The mere presence of LBNL's own Steven Chu in the Energy department brings hope of a greener future for Internet; data centers and computer facilities.
The data center market, including a growing web hosting industry, is predicted to dominate electricity consumption in the U.S in years to come. Mark Mills and Peter Huber suggest in a widely cited article that Internet will increase to consume, from a mere 8 % in1998, 30-50% of U.S electricity by 2010 or 2020.
In response to these figures, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in 2007/2008 tested the efficiency of a new datacenter powering using direct current power rather than standard AC powering. The Demonstration Project of DC (direct current) powering was tested on 20 companies and their equipment, e.g. Sun Microsystems. Results lead to the conclusion that DC powering not only can cut datacenter energy-costs but also decrease energy consumption with up to 20 % compared to standard AC powering. Read the final report.
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory were hence able to successfully develop a more energy-efficient and alternative power solution, configurable to existing data centers, and to boldly conclude; with the potential of becoming a major contributor to a greener data center market.
Regardless, the questions remain; will data center/Internet energy-efficiency be of focus for Obama's energy and environment team? Is the new Energy secretary Steven Chu, with regards to his background in alternative energy research at LBNL, to work towards a greener World Wide Web?
"I think data center initiatives underway at the Federal level will be supported by Dr.Chu (of course there will be a lot of competing priorities)."
In an email correspondence with William Tschudi, project manager of DC Power for Data Center Efficiency at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Web Hosting Search editor Brian Franklin asked if Chu has had any involvement in the DC Power for Data Centers Project?
Tshudi replied: "No. Dr. Chu had no direct involvement with our DC powering project however we have had many meetings with him as we were planning a new supercomputer facility here. He is very knowledgeable in efficiency issues in data centers. I think data center initiatives underway at the Federal level will be supported by Chu (of course there will be a lot of competing priorities)."
Moreover, LA Times states in the editorial "Obama's Green Team" regarding Steven Chu's role as Secretary of Energy:
"Though the job mostly entails overseeing nuclear waste and weapons, he also will direct government research into alternative energy and be in charge of upgrading the electricity grid to handle new power sources."
Chances are that data centers and Internet related markets will be the dominating force in U.S energy consumption before President Elect Barack Obama's first term is over. Steven Chu knows this, as he is confirmed to be "very knowledgeable in efficiency issues in data centers" by LBNL colleagues. So the final question taunts us:
Is the nomination of Steven Chu for Secretary of Energy an indication of a data center powering reform to come?
