How Can We Guarantee Fossil Fuels Aren’t Proliferating to Retailer Our Cat Movies?

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There’s a rising concern in regards to the power use in knowledge facilities. Information facilities are successfully that — a central location the place our knowledge is saved, and bounced out and in to stream no matter it’s the finish consumer hundreds of miles away is requesting on the web, whether or not it’s a CleanTechnica article, CleanTechnica YouTube video, CleanTech Speak podcast … or … one thing else? Why, I don’t know, however folks do devour different media apart from ours. Shrug … some persons are bizarre.

All kidding apart, although, it’s an enormous problem. Mixed with cryptocurrency mining operations, knowledge facilities draw a ridiculous quantity of power. Simply to present an instance, in line with the Electrical Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), these “giant versatile load” use factors will draw 54 billion (with a b) kWh in 2025, up nearly 60% from 2024. Texas is only a microcosm of what’s happening world wide, as our knowledge utilization will simply proceed to develop.

That’s the dangerous information. The excellent news is that these facilities may be co-located in locations with giant quantities of renewable power (locations the place land is affordable, wind is howling, geothermal exercise is excessive, and/or the solar is shining more often than not), as a result of it doesn’t matter as a lot the place they’re, because of the miracle of how briskly knowledge can fly over the web.

The information within the center, although, is that there’s a ton of labor that also must be finished to guarantee that these knowledge facilities are literally powered by renewables. If not, they may have a makeshift energy system powered by fossils, similar to industrial turbines.

CleanTechnica’s upcoming webinar on October 22 will handle this vital problem, and the way we discover that center path to make sure that all of your cat movies are, in truth, powered by clear power. This webinar is produced in partnership with LandGate, a renewable power facilitator that helps property house owners join with renewable power builders and provides all of them the instruments they should get initiatives finished and extra clear power on the grid.

Join right here to be taught extra!

This text was sponsored by LandGate.