Thanks to some sleuthing by a reporter at the Charlotte Observer, we now know how Apple plans to make its massive, billion-dollar data center in Maiden, North Carolina greener. While some vital specifics concerning the new solar farm are still shrouded in mystery, engineering plans (called Project Dolphin Solar Farm A Expanded) call for a […]
Archives for October 2011
Facebook bets on cool, renewables for Swedish data center
Pictured: Lulea mayor Karl Petersen (left) and Facebook’s Director of Site Operations, Tom Furlong – Image Credit: Lulea data center Facebook page Facebook is poised to take free cooling and clean energy to new heights. Up into the Arctic Circle, in fact. The social networking behemoth announced today that it was siting its first data center outside […]
Calxeda to mainstream ARM servers with HP partnership
Things are getting exciting on the computer server front. For a couple of years, an Austin, Texas-based startup called Calxeda (formerly Smooth-Stone) has been making the case for energy efficient servers using ARM processors — that currently dominate the smartphone and tablet markets — as it prepared to commercialize its tech. Now it looks like […]
Nest: The iPod of smart thermostats
What does a former Apple exec that’s responsible for the iconic iPod do when the thermostats on the market are too lame for his new green home? He brings design and software savvy to bear on the problem. The result is the puck-like Nest, from Tony Fadell’s startup of the same name. It’s a learning, connected thermostat […]
Video: ecoATM in action
Sure, you can go to Gazelle.com and get cash for your old electronics, but some folks want instant gratification. For instance, the kind of people that use their local Redbox instead of queuing up a DVD on Netflix. Enter ecoATM, a startup that makes the automated “eCycling” system of the same name. Since it’s in […]
Raytheon saves 30 percent in IT energy costs by raising temps
Today’s impressive statistic comes courtesy of this Computerworld article that explores how the defense contractor is cutting energy costs, to the tune of “$23 million in annual savings” in 2010 with a host of energy efficient IT strategies. One of the ways the IT sustainability pros at Raytheon are achieving this is by taking a […]
Today’s 10: AOL goes ‘unmanned’ for new data center
Some data center doings in today’s roundup. AOL flips the switch on its “lights out” data center; SmartCube emerges as a low-cost container player in its native Brazil; and is virtualization hamstrung by storage infrastructures? Also, Tesla makes Panasonic the official supplier of batteries for its Model S and GM bets big on recycling. AOL […]
Smart glass costs set to drop
At $50 to $100 per square foot, smart glass — glass that reacts to a brief charge to change color — is too big of a budget-buster for most home and business owners. For now, one of the most common uses of this technology called thermally insulating fenestration are used in auto-dimming mirrors in high-end […]
NVIDIA GPUs, AMD CPUs for faster supercomputer at Oak Ridge
The Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Jaguar supercomputer is undergoing a $97 million upgrade that will not only result in a name change — soon to be known as “Titan” — but also stands a good chance of ruling the Top500 list of supercomputers when it’s complete in 2012. If and when that occurs, they’ll have graphics […]
BrightFarms: Fresher, greener food is as close as your rooftop
BrightFarms CEO, Paul Lightfoot , has a new twist on the green roof theme. His startup plans to drastically reduce the time it takes to get vegetables and other produce from the farm to your grocers’ shelves — and improve the environment — by growing them on their rooftops. The eco-goodness doesn’t end at shorter […]
