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Enterprise Server and Data Center Energy Efficiency Initiatives

EPA is working with interested parties to identify ways in which energy efficiency can be measured, documented, and implemented in data centers and the equipment they house, especially servers. Provided below are EPA's current initiatives in this area

National Data Center Energy Efficiency Information Program

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) have initiated a joint national data center energy efficiency information program. The program coordinates a wide variety of activities from the DOE Industrial Technologies Program Save Energy Now initiative, the DOE Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP), and the EPA ENERGY STAR program.

The following fact sheets summarize ongoing efforts at DOE and EPA to provide information, tools, and resources to owners and operators of data centers to assist in their efforts to reduce energy consumption in their buildings. They also provide links to a wide variety of organizations outside of the Federal government that can be of help in your efforts to improve energy efficiency.

EPA and DOE have released a report which details the discussions and recommendations covered during the National Strategy Workshop on July 8, 2008 in Redmond, WA. The workshop, convened by DOE and EPA, gathered representatives from industry, utilities, associations and NGOs to identify next steps for public and private collaboration toward advancing toward the goal of improved energy efficiency in data centers. The final report is provided below.

EPA Report to Congress on Server and Data Center Energy Efficiency

On August 2, 2007 and in response to Public Law 109-431 PDF (31KB) the U.S. EPA ENERGY STAR Program released to Congress a report assessing opportunities for energy efficiency improvements for government and commercial computer servers and data centers in the United States.

The study projects near-term growth in energy use of U.S. computer servers and data centers, assesses potential cost and energy savings related to computer server and data center energy efficiency improvements, and recommends potential incentives and voluntary programs to promote energy-efficient computer servers and data centers. The report complements EPA’s ongoing efforts to develop new energy efficiency specifications for data servers, including market and technical research, industry collaboration, and explorations into a new ENERGY STAR buildings benchmark for data centers which reflects whole building operations.

The report recommends a mix of programs and incentives, as well as a holistic approach to achieve significant savings. Recommendations include:

  • Collaborating with industry and other stakeholders on the development of a standardized whole-building performance rating system for data centers.
  • Federal leadership through implementation of best practices for its own facilities.
  • Development of ENERGY STAR specifications for servers and related product categories.
  • Encouraging electric utilities to offer financial incentives to facilitate datacenter energy efficiency improvements.
  • The Federal government should partner with industry to issue a CEO Challenge, for private-sector CEOs to assess and improve the energy efficiency of their data centers.
  • Public/private research and development into advanced technology and practices including computing software, IT hardware, power conversion, heat removal, controls and management, and cross-cutting activities.

On Thursday August 9, 2007 EPA hosted a Web based discussion on its Report to Congress on Server and Data Center Energy Efficiency Opportunities.

EPA Final Report to Congress PDF (2.5MB)

EPA Final Report to Congress — Appendices PDF (1.5MB)

EPA Final Report to Congress — Executive Summary PDF (185KB)

EPA Press Release

EPA would like to thank all industry stakeholders for their valuable insight and contributions to this effort. To view documents related to the report development process visit EPA Server and Data Center Report.

ENERGY STAR Enterprise Server Specification Development Process

EPA is currently developing a new product specification for enterprise servers. Partners and other interested parties who would like to participate in this process are encouraged to contact Andrew Fanara, EPA, at Fanara.andrew@epa.gov.

ENERGY STAR Enterprise Servers Specification Development Page

Data Collection Initiative to Develop an ENERGY STAR Rating for Data Centers

Accepting new data centers to participate in the data collection by January 15, 2009.

To assist data center operators in capturing the financial and environmental benefits of improved energy efficiency in their facilities, EPA is developing an ENERGY STAR rating for data center infrastructure. However, to develop the rating, EPA must first collect data on energy use and operating characteristics from a large number of existing data centers, including both stand-alone facilities as well as data centers located in office and other types of buildings. EPA needs the help of industry stakeholders to make this effort a success, and everyone has a role to play in this effort:

  • Data center owners/operators — Measure and submit energy data for your facility.
  • Industry Associations — Get the word out to your members and encourage them to particpate.
  • Equipment suppliers and consultants — Inform your customers/clients and encourage them to participate.

Provided below are a number of documents to help you, your members, or your clients get started.

  • Data Collection Form XLS (350KB) — Excel spreadsheet for data center operators to record their energy data and other requested information.
  • Additional Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) PDF (60KB) — Further guidance on accounting for lighting, cooling, and the number of racks in the data collection form.
  • Overview Presentation PDF (234KB) — PowerPoint presentation providing background on the ENERGY STAR Buildings program and the goals, process, and timeline for developing the ENERGY STAR rating for data center infrastructure.

Progress Update

The data collection has reached the half-way point, as participants will submit six months of data by January 15, 2009. As of the last data submission in August 2008, there are 90 data centers with complete data and 25 with partial data, less than the 125 data centers with complete data needed to develop the rating. We are still accepting data centers for late participation, but they must have data beginning in July 2008. If you are interested in joining the data collection, please contact us at ENERGYSTARdatacenters@icfi.com.

The presentation and audio recording of a recent update meeting on preliminary results held on November 20, 2008 is provided below. The next update meeting will take place in Spring 2009 after the data is analyzed following the January 15 data submission deadline.

  • Update Meeting Presentation PDF (98KB) — Overview of the progress of the data collection initiative, including preliminary observations of the data submitted by August 2008 and a review of data elements that needed further clarification.
  • Audio Recording — Listen to the presentation of the slides above that took place.

EPA would like to thank the following organizations for their participation and support of this initiative:

365 Main Inc.
7x24 Exchange
ADP Inc.
AFCOM Northern California Chapter
AOL
AT&T
Computershare
Data Center Operations Council (Corporate Executive Board)
EMC2
Enterprise Rent-A-Car
Fidelity Investments
Hill Environmental Operations
Hosting.com
JCPenney Company, Inc.
Jones Lang LaSalle
King County, Washington
Lowe's Companies, Inc.
Microsoft
Mobile Satellite Ventures
New York Life Insurance Company
Principal Financial Group
Rackspace
Raritan Inc.
Rothstein Kass
ServerVault Corp.
The Boeing Company
The Green Grid
The Uptime Institute and Site Uptime Network
United Parcel Service
UnitedLayer, LLC
US Bureau of Reclamation
VISI

For more information, and to submit Data Collection forms, please contact us at ENERGYSTARdatacenters@icfi.com.