Solar Power is Beneficial for Data Centers

Data centers use large amounts of power. Just ask any data center operator. One data center can use enough energy to power 180,000 homes.

Solar-powered data centers are a good energy solution for data centers and many ICT companies now have corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs focused specifically on reducing data centers’ carbon footprints.

All online activity – including Internet use, email, social media, and ecommerce, is delivered through nearly 3 million data centers across America, from small closets and larger server rooms, to mammoth “cloud” server farms. We’re talking about big data here, and their explosive growth is gulping huge amounts of energy.

Many Internet brands like Apple, Facebook, and Google are already using solar powered data centers. This rapid growth of digital content is making data centers one of the fastest-growing consumers of electricity in the U.S. economy, and it is a key driver in the construction of new power plants.

This is a step in the right direction since it reduces data centers’ carbon footprint, and also supports long-term investment in solar power generation. Google is currently using renewable energy to power over 35% of their operations.

Why solar power for data centers?

• Clean renewable energy
• Stable cost
• Solar is self-contained and self-managed so that means it’s not susceptible to spikes and brownouts.
• Secured capacity

Solar powered data centers require installation of photovoltaic (PV) solar panels and many data centers around the U.S. have successfully deployed and tested them.

Emerson Network Power took a forward-looking approach and invested in 100-kilowatt solar-panel array located on the data center roof of their corporate campus in St. Louis, Missouri.

Intel also installed solar panels for its data center in Rio Rancho, New Mexico.

Solar technology continues to be improved, and the overall business for solar powered data centers will strengthen more and more over time. Solar energy will undoubtedly have a central role in many data centers in years to come.

Energy experts assert that the best way to reduce data centers’ impact on the environment is to make them more efficient by incorporating best practices in their design and operations. These strategies are readily available, can be implemented now, and offer a rapid return on investment.

Every data center operator wants to be able to promote their data center as green, and many are now optimizing floor plans, insulation, cooling technologies, and their wind and solar power.

CES provides the power to supply the best service and products in today’s manufacturing market. We help you save money through energy efficiency, which is a major focus for us and for you.

CES has all the products and solutions you need for all types of applications in manufacturing facilities across the country to help with maintenance, new installations, and modernizing processes.

Learn more about the different market sectors where solar energy is used today.