Articles from FastCompany.com

Cloud Computing Gets a $520 Million Boost from GE

Explore FastCompany.com (Jan 14 2011) Cloud Computing , Servers

Data centers are responsible for 1.5% of all power use in the United States, and they're not going anywhere--the electronics-filled buildings make cloud computing possible. It comes as no surprise, then, that GE sees room for opportunity. The company announced this week that it is offering $520 million to buy Lineage Power Holdings, a company that sells data center and telecom power conversion gear. Lineage Power sells AC-DC converters, DC-DC converters, DC data center equipment, and other products that grab AC power from the grid and turn it into power for data centers. The company touts the energy efficiency of its products, which can purportedly cut energy loss and lower cooling costs in data centers by 50 to 70 percent. (Read Full Article)

Comment Mentions:   Cisco

Green Data Center Market to More Than Triple Over Next Five Years

Explore FastCompany.com (Aug 19 2010) Cloud Computing , Servers

Looking to get into the sustainable technology arena? Consider investing in the green data center market, which is projected to increase from $3.82 billion in the U.S. today to $13.81 billion in 2015. By the same year, energy efficient data centers will comprise 28% of the total data center market. The information comes courtesy o f Environmental Leader Insights , which in the past has also ... (Read Full Article)

Comment Mentions:   Department of Energy   EL Insights   Green Data Center Market

Cap and Trade: It's Not That Complicated

Explore FastCompany.com (Jun 18 2010) Cap and Trade , Carbon Tax , Emissions , Fossil Fuel

This post was written by Matt McDermott for Planet Greet, and a follow up to a post earlier this week on the differing impact of Cap and Trade on socio-economic classes. In practice a cap and trade program for carbon emissions is a pretty complex thing, no doubt about it. It also can seem like a pretty wonky concept for the average person to pay much attention to. If fairly recent public polls ... (Read Full Article)

Comment Mentions:   Barack Obama

Can Cloud Computing Ever Truly Be Sustainable?

Explore FastCompany.com (Oct 1 2009) Container , Cloud Computing , Servers

Data centers aren't exactly known for their sustainability--the power hogs are responsible for 1.5% of all power use in the United States. But as cloud computing, the IT golden child that uses mega-data centers to store information, becomes more popular, so do data centers. Without energy efficiency measures, data center consumption will total $7.4 billion annually by 2011 (compared to $4.5 billion today). So what can be done to save cloud computing without bleeding cash and energy? (Read Full Article)

Comment Mentions:   Google   IBM

International Hydropower Association World Congress

Explore FastCompany.com (Jun 23 2009) Hydro

Comment "Photo shows Verne Global data center campus currently under construction in Iceland." - Lisa Rhodes

Melting banks. A tumbling currency. More lousy Björk singles. Iceland's pride has taken a pummeling over the past year. But delegates at this summit will discover that the Arctic nation still has one thing to boast about: its ability to turn water into watts. Hydroelectric dams generate more than 80% of Iceland's electricity. That cheap, clean power could reenergize the economy by attracting electricity-hungry industries. Alcoa has opened a $1 billion aluminum smelter in eastern Iceland, and Microsoft and Google are reportedly considering the country as a data-center site. (Read Full Article)

1 Comment Mentions:   Iceland