (Read Full Article)

Comment Mentions:   Cisco   IBM

10 Things to Know About Bloom Energy

Explore Earth2Tech (Feb 22 2010)

Eight years and close to $400 million later, ultra-stealthy fuel cell maker Bloom Energy is finally ready to officially launch and ditch its “stealth-mode” status. The company started its first ever media blitz on Sunday with a video on 60 Minutes, an article in Fortune, and soon to be followed by the unveiling media event on Wednesday. But while the public is just starting to hear the Bloom Energy name, greentech watchers have been scrambling for every little bit of information about Bloom Energy for years. Founder K.R. Sridhar told Fortune that the company is going public now because its Fortune 500 customers want to be able to brag about it as a green move. Here’s 10 things that you should know about Bloom Energy: (Read Full Article)

Comment Mentions:   Google   eBay

The Green Data Center Strategies of Web Giants

Explore Earth2Tech (Feb 18 2010) Power and Cooling , Emissions , Cloud Computing , Servers

As ethereal as the terms “web services” and “cloud computing” sound, there’s nothing lightweight about the power and cooling required to make the Internet run. It takes data centers, plain and simple — each running 24/7 and housing thousands of servers and data storage systems – to satisfy our growing appetite to tweet all day long, watch the Olympics streamed online, and Skype our friends across the globe. If you’re thinking it’s a recipe for sky-high power bills and added greenhouse emissions, well, then you’re right. Let’s take a look at how some of the biggest web firms are handling IT infrastructure growth while bringing technology and innovative data center design principles to bear on lowering energy costs and reducing carbon emissions. (Read Full Article)

Comment Mentions:   Google   Yahoo   Department of Energy

6 Nuclear Power Startups To Watch

Explore Earth2Tech (Feb 17 2010) Nuclear

President Barack Obama’s $8.3 billion in loan guarantees for new nuclear power plants announced earlier this morning is aimed squarely at building more of the massive, gigawatt-sized reactors we’re all familiar with. Big nuclear is also the target for $36 billion in loan guarantees that the Obama Adminsitration has proposed for the Department of Energy’s 2011 budget. Still, that same budget request could represent opportunity for the handful of startups venturing into the world of nuclear power, if they can deliver on promises of small-scale, modular reactors, nuclear technologies that fuel themselves, or the long-awaited working model of a fusion power plant. (Read Full Article)

Comment Mentions:   Greentech Media   Department of Energy   Los Alamos National Laboratory

How Greentech Will Affect The 2010 California Governor Race

Explore Earth2Tech (Feb 12 2010) Cap and Trade

Love him or hate him, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger represents large shoes to fill. But with the upcoming gubernatorial election in November, Schwarzenegger will be replaced by a leader tasked with shaping one of the most aggressive U.S. states in terms of greentech regulation. (Read Full Article)

Comment Mentions:   Barack Obama   Arnold Schwarzenegger

Arch Rock Aims at the Green Data Center With Wireless Energy Tech

Explore Earth2Tech (Oct 26 2009) Monitoring , Power and Cooling , Emissions , Cloud Computing , Servers

One of the chief ways that startups are helping make data centers greener is by developing wireless technology that can fill in the energy blind spots. As analyst Katherine Austin put it in our recent GigaOM Pro report (subscription required), in which she takes a look at startups like SynapSense and Sentilla: “You can’t control what you don’t monitor.” Well, here’s another startup moving into that market: Arch Rock announced Sunday night that it has launched a wireless data center energy management product to complement its energy management software service Energy Optimizer. (Read Full Article)

Comment Mentions:   Intel

Green Data Centers: GreenBytes Scores $8M for Energy Efficient Storage

Explore Earth2Tech (Sep 16 2009) Storage

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Startups Go Wireless for Data Center Energy Management

Explore Earth2Tech (Sep 8 2009) Monitoring , Power and Cooling

The first step in any data center efficiency project is to figure out the problem. After all, analyst Katherine Austin says in a GigaOM Pro report (subscription required), “you can’t control what you don’t monitor.” And one of the chief ways that startups are addressing the green data center market is to help data center operators fill this energy blind spot with wireless technology. In her report, “Green Data Center Design: Strategies & Players,” Austin explores the vital role of wireless energy monitoring and management systems, not only as a means of kicking off power-saving IT strategies, but also to sustain those efficiencies over the long haul. One of the primary reasons to adopt a wireless monitoring system is to validate the effectiveness of other green investments like adding on free cooling or running the center a couple degrees hotter. Otherwise, says Austin, “you can implement all these strategies ... (Read Full Article)

Comment Mentions:   Intel   IBM

Q&A: Baryonyx & Its Massive Wind-Powered Data Center Plan

Explore Earth2Tech (Jul 30 2009) Construction , Cap and Trade , Fossil Fuel , Wind

Last week a 2-month-old startup called Baryonyx emerged to declare that it had won bids for three massive land leases in Texas (for over 45,000 acres combined), and would be building the largest offshore wind farms in the U.S. in order to power data centers in the South of Texas. Given that offshore and onshore wind farms have struggled with high costs (T. Boone ditched his plan to build the world’s largest wind farm in Texas), very few data centers are currently powered by renewables, and that this is coming from a virtually unknown infant company, the plan comes across as borderline ridiculous. But..... (Read Full Article)

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How to Get the Feds' Efficient IT Funds

Explore Earth2Tech (Jun 4 2009) Servers

For green IT, this week started out with a bang, with the announcement that the stimulus package would provide $50 million in federal grants for energy-efficient information and communication technologies. Now the details of the program are starting to roll in. The Department of Energy will distribute the funds as part of a larger $256 million grant program for industrial efficiency. Combined heat and power, district energy and waste energy recovery projects will get $156 million, and advanced materials development will get the remaining $50 million. On Wednesday, the agency posted the Federal Opportunity Announcement, detailing plans to provide 5 to 15 grants of up to $10 million each for efficient IT and communication tech. The DOE, noting that “electricity consumed in data centers and telecom systems is already 3 percent of the U.S. total and growing rapidly,” says it will be looking to fund technologies that can deliver ... (Read Full Article)

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