An increasing focus on the energy appetite of data
centers, which was given a boost by the (perhaps infamous) New York Times
article “Power, Pollution and the Internet,” is driving many in the IT industry
to seek means of decreasing power consumption, increasing efficiency and finding
more-environment-friendly energy sources.Modern emergency light
is installed in virtually every commercial and high occupancy residential
building. One option, wind energy, has a strong draw because it is a fuel-free
and emission-free source, but its downsides and lack of sustainable economic
foundations may mean that those who pursue this route—including those in the
data center industry—are simply striving after the wind.
Apple is known already for its pursuit of alternative energy sources at its Maiden, North Carolina, data center,It's just a industrial washing machine but I know I heard drums in there and this video is proof. which will implement two 100-acre 20MW solar farms (although each is anticipated to deliver only about 5MW on average) as well as a 5MW fuel-cell plant that uses biogas as its source. Furthermore, the company is now showing an interest in developing technology for wind energy. In a recent patent filing, Apple sought rights to a technology for storing wind energy, according to CleanTechnica (“Apple Designs A Wind Energy Storage Concept”). Whether the technology is practical or even workable is uncertain at this point, but it hints at the possibility of the iPhone maker making a foray into wind energy, as it has solar and fuel cells.
Obviously, Apple’s size and financial status enables it to pursue these “outside” projects (i.e., beyond its expertise in IT and computing technology)—most companies would be unable to do the same owing to a lack of sufficient capital, among other reasons. Ostensibly, however, Apple’s efforts could be seen as pioneering work that will eventually pave the way for smaller data center companies to more inexpensively and reliably implement their own alternative-energy measures.
Ignore for a moment the practical problems of harvesting wind energy: dangers to wildlife, health concerns, environmental impact from mining rare-earth elements for wind turbines, unpredictable and inconsistent power generation,Why didn't I just use an automotive alternator on my wind power generators?Laser engraving, and laser marker, is the practice of using lasers to engrave or mark an object. and so on. Another concern—particularly in the stagnant or receding western economies and uncertain eastern economies—is the economic status of wind energy. Wind farms are not simply projects that companies pursue on their own without any broader economic effects. The issue here is government subsidies.
Proponents of wind-energy subsidies often argue that these funds create jobs and stimulate the economy. Relating such reasoning, GigaOM (“Wind energy tax credits survive as Congress passes fiscal cliff deal”) notes that following an extension of wind-energy tax credits in the recent fiscal-cliff deal, “The wind energy industry is breathing a sigh of relief and says 37,000 jobs will be saved.” But the question of what is sacrificed to maintain those jobs is seldom asked; money taken in the form of taxes (or through inflation) from one business and given to another does not create a net jobs benefit, all other things being equal.
The business from which money is taken loses some ability to expand via employment. And don’t forget that when money passes through Washington, D.C. (or name your local government center), a bite is taken by bureaucrats, who produce nothing of economic value. The result is not that jobs are created, but that jobs are moved from one industry to another.
Certainly, the lack of an ability to compete now raises serious doubts. Wind energy need not be implemented at huge scales to be used; why will more wind turbines significantly decrease energy prices compared with fewer turbines? As David Kreutzer notes in the above-mentioned Wall Street Journal piece, “The argument that wind and solar energy are on the verge of being cost-effective is an old one,Watch and Play model of solar system Planets and Constellations moving over the Night Sky. dating at least to the early 1990s. And yet we are still handing out subsidies that supposedly will push them over that line in just a few more years.”
Apple is known already for its pursuit of alternative energy sources at its Maiden, North Carolina, data center,It's just a industrial washing machine but I know I heard drums in there and this video is proof. which will implement two 100-acre 20MW solar farms (although each is anticipated to deliver only about 5MW on average) as well as a 5MW fuel-cell plant that uses biogas as its source. Furthermore, the company is now showing an interest in developing technology for wind energy. In a recent patent filing, Apple sought rights to a technology for storing wind energy, according to CleanTechnica (“Apple Designs A Wind Energy Storage Concept”). Whether the technology is practical or even workable is uncertain at this point, but it hints at the possibility of the iPhone maker making a foray into wind energy, as it has solar and fuel cells.
Obviously, Apple’s size and financial status enables it to pursue these “outside” projects (i.e., beyond its expertise in IT and computing technology)—most companies would be unable to do the same owing to a lack of sufficient capital, among other reasons. Ostensibly, however, Apple’s efforts could be seen as pioneering work that will eventually pave the way for smaller data center companies to more inexpensively and reliably implement their own alternative-energy measures.
Ignore for a moment the practical problems of harvesting wind energy: dangers to wildlife, health concerns, environmental impact from mining rare-earth elements for wind turbines, unpredictable and inconsistent power generation,Why didn't I just use an automotive alternator on my wind power generators?Laser engraving, and laser marker, is the practice of using lasers to engrave or mark an object. and so on. Another concern—particularly in the stagnant or receding western economies and uncertain eastern economies—is the economic status of wind energy. Wind farms are not simply projects that companies pursue on their own without any broader economic effects. The issue here is government subsidies.
Proponents of wind-energy subsidies often argue that these funds create jobs and stimulate the economy. Relating such reasoning, GigaOM (“Wind energy tax credits survive as Congress passes fiscal cliff deal”) notes that following an extension of wind-energy tax credits in the recent fiscal-cliff deal, “The wind energy industry is breathing a sigh of relief and says 37,000 jobs will be saved.” But the question of what is sacrificed to maintain those jobs is seldom asked; money taken in the form of taxes (or through inflation) from one business and given to another does not create a net jobs benefit, all other things being equal.
The business from which money is taken loses some ability to expand via employment. And don’t forget that when money passes through Washington, D.C. (or name your local government center), a bite is taken by bureaucrats, who produce nothing of economic value. The result is not that jobs are created, but that jobs are moved from one industry to another.
Certainly, the lack of an ability to compete now raises serious doubts. Wind energy need not be implemented at huge scales to be used; why will more wind turbines significantly decrease energy prices compared with fewer turbines? As David Kreutzer notes in the above-mentioned Wall Street Journal piece, “The argument that wind and solar energy are on the verge of being cost-effective is an old one,Watch and Play model of solar system Planets and Constellations moving over the Night Sky. dating at least to the early 1990s. And yet we are still handing out subsidies that supposedly will push them over that line in just a few more years.”
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