The US Department of Energy announced Wednesday that it is awarding $47 million for 14 projects across the country to support the development of new technologies that can improve energy efficiency in the information technology (IT) and communication technology sectors.
The data processing, data storage, and telecommunications industries are a crucial part of the American information economy and are notorious for massive energy consumption. The energy efficiency projects announced Wednesday aim to reduce energy use and carbon pollution, while helping to develop a strong, competitive domestic industry.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is providing funding for research, development and demonstration projects in three subject areas.
- Equipment and Software – These projects will focus on the core components of a data or telecommunications center, such as servers and networking devices as well as software to optimize equipment energy use.
- Power Supply Chain – These projects will develop technologies to minimize the power loss and heat generation that occurs as electricity moves through the ever growing number of server-based IT and communications systems.
- Cooling – This effort will seek to demonstrate ways to cool the equipment used in IT and telecommunications work more effectively and with less power than current methods.
- The $47 million in federal funds for these projects will be matched by more than $70 million in private industry funding, for a total project value of more than $115 million.
One company, Power Assure, Inc., estimates its new power management software, which more efficiently regulates server energy usage by turning servers off and on when needed, could reduce energy use by 50% in data centers and large server farms.
Another company, Federspiel Controls, is developing a new dynamic cooling system that employs variable fan speeds, adjustable air inlets and wireless temperature sensors to continually monitor and adjust temperatures. The company estimates conventional static cooling systems now typically consume 25% of the energy used in a data center.
Information technology and telecommunications facilities account for approximately 120 billion kilowatt hours of electricity annually–or 3% of all U.S. electricity use. Moreover, rapid growth in the U.S. data center industry is projected to require two new large power plants per year just to keep pace with the expected demand growth. Without gains in efficiency, the industry would face increasing costs and greenhouse gas emissions, along with challenges to the reliability of the electricity service.
The below projects have been selected for awards.
Equipment & Software Projects
IBM T.J. Watson Research Center ($1.6 million)
SeaMicro Inc. ($9.3 million)
Alcatel-Lucent, Bell Labs ($300,000)
California Institute of Technology ($300,000
Power Supply Chain Projects
Lineage Power Corporation ($2.4 million)
BAE Systems ($222,000)
Power Assure, Inc. ($5 million)
Hewlett-Packard Company ($7.4 million)
Columbia University ($2.8 million)
Cooling
IBM T.J. Watson Research Center ($2.3 million)
Federspiel Controls, Inc. ($584,000)
Yahoo! Inc. ($9.9 million)
Alcatel-Lucent ($1.8 million)
Edison Materials Technology Center ($2.8 million)
A pdf containing more specific information about each project is available at the link below.
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