Microsoft Data Center to be powered by Sewage Treated Biogas
Data centers have been the target of energy wastage for quite some time now. Most of the IT giants are making strong efforts in using renewable sources of energy for their data centers. Microsoft has gone a step ahead by creating a unique renewable source of energy from sewage. The Fuel Cell Energy, an U.S energy firm announced that it has collaborated with the IT giant, Microsoft for the utilization of energy created from a waste treatment facility. The biogas produced from the waste treatment facility at Wyoming will be utilized by a fuel cell, therefore providing ultra clean and carbon free
electricity to Microsoft’s data center. Early next year, the Dry Creek Water Reclamation Facility at Cheyenne, Wyoming will be deployed with Fuel Cell Energy Firm’s 200kW Direct Fuel Cell as a part of the initial phase trial. This system will then power a modular data center which resembles a standard Microsoft data center environment. The electricity which is not utilized by the data center will be recycled back to the waste treatment facility while the system will also provide usable heat to the facility. Gregg McKnight, general manager of data center advanced development, Microsoft said that the company is looking at becoming carbon neutral by 2013, and for this reason Microsoft is looking at utilizing any viable renewable energy sources. “With the demand for renewable energy resources outstripping available power supplies today, Microsoft is researching new methods to help our operations become more efficient and environmentally sustainable,” he said in a statement. “We’re excited by the potential for using stationary fuel cells to capture and recycle natural byproducts like biogas. This project
will study methods to provide an economical and reliable power supply for data centers that is also scalable and economical for use by other industries.” Data Center Talk updates its resources everyday. Visit us to know of the latest technology and standards from the data center world. Please leave your views and comments on DCT Forum
