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I may have to de-friend Facebook's green data center.
The Prineville, Ore., facility the company announced at the end of last month, received kudos and accolades for its innovative and dedicatedly green features, including a low-energy evaporative cooling system, an airside economizer for using outside air to cool the facility, a system to re-use of server heat, and a target of hitting a PUE of 1.15.
But at least some of the power going in to the data center will be from a notoriously non-green energy source: Coal. Not even "clean coal," just coal.
The company is under fire in the media and on Facebook, with online activist website Change.org launching a petition to "Stop Facebook from Switching to Dirty Coal."
The complaints arise from the fact that Facebook has contracted with PacifiCorp subsidiary Pacific Power to supply the energy for the facility. As reported on SearchDataCenter.com, "While Pacific Power gets some hydropower from [the hydroelectric generator Bonneville Power Administration], its primary power-generation fuel is coal, according to Jason Carr, the manager of the Prineville office of economic development for Central Oregon."
Some of the largest tech companies have sited their data centers in the same region where Facebook plans to build, and one of the primary drivers for those choices is that hydroelectric power comes in large quantities and rock-bottom prices from dams on the Columbia River. (When it comes to energy, green is, as with so much in IT, an auxiliary benefit and a side note to saving serious money.) And this is the first time I've heard a data center criticized for the energy used to power their facility, so while it's perhaps not undeserved, it could also be a case of a company getting dinged for sharing too much information.
In response to the mini-uproar, a Facebook representative commented on DataCenterKnowledge, saying in full:
I'm writing on behalf of Facebook to share their response to the issues you've posed. Most electrical commercial and residential power in the United States comes from a variety of sources. Our new data center will be receiving our power through PacifiCorp, which like most utilities has a diverse generation portfolio including hydro, geothermal, wind and coal. PacifiCorp is now the #1 utility owner operator of renewables, having grown their portfolio 2,400 percent over the past three years.
When it comes online in early 2011, the new Facebook data center will also be one of the most energy efficient in the world, featuring an innovative cooling system created for the unique climate characteristics in Prineville, Oregon.
The new, world class energy-efficiency technologies the Facebook data center will utilize include an evaporative cooling system; an airside economizer that will bring colder air in from the outside; re-use of server heat to warm office space in the colder months; and new patent pending highly efficient electrical design will reduce electricity usage by up to 12 percent. The entire facility will be built to LEED Gold standards.
The State of Oregon has a very aggressive Renewable Portfolio Standard, calling for 25 percent of power in the state to be produced by renewable resources by 2025. Facebook believes this policy will ensure continued growth of renewable generation resources. Facebook's commitment is, regardless of generation source, to use electricity as wisely and as efficiently as possible.
Maybe FB is getting more heat than it deserves for this revelation, or maybe it is simply on the early end of an increase in concern about what powers the servers that power the internet. I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments, and I'll be sure to look at the energy mix for future green data centers that pop up on my radar.
Costa Rica: 95% renewable energy
Bring it down to Costa Rica. Its a no brainer with 95% of its electricity from renewable sources (hydropower, geothermal, wind, biomass)
Mario
Facebook data center to run on coal
Facebook, like so many companies, is doing its best to greenwash a new data center. Here are the facts. First, targeting a PUE of 1.15 and reaching it are two different things. Ken Brill, the well-respected former head of the Uptime Institute published a great article discussing how such claims (especially when no server has yet run and no measurements have been taken) are pure marketing - http://www.forbes.com/2009/01/27/data-center-energy-technology-cio-netwo....
Second, PacificCorp. does have a high amount of coal in its power plant portfolio and that percentage will actually increase significantly in the coming years. In fairness to PacificCorp, they are working to change the mix of that portfolio in anticipation of Cap and Trade becoming a reality. But, by their own resource study (http://www.pacificorp.com/content/dam/pacificorp/doc/Environment/Environ...) they show that 46% of current production comes from coal (being charitable to assume no purchased power is coal) and that number grows to 59% in 2012 and remains at that level for years. In fact, these numbers were produced before the Facebook project so, its fair to assume that more than 60% of the Facebook power will come from coal from 2012 and beyond. What is the attraction then? Cost. The combination of low-cost coal and lower cost hydro makes it amoung the cheapest power in the country.
In short, Facebook is guilty of two things. One, making a marketing claim of data center effiency far before the site is even finished. Two, opting for low cost power as opposed to clean power. As such, and given that Coal has an average 2x carbon footprint vs. natural gas, this data center will result in an enormous amount of unnecessary pollution generated by Pacific Power's plants in Oregon and the Western U.S.
So, what should Facebook do? They should adopt the same strategy as they have when they have stumbled with their own services...Admit the error and do the right thing. In this case, that means to re-site the facility. There are certainly good sites with clean power in other parts of the country, and even in the west. Yes, they have certainly spent an enormous amount of money already but, the question is...When you make a mistake do you admit it and write it off or, do you stick your chest out and ram it through just because you can or do you do the right thing. Doing the right thing will result in incredibly positive ramifications for everyone. Being proud and stubborn will result in negative ramifications to everyone.
OK Facebook. Let's see if you can do the right thing.