Archive for the ‘Green’ Category
New school year brings ‘Green IT’ college degree
September 2nd, 2009 | 
Author: Making data centers more energy efficient has been elevated to a college degree.
IBM on Wednesday said it has developed a two-year associates degree in “green data center management” in collaboration with the Metropolitan Community College in Omaha, Neb.
Existing technologies like virtualization can improve data center efficiently significantly. Emerging technologies such as this wireless sensor promise better control over equipment and facilities.
(Credit: Arch Rock)
Starting in December, students will learn how to design and manage data centers to run efficiently in what IBM says is the first college degree in the subject. Classes will be offered online to remote students as well.
The Environmental Protection Agency in 2007 estimated that data centers alone use about 1.5 percent of all electricity in the U.S. and are on a pace to double consumption in the coming years. With existing technologies, energy use could be cut by 25 percent, representing up to $4 billion in savings, the EPA found.
Because of financial and environmental concerns, more data center operators are taking steps to cut energy use, such as consolidating server workloads and upgrading cooling systems. Companies such as IBM, HP, and IT consulting companies have practices in designing facilities to be more efficient.
The green IT degree from IBM and Metropolitan Community College covers technologies for consolidating computing work loads, including virtualization, as well as security and disaster recovery. The course work also addresses the nuts and bolts of building and managing a facility, such as cabling and monitoring.
The data center where the class will be taught, which will be stocked with IBM servers, was funded by a $1.8 million Department of Labor grant.
Source :
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10331256-54.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
Posted in education, evironment, Green, IBM | 
Tags: college degree, education, Green IT, IBM, Metropolitan Community College | 
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Control4 displays to monitor energy in smart-grid project
Control4 Energy Systems, one of a growing number of home energy display providers, said on Tuesday it will supply energy monitors in a planned smart-grid project in rural Texas.
The home energy monitor–a five-inch-wide monitor that resembles a car GPS unit–will display electricity usage in real time and provide consumers the ability to program a thermostat, according to Will Holford, the public affairs manager at Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative.
The system works by using Zigbee wireless networking within the home to connect the monitor to the thermostat, which communicates with the utility via a smart meter. Other providers in the project, which the utility hopes to begin work on in the second quarter next year, include smart meter provider eMeter and Silver Spring Networks which provides a networking card for the meter.
Control4, which is perhaps better known for its home media management systems, raised $17.3 million in July to expand into the energy monitoring business.
Control4’s display for managing home energy along with home media.
(Credit: Control4.)
Home energy monitors, or in-home displays, are a key piece of the more advanced smart-grid programs being pursued by utilities. By providing more data and ways to program appliances, utilities hope that consumers will be able to find ways to shave back on consumption.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10322885-54.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
Posted in evironment, Green, software, Tech |
Tags: Control4 Energy Systems, energy monitor, Green |
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Photos: Turning food waste into energy
Food waste is one of the least recycled materials in municipal solid waste systems, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. But at least one organization in the San Francisco Bay Area is trying to change that.
The East Bay Municipal Utility District is experimenting with innovative techniques to convert raw food waste into usable energy, taking some of the massive amounts of food waste generated by local restaurants and using it to power its operations in Oakland, Calif.
In 2007, EBMUD was awarded a $50,000 grant from the EPA as part of the Resource Recovery Program to explore new ways of digesting food waste to produce methane gas.
Today, the facility is home to a million-dollar facility that is generating usable methane and producing nearly 100 percent of the power needed to operate the regional wastewater treatment operation.
Full Story :
http://news.cnet.com/2300-11128_3-10001426.html?tag=rsspr.6250028&part=rss&subj=news
Posted in evironment, Green, recycle |
Tags: energy, food waste, Green, recycled materials, wastewater |
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Home appliances to get Cash for Clunkers-like rebate
Now that you’ve dumped your gas-guzzling pick-up, maybe it’s time to move that old fridge from the garage.
The Department of Energy is sponsoring a $300 million program, funded by the economic stimulus plan, that will let consumers get a rebate on an EnergyStar-rated appliance. It’s modeled roughly like the Cash for Clunkers program, which is now ending, although trading in older home equipment isn’t required.
The Energy Department has begun awarding funding for individual states. Maryland is getting a $5.4 million slice and will run the program through the Maryland Energy Administration, according to an article on Wednesday in the Baltimore Sun. Pennsylvania has also applied and is expected to receive $12 million, according to a report in the Reading Eagle.
The program will be designed by individual states and U.S. territories, all of which are expected to participate. The rebates themselves could be administered directly by states, utilities, or some other third party, a Department of Energy representative said on Thursday.
States have flexibility to determine what will be covered but the Energy Department has suggested home goods that consume the most energy, including: air conditioners, washing machines, dryers, heating equipment, and refrigerators and freezers.
The final funding applications are due back to the Energy Department by the middle of October, which means that the rebates could be available later this year or early next year.
Utilities around the country already offer rebate programs for moving to more efficient home equipment. An often-cited example is the California Energy Commission which has set strict efficiency standards for refrigerators and other equipment, which has helped keep per capita electricity consumption nearly steady since the 1970s.
Already in place is an Energy Department program which will give homeowners a 30 percent tax credit up to $1,500 for energy-efficient equipment upgrades.
Source :
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10319268-54.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
PG&E to compress air to store wind power
Despite all the talk about needed breakthroughs in batteries, Pacific Gas & Electric is pursuing a less high-tech approach to store wind power: underground compressed air.
The utilty on Wednesday said that it is seeking $25 million in smart-grid stimulus funds to build an underground compresssed air storage facility that would be able to deliver as much electricity as a medium-size power plant for about 10 hours.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-10318412-54.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
