| Friday, 04 July 2008 |
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New Software Tool to Help Data Centres Cut Carbon Emissions |
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This new project, funded by the Carbon Trust’s Low Carbon Collaboration initiative and Romonet, will focus on data centres as they contribute the largest single proportion of energy use and carbon emissions from the IT sector, according to the Carbon trust. Data centres account for a quarter of IT-related carbon emissions, which in turn make up 2% of the world’s total carbon emissions. Current forecasts compare this level to the carbon emissions produced by the aviation industry. Hugh Jones, Solutions Director at the Carbon Trust explained that the scale of the problem is worrying. "Forecasts based on the current growth of data and associated IT infrastructure translates into a picture of unsustainable power consumption in the long term and power supply capacity issues in the short term. It is crucial that we make effective tools available to enable companies to identify the right steps to take to reduce energy use and carbon,” said Jones. Based on a model created by the BCS Data Centre specialist group the software tool, which will be developed by Romonet, will deliver outputs allowing operators to manage total costs of ownership, energy efficiency and ultimately carbon emissions (carbon footprint) on a per service or per application basis, an industry first in terms of carbon accountability. The Carbon Trust says that through the software tool data centre owners and operators will be capable of simulating complex environment factoring, both the mechanical and electrical infrastructure, as well as housed IT equipment. “We believe this is a very positive step forward for our industry and shows commitment from two important industry bodies to help businesses understand and deal with the complexities of energy efficiency in their data centre,” said Liam Newcombe, Director of Research & Policy at Romonet. “We’re delighted to be working with the Carbon Trust to address this important area to meet the increasing need for the IT industry to reduce its carbon emissions, added Bob Harvey, chair of the BCS’s Carbon Footprint group. "For most companies, the data centre is the place to start, and with increasing energy costs and the threat of restricted power output to large data centres, there has never been a better time for businesses to reassess their energy usage. The Carbon Trust’s support helps to reinforce the message that the IT industry needs to address this issue now.” The software tool is expected to be available in the first quarter of 2009 and will be released through an open source license. |
Swindon, UK (OBBeC) - The Carbon Trust, an independent company set up by the British government in response to the threat of climate change, has announced a partnership agreement with the British Computer Society (BCS) to develop a simulation software tool to assist companies in understanding the energy use within data centres.