By US Department of Energy
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Recovery Act Projects to Lower
Energy Use by Data Centers and Telecommunications
Systems
WASHINGTON, DC – Energy Secretary Steven
Chu announced today that the Department of Energy 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.
The rapid growth of these industries has led to an increase in
electricity use, but improvements in the sector's energy efficiency
can provide significant energy and cost savings. The energy
efficiency projects announced today will reduce energy use and
carbon pollution, while helping to develop a strong, competitive
domestic industry.
"These Recovery Act projects will improve the efficiency of a
strong and growing sector of the American economy. By
reducing energy use and energy costs for the IT and
telecommunications industries, this funding will help create jobs
and ensure the sector remains competitive," said Secretary
Chu. "The expected growth of these industries means that new
technologies adopted today will yield benefits for many years to
come."
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is providing funding
for research, development and demonstration projects in three
subject areas. Projects may include aspects of more than one topic
area.
- 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.
Each project promises significant reductions in energy consumed
by information technology and communications systems. 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
percent 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 percent 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 percent 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. The lead
applicant is listed below. The specifics and final details for each
award will depend on contract negotiations between the grantee and
the Department of Energy.
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)
Read more information about the
grant selections.
To learn more about DOE's industrial energy efficiency efforts,
visit the Industrial
Technologies Program Web site.
SOURCE