(WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Data center infrastructure provider i/o Data Centers (www.iodatacenters.com) is installing a solar panel array on the 11-acre roof of its new “Phoenix ONE” data center in Phoenix, Arizona, which the company said will generate up to 4.5 megawatts of energy.
According to a Data Center Knowledge report, photovoltaic panels will feed energy to the 80-megawatt, 538,000-square-foot facility.
While energy produced by the solar panels will only contribute about six percent of the Phoenix ONE data center’s energy, i/o Data Centers will reducing its strain on the power grid by running coolers at night, a non-peak, when power is least expensive.
A thermal storage system – acting like a giant ice-pack – stores some of the cooling for when the facility gets hotter during the day.
i/o Data Centers chief executive officer George Slessman said the solar panels, combined with the thermal storage system, could cut energy costs by about half.
The energy-intensive nature of data center projects has driven interest in solar power from industry leaders.
AISO.net (www.aiso.net) led the way as the first completely solar-powered web hosting company.
More recently, email management appliances and software developer AtMail (www.atmail.com) installed a solar array to power its office in Kurrajong, Australia.
