The New York Times reports that the economic meltdown has hit the green industry hard, particularly green energy. But that's not going to be the case with Green IT --- in fact, tough times mean good days for greening the data center.

A recent article in the New York Times, Dark Days for Green Energy, warns that the economic crisis has hit the wind and solar power industries particularly hard:

Factories building parts for these industries have announced a wave of layoffs in recent weeks, and trade groups are projecting 30 to 50 percent declines this year in installation of new equipment, barring more help from the government.

Why is Green IT different? Because Green IT isn't just good for the environment --- it helps the bottom line as well. Consolidate and virtualize servers and you've not just done good for the environment; you've also saved your company substantial amounts of money. And the savings isn't just in power and cooling costs. It's in hardware costs, maintenance, troubleshooting, management, and more.

IT pros recognize this. When HP commissioned a survey of 600 technology decision-makers to find out their plans for their data center in the coming year, 60% of them report that they will implement a Green IT project in the coming year. That is most likely a significant understatement, because 59% also report they will be doing a virtualization project. For details, see my blog post HP Study: Green Data Center Is Key Concern of IT Pros.

In addition, a report from Forrester concludes:

the slowing economy will not derail efforts to make IT operations more efficient and less environmentally harmful. In fact, of responding companies that are changing the pace of their green IT activities in response to the economic outlook, those going faster outnumber those slowing down by two to one.

The report makes it clear that money is the driving force behind Green IT. And that means that a weakening economy may ironically be good for Green IT. The Forrester report found that "Cost savings remains the No. 1 motivator for green IT initiatives." The most-cited motivation for greening IT, the report found, is to reduce energy-related operating expensives, with 67% of respondents saying that was a primary motivation. Only 42% cited "doing the right thing for the environment." Last year, 50% of respondents said doing the right thing for the environment was a motivating factor. So it's clear that when it comes to Green IT, money talks.

For more details, see my blog post, Report: Recession Won't Slow Green IT Initiatives.

In addition to all this, Obama's energy plan will help spur Green IT in the coming years. Investing in the Smart Grid and in pushing for new buildings to be carbon neutral by 2030 will all spur new technologies and spending for Green IT. For more details, see What Obama's Win Means for Green IT.