Sep 10 2008

Ahoy! Data Centers at Sea

I recently read on Peak Energy that Google is rumored to be exploring computing at sea, using wave power. I always thought water and electricity were a bad mix, but Google sees a match made in data center heaven.

According to Big Gav, Google engineers calculate that an array of pontoons, with pumps to convert wave motion into electricity, spread over a square kilometer could produce 30 megawatts of electricity, enough to operate a single floating data center. To give you a sense, 1 megawatt of electricity powers roughly 750 homes for a year -- that is a lot of energy. I wonder what effects this could have on the temperature of the ocean if we shipped all our data centers out to sea?

Also envisioned is equipment to use the direct current electricity to run DC-capable computers, which some people consider more energy-efficient than using alternating current. Now that could be something land lubbers could get behind as well.

Posted by: Katie Romans | Comments (0) digg delicioussend to a friendprint entry

 

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  • This is being rather generous to Lutz. 1. The "Volt", in no small part, will be targeted as a product to people who care about energy and environmental issues. These people don't embrace Lutz' antideluvian concepts of rejecting science. How responsible is it for a GM executive to be rejecting the science? 2. As well, Lutz didn't exactly sound too enthusiastic about the Volt itself. 3. And, GM public communications has 'defended' Lutz in rather absurd ways. -A Siegel
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  • This article is right on - small businesses have a huge role to play in sustainability. Not only do they add up in aggregate, but many small businesses operate in industries that can have a significant environmental impact depending on the exact practices, like dry cleaners, auto repair shops, etc. Green is also starting to affect the bottom line more and more, customers are increasingly voting with their feet for more sustainable businesses as can be seen from the growth of sites like http://www.ecovian.com. This is also a huge opportunity for small businesses to leapfrog their bigger brothers by being more agile in adopting these measures. -Emily
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  • Great entry, Katie. Love the level of detail you managed to get in there! Probably won't be able to compete with coal and oil any time the next decade, but definitely a great technology to look into! Keep it up :) -Rune (Norway)
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