TierPoint, a provider of colocation and telecom services, is gearing up for a new $8.2 million data center build in Spokane, Wash. One of the hallmarks of the project will be low-power geothermal cooling.

According to Greg Zemp, a TierPoint partner, utilizing this unconventional method of lowering IT hardware temps not only reduces energy costs and carbon emissions, it’s a more sustainable method of using the region’s fresh water supply. He states:

“TierPoint determined that a traditional chiller cooling system would use approximately six million gallons of water each year. Four and a half million gallons of that water would be lost to evaporation, and another one and a half million gallons would be returned to the water treatment system polluted with biocides. TierPoint’s geothermal cooling system is non-consumptive, which means zero gallons will be evaporated or in need of treatment. It is anticipated that the energy saved would power seventy residential houses per year.”

Flywheels: The Green UPS

Another of the facility’s green attributes will be a flywheel-based uninterruptible power supply. Instead of chemical-laden batteries, flywheel systems use inertia to keep the lights on for a short while, buying data centers time for the power to be restored in the case of a momentary blackout or for emergency generators to kick in. The technology has already been deployed in its other sites, according to the company.

TierPoint 3 is scheduled to open its doors in April 2011.