http://www.datacenterdynamics.com/ME2/Console/XmlSyndication/Display/RSS.asp?xsid=7D3EC96A954D4E9BA7B8C66B09AEA573 Stephen Worn's blog http://www.datacenterdynamics.com/ME2/Audiences/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&AudID=E5BD2FF22AF74DF3A0D5F4E519A61511&type=Blog&mod=View+Topic&mid=67D6564029914AD3B204AD35D8F5F780&tier=7&id=D8E13E161104422986EC459E1C15337B As CTO of DatacenterDynamics I was invited to join the esteemed panel of judges for this year’s Datacentre Leaders’ Awards – predominantly UK and European in reach. I wasn’t the only one surprised by the volume and quality of entries – Zahl Limbuwala the Chief Judge really had his work cut out. The judging pack that contained them all can only be described as encyclopedic – a real pain to carry around, but what a rewarding experience to read through! I am based in the US most of the time, and got to read in some depth about data centre projects and individuals from right the way across Europe – what a treat for an engineer. I was thrilled to read about the unique approaches to the challenges that face the whole industry. Here are some of my highlights: The winner of The Future Thinking and Design Concepts Award, Infinity ONE, used ‘poop power’ as a secondary energy source (they called it 'dark green' energy?), highlighting the ability to harness resources from the strangest of places with a bit of lateral thinking. Tom Kingman of Red Engineering won the coveted award of Young Mission Critical Engineer, and demonstrated at the tender age of 24 the type of passion for an industry that will propel us forward – the other 3 finalists were equally deserving of this credit, but there has to be a winner. Here’s one for the books, Telecity France that won the Wild Card award, is heating a green house with its exhaust, that is being used to grow trees from around the world in a bid to see how global warming may affect forestation – that’s a cool link between technology and the environment! And this year Morgan Stanley scored a hat-trick, winning its third award in 3 years, this time for The Most Improved Data centre Efficiency Award, sponsored by the Green Grid. Just goes to show that banks aren’t all bad. But the icing on the cake for me, was the decision to give the award for Outstanding Contribution to the Industry to Dr. Roger Schmidt, an internationally recognised expert in thermal engineering, with a career spanning over 30 years, more than a string of patents, but more importantly someone that has always given to the industry regardless of personal reward, and a great friend. Look out for a special supplement in the February edition of DCDFocus on the Datacentre Leadership Awards that will look in detail at the winning projects and people. Congratulations to everyone involved! And Merry Christmas. Thu, 17 Dec 2009 00:00:00 EST D8E13E161104422986EC459E1C15337B
The winner of The Future Thinking and Design Concepts Award, Infinity ONE, used ‘poop power’ as a secondary energy source (they called it 'dark green' energy?), highlighting the ability to harness resources from the strangest of places with a bit of lateral thinking. Tom Kingman of Red Engineering won the coveted award of Young Mission Critical Engineer, and demonstrated at the tender age of 24 the type of passion for an industry that will propel us forward – the other 3 finalists were equally deserving of this credit, but there has to be a winner. Here’s one for the books, Telecity France that won the Wild Card award, is heating a green house with its exhaust, that is being used to grow trees from around the world in a bid to see how global warming may affect forestation – that’s a cool link between technology and the environment! And this year Morgan Stanley scored a hat-trick, winning its third award in 3 years, this time for The Most Improved Data centre Efficiency Award, sponsored by the Green Grid. Just goes to show that banks aren’t all bad.

But the icing on the cake for me, was the decision to give the award for Outstanding Contribution to the Industry to Dr. Roger Schmidt, an internationally recognised expert in thermal engineering, with a career spanning over 30 years, more than a string of patents, but more importantly someone that has always given to the industry regardless of personal reward, and a great friend.

Look out for a special supplement in the February edition of DCDFocus on the Datacentre Leadership Awards that will look in detail at the winning projects and people.

Congratulations to everyone involved! And Merry Christmas.]]> http://www.datacenterdynamics.com/ME2/Audiences/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&AudID=E5BD2FF22AF74DF3A0D5F4E519A61511&type=Blog&mod=View+Topic&mid=67D6564029914AD3B204AD35D8F5F780&tier=7&id=89EC45C9DBB443D09C95E8AC540FE386 As December’s Copenhagen summit on climate change draws near, I wondered who was sitting at the table for the data centre and IT infrastructure industry? I recently sat in on a New York State Energy Efficiency meeting and was pleased to see our industry represented, and at the table. Then I see us on the Menu again, a just released U.S. Treasury report puts the actual nationwide cost of our possible U.S. cap-and-trade (allowances) at some $200 billion a year. Far higher than originally proposed, and a cost we will have to pay. Energy costs may be low now here in New York, but our own Indian Head Nuclear Plant is heading for closure. We’ve said it all year at DCD, you can bank on CIOs receiving itemized energy bills from their CFOs. Back on the Menu. The good news is that here in the U.S. we can all call our facilities ‘Server Farms’ and take the Agriculture Carbon Tax Exemption. Or move to a nuclear powered country. ‘Move your data centre to France’ stated André Rouyer for APC at our Paris Conference, ‘our nuclear power is low carbon and no tax.’ He was right. France generates 80% of its electricity from almost carbon-free nuclear power, and it is NOT to be carbon taxed. President Sarkozy will be submitting his carbon tax after Copenhagen, and he has set a rate of €17($25) per tonne of carbon dioxide emissions. That is just petrol, gas and coal, nuclear is exempt. Sweden by the way levies a carbon tax at €108 per tone of CO2, over six times the French rate, so that’s a reminder on Sweden. That up from €26 per tonne when it started back it’s 1991. Death and taxes...... Now back to being at the Table in New York. Great to see basic supply discussed besides just conservation. New York is not alone in an energy crunch, and we pity the UK which has a much bigger problem coming. Our own Indian Point’s 2000 Megawatts of clean Nuclear electricity account for as much as 40 percent of the greater NYC energy supply, and it could be closed. Not good. At least the Teamsters Joint Council 16 are supporting the relicensing of Indian Point, and we need many more voices at the table. Fri, 09 Oct 2009 00:00:00 EST 89EC45C9DBB443D09C95E8AC540FE386 http://www.datacenterdynamics.com/ME2/Audiences/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&AudID=E5BD2FF22AF74DF3A0D5F4E519A61511&type=Blog&mod=View+Topic&mid=67D6564029914AD3B204AD35D8F5F780&tier=7&id=35201770DC344CBE9CC0E171C9E35AEA Excuse my break from blogging; I am sure you’ve noticed all the Changes at DCD: from expanding our global conference locations, building the premier Knowledge and News Portal, making our extensive Research and Analysis available, as well as launching our CDCDP Training Services. This has also been quite the Summer of Change in the industry with me taking a back seat in the punditry for a while: from mergers and acquisitions that have reshaped the competitive landscape, the launch of many new disruptive technologies and architectures, the ongoing hangover of the economic challenges along with folks waiting for the other shoe to drop, the ongoing data centre design schism debate, the loss of so many jobs and quite a few of our friends changing chairs. Then again, the more things change, the more they stay the same; I’ll let Yogi Berra say it again - ‘ This is like deja vu all over again.’ Mon, 28 Sep 2009 00:00:00 EST 35201770DC344CBE9CC0E171C9E35AEA http://www.datacenterdynamics.com/ME2/Audiences/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&AudID=E5BD2FF22AF74DF3A0D5F4E519A61511&type=Blog&mod=View+Topic&mid=67D6564029914AD3B204AD35D8F5F780&tier=7&id=26AA2D9A4D7F43ED93843B7F034CB0A9 ‘Water, water, everywhere, and all the boards did shrink; water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink.’ These famous lines from the poem published by Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1798 relate the story of an old sailor surrounded by sea yet still crazy for thirst. Book-ended by oceans and boasting the largest fresh water lakes, the United States still faces critical water shortages, and our data center facilities may start to go thirsty. Water, and how we use it, is fast becoming our new front line in data center resource efficiency and conservation. According to the US EPA, at least 39 states expect water shortfalls by 2013; Lake Mead in Nevada, is at its lowest point since 1998 and is 118 feet below maximum fill; meanwhile Alabama, George and Florida are battling over Lake Lanier. Forty percent of all fresh water usage in America goes to power plants, so conserving energy equals conserving water. Data centers and the associated power plants and chiller systems are large users of water. Here in New York City, the NYC Water Board (no pun intended) seems certain to approve a 14% rate increase for water by the NYC Department of Environmental Protection, and another 12% is forecasted in 2010, this would make the fourth double-digit increase since 2007 - and other water districts are doing the same. Operating a data center in NYC is about to get more expensive, so get ready. We heard the numbers before, a 10-megawatt data center can use up to 150,000 gallons of water a day – for cooling. Then, that same 10MW requires over 450,000 gallons of water for electricity production. That a lot of water, and it’s about to become expensive – the new Green is Blue. So what’s the answer? Recycled or “grey” water? Basins and ponds? Blowdown reclamation systems for cooling towers? Well drilling? Water-side Economizers? The industry is going to need some innovative solutions to take us to the next level of water resource management. Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:00:00 EST 26AA2D9A4D7F43ED93843B7F034CB0A9 http://www.datacenterdynamics.com/ME2/Audiences/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&AudID=E5BD2FF22AF74DF3A0D5F4E519A61511&type=Blog&mod=View+Topic&mid=67D6564029914AD3B204AD35D8F5F780&tier=7&id=EE69FAB0DCB94F3A93EAD7AA77B442C5 According to ConEdison this week, electric bills will drop at least 7% this summer, this in spite of a 6.1% rate hike that took effect 2 weeks ago here in NYC. That’s because while ConEd charges for delivering the juice, it doesn’t mark up the cost of the juice itself; but the cost of the juice is rising again. Yes, generating electricity has gotten cheaper, probably the biggest economic boost to our industry during these challenging economic times, but the days of cheap juice look to be ending. Case in point, the price of crude is on the rise after rebounding from being down more than 50%, and natural gas prices are moving up from being down 75% from their high last year. Although many data center operators see the wholesale cost down to where it was 10 years ago, it is rising again and new regulations are coming fast too; Carbon Tax anyone? Data center operators are coming under greater scrutiny and recent data points to energy use among the top tier of data centers accelerated in 2006-2007, rising at a 24 percent annual growth rate. By that estimate, 10 new coal-fired or nuclear power plants will be needed by 2010 and 20 more by 2015 for our industry alone. One of the centerpieces of President elect Obama's energy plan is a cap-and-trade program designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80% by 2050, New York State has their own GHG plan for a 15% reduction by 2015. That means that enterprises and their datacenters will eventually have a cap put on the amount of greenhouse gases they emit, and would have to pay if they wanted to exceed those emissions. Let’s hope for a mild summer, Con Ed is forecasting peak demand of 13,750 megawatts on this summer’s hottest days, up only 50 megawatts from last summer. Some say this is just another sign of slowing demand growth due to the continuing recession, I say it’s proof enterprises and data centers are getting a handle on our energy use. Thu, 14 May 2009 00:00:00 EST EE69FAB0DCB94F3A93EAD7AA77B442C5 http://www.datacenterdynamics.com/ME2/Audiences/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&AudID=E5BD2FF22AF74DF3A0D5F4E519A61511&type=Blog&mod=View+Topic&mid=67D6564029914AD3B204AD35D8F5F780&tier=7&id=BB4BA2D314FE48578D8F06032F01DB7D April 15th - Tax Day in the US. Well, thanks to the country’s mission critical IT infrastructure and data centers over 90 million of us this year will have E-Filed our taxes (up from 30 million in 2002. That’s a lot of saved trees, but a lot more servers needing space, power and cooling. The good news is that at least my tax dollars are going to my own industry in the form of utility incentives and energy programs. New York State and the Utilities are putting our good tax money to use through their Energy Smart Focus Programs; ConEd and O&R have their own separate energy programs with funding. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) held their 1st Stakeholders meeting on RFP 1263 at the UTI’s Research Symposium in New York today, Tax Day. After NYSERDA’s announcement of the EEPS at our 7th NYC March event, they introduced the NYSERDA Team and the 6 million dollar opportunity for industrial and data center facilities - and that’s just a down payment on their initiatives and nothing to sneeze at. I’ll not go through the dollar breakdown, needless to say that EEPS has brought together a lot more opportunities for our industry to get a helping hand and some of our tax dollars back. One topic that needs to be discussed in greater detail is the ‘Coming of Carbon Cap and Trade’ which is a major focus area for our upcoming events. Sorry, it’s already here. The New York Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) took effect January 1st and aims to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide from electric power generating facilities; and the utilities are looking at data centers. The UK Carbon Cap and Trade Program Filing is coming up, wonder if they can E-File to save trees? ‘15 by 2015’ is another goal here in New York State, and has as its goal by 2015 to reduce power demand 15 percent from forecasted levels, and now the Obama Administration is talking an 80% reduction in GHG by 2050. The great news is that at least New York is eliminating a key conservation disincentive by decoupling utility profits from the amount of energy being consumed, and strengthening efficiency standards and benchmarks for buildings. Finally, can we have some sanity in the renewable energy discussion? Here I sit on an overcast rainy day in New York, and no one is talking in our industry about the Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard, whereby 25 percent of the New York’s electricity is to be supplied from renewable energy sources by 2013. That’s 4 years away. Fuggedaboutit!  Thu, 16 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EST BB4BA2D314FE48578D8F06032F01DB7D http://www.datacenterdynamics.com/ME2/Audiences/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&AudID=E5BD2FF22AF74DF3A0D5F4E519A61511&type=Blog&mod=View+Topic&mid=67D6564029914AD3B204AD35D8F5F780&tier=7&id=B565B62165B048929C5855AF635AF6F9 Google has proved Victor Hugo correct, 'Necessity is the Mother of Invention' - and there are no Fools at Google, despite choosing 1st April as the date for the long awaited data center unveiling. The innovation of their integrating a sustainability focused lifecycle management into the designs of chip to container is a great example of simplicity as art in engineering. Proof begins with the utilization/metrics, and Google has a handle on their IT Econometrics and infrastructure. This capability takes them from the chip up through the energy efficient Google-designed Gigabyte built 2U servers (oh so easy to do MACs). The server has a power supply design that only supplies 12-volt power with 2 conversions, this runs much closer to rated capacity – and that means higher efficiency. They follow the power loss too....that per-server 12V battery system is an elegant solution that every good industrial engineer would know instantly. By shifting the UPS to the server, it provides continuous power, lower costs and eliminates waste with efficiency raised to over 99.9%. I’m a fan of modular facilities and construction, try building a manufacturing plant bolt-by-bolt. Modular data centers have been around for some time and they can be a great solution for specific requirements. Since 2005 Google has been building with standard shipping containers, follow the math: each with 1,160 servers and 250 kilowatts. You try opening that many boxes onsite - Microsoft saw the light too. Bravo to Google’s Water Resources Management work, incredible. Over 2 years ago the Sierra Club’s Carl Zichella reminded us all of the criticality of water, especially in the Western United States. The first look at Google’s Waterless DC Plant in Belgium was of intense interest and something our California and Netherland/BeneLux DCD Communities will be interested in. Thanks for the laughs throughout the day, especially the ‘Oil Cooled' data center tanker concept, hilarious! I'll bring my fishing rod when you set sail. Maybe Google should be making a submission to our 2009 Data Center Awards. I hope they do! http://www.datacenterdynamics.com/awards Tue, 07 Apr 2009 00:00:00 EST B565B62165B048929C5855AF635AF6F9
Bravo to Google’s Water Resources Management work, incredible. Over 2 years ago the Sierra Club’s Carl Zichella reminded us all of the criticality of water, especially in the Western United States. The first look at Google’s Waterless DC Plant in Belgium was of intense interest and something our California and Netherland/BeneLux DCD Communities will be interested in. Thanks for the laughs throughout the day, especially the ‘Oil Cooled' data center tanker concept, hilarious! I'll bring my fishing rod when you set sail.

Maybe Google should be making a submission to our 2009 Data Center Awards. I hope they do!
http://www.datacenterdynamics.com/awards]]>