Green Computing – Business migration to Data Centers and the Cloud

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>With the cloud computing scenario, time and power savings mean everything, in these huge scales, running hardly used servers is effectively throwing money away as well as annoying the environmentalists. In this scenario resource scheduling becomes amazingly effective. so we go back to our 5:30pm shutdown, but on this occassion the technology hosting the Virtual infrastructure kicks in, instead of sitting there half used, it will begin to migrate VM’s that no longer require resources to the same host, so although as a whole they may be using quite a lot of resource, it will enable hosts to be powered down and be sat in a ‘power saving’ state awaiting resources requirements to increase and as such power up from their slumber. Again, getting to the scale of this, you could effectively save power on as an example, 100 hosts – these hosts being the beefiest and most cutting edge servers available, are going to have requirements for a large amount of power, effectively turning these off when not used, is a god send to the idea of cloud computing. Why leave the light on in the attic if you have no intention of going there?

So that is effectively how these datacentres work from a green perspective, but from the company utilising this infrastructure, what do they save?

  • Downsize or offset office space.
  • Downsize onsite infrastructure requirements.
  • Expand the ability for users to work remotely (or globally dependent on your requirements)
  • Support the mobile workforce.
  • Reduce consumables use (printing, ink, paper, file storage costs).
  • Reduce hardware (desktop computers/server systems/UPS’s/cabling)


Green Computing – Office365 #greencomputing.

Community Energy Storage Project Stalls

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Two years ago, AEP Ohio kicked off one of the largest community energy storage projects in the nation, funded in part by the U.S. Department of Energy. The pilot, however, did not go very far.

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

>AEP and S&C, which was the vendor for the pilot, declined to speak specifically about the project and the shortcomings of the batteries, although the two will continue to work together on a much smaller scale.

Small scale is exactly where community energy storage is at. It’s not only the scale of the batteries that are small (compared to megawatt, grid-level storage), but also the scale of utility uptake. “We haven’t seen any mass deployment,” said Mike Edmonds, vice president of strategic solutions for S&C. “It’s a very young market.” Instead, utilities are dipping their toes in the water by testing just a few units.<

See on theenergycollective.com

Congress and Light Bulb Regulation | The Energy Collective

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Light bulbs, as you may recall, have become a perennial excuse for certain federal legislators to whip up the conservative base, by railing again new federal energy efficiency standards.

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

Relamping projects have been an easy way to score energy efficiency gains in buildings since the 1990’s.  Inefficient incandescent light bulbs have given way to fluorescent tubes, compact fluorescent and now LED technology.

Within these stages of development each form of lighting have seen their own evolution.  The driving forces for these increases in lighting efficiency are economic starting back with the 1970’s energy crunch.

Taken from a blog on CFL development & history:

“In 1973-74 the oil crisis took place and lamp companies needed to reduce wattage in their linear (tube) lamps to compensate. Many people had four bulb fixtures and were removing two bulbs, to save energy, therefore dropping sales by half. This forced lamp companies to create energy efficient solution.

Ed worked on creating lamp with reduced wattage by adding krypton and a conductive tin coating inside. This helped lower the wattage from 40 to 35 watts but he wanted to get down to 30 watts. He continued to work and finally the wattage went from 35 to 34 and eventually 32 watts!”
http://bit.ly/149GANs

See on theenergycollective.com

It’s Time Our Policies Reflect The Fact That Energy And Water Are Fundamentally Intertwined

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For a long time, we’ve overlooked the inextricable relationship between water and energy use.  Coal, nuclear and natural gas plants use enormous amounts of steam to create electricity.  Producing all of that steam requires 190,000 million gallons of water per day, or 39% of all freshwater withdrawals in the nation.

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

>The longstanding division between energy and water considerations is particularly evident in the case of energy and water management.  These resources are fundamentally intertwined: Energy is used to secure, deliver, treat and distribute water, while water is used (and often degraded) to develop, process and deliver energy.

Despite the inherent connection between the two sectors, energy and water planners routinely make decisions that impact one another without adequately understanding the scientific or policy complexities of the other sector.  This miscommunication often hides joint opportunities for conservation to the detriment of budgets, efficiency, the environment and public health, and inhibits both sectors from fully accounting for the financial, environmental or social effects they have on each other.

This lack of collaboration between energy and water planners is especially dire considering Texas is in midst of an energy shortage that is exacerbated by the multi-year drought.  Without adequate planning, we could someday have to choose between keeping our lights on and turning on the faucet.<

See on blogs.edf.org

Climate Change Will Cause More Energy Breakdowns, U.S. Warns

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The national power supply is increasingly vulnerable to severe weather, according to a new Department of Energy study.

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

>The effects are already being felt, the report says. Power plants are shutting down or reducing output because of a shortage of cooling water. Barges carrying coal and oil are being delayed by low water levels in major waterways. Floods and storm surges are inundating ports, refineries, pipelines and rail yards. Powerful windstorms and raging wildfires are felling transformers and transmission lines.

“We don’t have a robust energy system, and the costs are significant,” said Jonathan Pershing, the deputy assistant secretary of energy for climate change policy and technology, who oversaw production of the report. “The cost today is measured in the billions. Over the coming decades, it will be in the trillions. You can’t just put your head in the sand anymore.”<

See on www.nytimes.com

UK Energy Efficiency Requirements and Business

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Proposals for an Energy Savings Opportunity Schemes have been published by the UK Government that will make it compulsory for large companies to undertake energy audits.

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

>An ESOS assessment would undertake a review of the total energy use and energy efficiency of the organisation, including the measurement of an energy intensity ratio (e.g. energy use per employee or per unit of output) and, as appropriate, considering the variation in energy use over time within key buildings, key industrial operations, and key transport activities (exempting de minimis energy use).

The review would need to be proportionate and sufficiently representative “to permit the drawing of a reliable picture of overall energy performance” of the organisation and present clear information on potential savings, which identify and quantify cost-effective energy savings opportunities.

These should be, wherever practical, based on life cycle assessments (LCA) instead of simple payback periods (SPP), as the former are more realistic.

All procedures for doing this are outlined under the international standard for energy management, ISO 50001, with which all energy and facility managers are encouraged to become competent.

The Government has come under sustained criticism recently for failing to do enough to promote energy efficiency.<

See on theenergycollective.com

COGA brings state into lawsuit against Longmont ‘fracking’ ban

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The lawsuit against Longmont&#27;s ban on fracking has now roped in the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, the state&#27;s regulatory agency.

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

>Boulder County District Court Judge D.D. Mallard said she would allow the Colorado Oil and Gas Association to bring in the COGCC as an additional plaintiff, a move called “joinder.” In her ruling, Mallard said that while both parties had an interest in seeing the ban overturned, the state agency had aims that would not be adequately represented by COGA, the state’s largest oil and gas industry group.

“COGA’s interest in this case is to overturn the charter amendment so that its members can proceed with oil and gas production using fracking […]

Longmont voters passed the ban on hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” last November with about 60 percent in favor. Supporters of the ban say the practice can lead to environmental damage; opponents say the practice is so well-established that a ban on fracking is practically a ban on drilling, and that only the state has the authority to regulate the methods used.<

See on www.timescall.com

Duke U Study Links Hydraulic Fracturing to Ground Water Contamination

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The debate about whether or not fracking can contaminate ground water supplies has been raging for a while now, and a new study by Duke University has found proof …

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

>But let us allow Jacksona et. al. to speak for themselves, from the report: “We analyzed 141 drinking waterwells across the Appalachian Plateaus physiographic province of northeastern Pennsylvania, examining natural gas concentrations and isotopic signatures with proximity to shale gas wells. Methane was detected in 82% of drinking water samples, with average concentrations six times higher for homes” less than one kilometer from the fracked natural gas wells. […]

“They found that, on average, methane concentrations were six times higher and ethane concentrations were 23 times higher at homes within a kilometer of a shale gas well.  Propane was detected in 10 samples, all of them from homes within a kilometer of drilling. […]

The ethane and propane data are “particularly interesting,” he noted, “since there is no biological source of ethane and propane in the region […]<

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Fracking ban halts first shale gas project in Spain

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A ban on fracking in a northern region of Spain has crimped Repsol SA’s plans to begin drilling for shale gas in the north of Spain.

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

>Spain’s richest shale gas reserves have been determined to exist in the northern region of Cantabria, but back in April the local Cantabrian government  implemented the country’s first fracking ban, worried that such activities may pollute the local sources of drinking water. (Related article: Duke University Study Links Fracking to Ground Water Contamination) […]

Repsol had planned to begin seismic studies, with a view to drilling, in July, but the Cantabrian fracking ban, which prevents all hydraulic fracturing activities within the region’s borders, has put a hold on plans. In truth, it is not fully understood how the ban will affect Repsol, whose Luena project covers 290 square miles, and stretches from Cantabria down to Castille & Leon. Normally when a project extends across two regions or more it is regulated by the national Industry Ministry, not local governments. <

See on www.csmonitor.com

Cambridge Plans Massive Energy Efficiency Retrofit

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This medieval English city is investing $1.5 billion for energy upgrades for the entire city.

Duane Tilden‘s insight:

>It’s one thing to build super-energy-efficient new homes and offices – it’s another matter entirely to bring ancient buildings up to par. But the medieval university city of Cambridge, England, plans to do just that with a $1.5 billion retrofit program.

The newly launched Cambridge Retrofit Project aims to reduce carbon emissions from buildings 30% before 2050 through a massive, city-wide retrofit scheme.  […]

While the primary goal is reduced energy consumption and carbon emissions, the program also aims to build up local businesses, create warmer homes and increase the value of properties.

Energy savings alone are expected to be worth $2.3 billion and the city’s carbon footprint, currently 830,000 tons a year, is expected to fall 1% a year, eventually reaching 500,000 tons a year as a result of the retrofit program.<

See on www.sustainablebusiness.com