Data center energy consumption exeeds EPA predictions

New research from the Uptime Institute shows data center energy consumption in the top third of sites researched grew 20% - 30% annually in 2006 and 2007, far exceeding the EPA's predicted 9% growth from 2006 to 2010. If data center power consumption continues to grow at the current rate, 10 new coal-fired or nuclear power plants will be needed by 2010 and 20 more (for a total of 30) by 2015. Here, Uptime Institute's Ken Brill discusses the broad-reaching impact of these findings. Listen now