Researches propose using alternative energy sources to power data centers
A team of Hewlett-Packard scientists have proposed system for power supply that would convert livestock waste into methane. Methane would be then used as fuel to generate electricity for data centers, and heat produced by the server computers would be used to assist the process of converting the animal waste into fuel (required substrate temperature is between 25 and 37 ° C). Chandrakant Patel, a scientist at HP Labs, says that the ancient practice of burning manure for energy can be updated with described technology.
HP Labs group, among other, works on reducing the environmental impact of the modern tech infrastructure. After coming up with several advances to reduce the energy demand of large computer systems, they began looking at alternative sources of power for data centers. They propose converting the waste into methane gas through a biological process called anaerobic digestion, which is more efficient than simply burning the manure. The produced methane would then be used as fuel in generators to create power. The researchers estimated that they need about 10,000 cows to power a 1-megawatt data center. Patel says that, with today's high-speed networks, it's possible to build computer centers near farms in rural areas. He also sees big potential for using biogas power in developing nations, where electricity is expensive.
HP firm has no immediate plans to build a dung-powered data center but it says that this technology is one of possible ways for improving energy efficiency in IT industry. Modern data centers require vast amounts of electricity, to power their high-tech components and to run air conditioners. Some big tech companies, including Google and Microsoft, have built large data centers in the Pacific Northwest, where power from hydroelectric dams is less pricey. But ideally a data center should be able to tap multiple energy sources (such as solar or biogas). For more information users can read original news at MercuryNews web site.