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IBM Green Data CenterBoulder, COIBM opened its green data center in Boulder, Colorado in June 2008. The 115,000 square foot facility is part of IBM's largest data center campus worldwide, as well as its most efficient. The green data center is at the forefront of an industry movement toward increasing efficiency in traditionally energy-intensive data centers. According to DOE, data centers in the U.S. used 61 billion kWh of electricity in 2006, representing 1.5% of all U.S. electricity consumption, and double the amount consumed in 2000. Based on current trends, energy consumed by data centers will continue to grow by 12% per year, doubling again by 2012. Through a combination of efficiencies in building design, mechanical systems, and server technology, IBM reportedly cut nearly $1 million off its $4 million annual power bill in its first year of operation. The building itself received LEED Silver certification. Rather than build a new structure, IBM retrofitted an existing office building, reusing 98 percent of the original building's shell, recycling 65 percent of the materials from the original building, and sourcing 25 percent of newly purchased material from recycled products A significant proportion of energy used in data centers goes to cooling. The mechanical system of this facility is designed to be 40 percent more efficient than that of a typical data center, equating to a reduction of approximately 6,550 tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually. Its capacity is expandable to meet future technology requirements. When exterior temperature and humidity levels are favorable, roughly 75% of the year, the center's technology switches to free-cooling mode, utilizing a water-side economizer to dramatically reduce energy consumption. Variable-speed pumps and motors were installed in the air conditioning systems to balance the cooling capacities to the actual load, further reducing energy usage and costs. The center also uses low-sulfur fuels to reduce emissions from backup generators. The facility is partially powered by alternative energy sources, including more than one million kilowatt hours per year of wind-generated electricity purchased from the local utility. This equates to a reduction of approximately one thousand tons of carbon dioxide produced per year. In addition to the mechanical systems, IBM optimized its server technology for energy efficiency. The use of virtualization technology, for example, allows significant consolidation of servers, which in turn cuts direct energy consumption, saves floor space, and reduces the cooling load. While complete cost-benefit performance data for this facility was not provided, IBM estimates that available efficiency measures can cut energy consumption 15%-40% in most data centers, while achieving payback on investment in as little as two years. IBM invested $86 million in the facility, received a $632,000 incentive from the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, a $100,000 incentive from the City of Boulder, and additional rebates from local utility Xcel Energy. The Boulder facility is part of IBM's Project Big Green, a program in which the company has committed to invest $1 billion per year to help customers increase the energy efficiency of their data centers. |
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Southwest Energy Efficiency Project, 2260 Baseline Rd. Suite 212, Boulder, CO 80302 phone: (303) 447-0078 fax: (303) 786-8054 email: info@swenergy.org |
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