Coal, Facebook Has Requested You As A Friend

Sept. 17, 2010-

In January, the social media networking giant Facebook announced its plans to build an estimated 5 MW data center in Prineville, Ore. Its crime (according to Greenpeace): Power for the center will be provided by PacifiCorp, which is largely coal-based. As of Sept. 1, Greenpeace had roused 500,000 Facebook users to urge the social media giant to abandon plans, using a children’s storybook-style video to make their point.

Greenpeace says the utility PacifiCorp, which powers the data center, uses 83 percent coal in its energy mix. PacifiCorp spokesman Tom Gauntt said this number is actually 58 percent. Also fueling the Greenpeace flame is the knowledge that energy consumption in data centers can be 30 percent higher than commercial buildings.

So in a world where coal is still “base-load generation king,” is a data center with less coal reliance reasonable?

In order to avoid a potential social networking flop, an alternative for Facebook could be to follow the example of a data center like the Green Data Center at Syracuse University, which became fully operational in April. Through the use of natural gas-fueled turbines, the Green Data Center uses 50 percent less energy and produces fewer greenhouse gases than traditional data centers.

The 12 Hybrid UPS MicroTurbines from Capstone Turbine integrate C65 microturbines with a dual-conversion UPS to provide power for mission-critical loads. In addition to producing electricity for the data center, the turbines supply heat and cooling power to the data center and a nearby building.

Facebook’s proposed data center does boast some energy efficient technologies, however. The evaporative cooling system evaporates water to cool incoming air, proving more energy efficient than traditional chiller systems. While other data facilities often require the equivalent of large central air-conditioners to keep processors from overheating, the Prineville data center one will use the metal equivalent of ceiling fans. The Prineville data center will also utilize Proprietary Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) technology, a new, patent-pending UPS system that is proposed to reduce electricity usage by as much as 12 percent.

Still the question remains: While some may “unfriend” Facebook, will Facebook “unfriend”coal? The developments of the Prineville data center would say otherwise.

One more question: Will the power industry “unfriend” this news? Some in the power industry may have the tendency to ignore the media hype regarding Facebook and coal power. But wouldn’t now be the perfect opportunity for the industry to educate the public regarding the need for balanced and mixed power generation? And given the amount of scrutiny the Prineville data center has received, this case may be a landmark in transforming the way the power industry operates its data centers.