Survey Shows Growing Interest in Colocation Centers with Renewable Energy

At the beginning of 2016, researchers were reporting a hike in the number of corporations looking to outsource parts of their data center operations, primarily to accommodate growth without the high cost of building out their own infrastructure and to free up resources for other initiatives.

More recently, a survey revealed that corporations are not only looking for colocation and wholesale data center services that meet their standards for operations; they also have a keen interest in facilities with a focus on renewable energy.

About 70 percent of the consumers polled by Data Center Knowledge said that they considered sustainability when choosing from data center providers. Of those, about 30 percent rated it as high on the list of qualities they were looking for (very important), while 15 percent described it as “critical.”

The survey also revealed that the demand for renewable energy among the respondents would increase during the next five years. And, more than 60 percent responded that they have adopted a sustainability policy. Another 25 percent reported that they are considering developing such a policy within the next 18 months.

Solar power is among the energy efficient measures adopted by colocation centers, including Lifeline Data Centers. Our team installed a 4 megawatt solar power array at our Indianapolis facility more than two years ago — effectively replacing power consumption with solar energy.

In addition to renewable energy solutions, data centers also reduce their reliance on energy through the following measures, according to the Department of Energy:

1. Virtualization of servers. Consolidating numerous independent servers to one, can reduce energy expenses by 10 percent to 40 percent.

2. Decommission comatose servers. Up to 30 percent of equipment in the average data center is consuming energy although they’re not computing.

3. Storage utilization. Rates for storage utilization average about 30 percent, with companies wasting storage space on 20 or more copies of the same data.

4. Invest in energy-efficient technologies. By doing so, companies can consume 30 percent less energy than they would with conventional servers.

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Alex Carroll

Managing Member at Lifeline Data Centers

Alex, co-owner, is responsible for all real estate, construction and mission critical facilities: hardened buildings, power systems, cooling systems, fire suppression, and environmentals. Alex also manages relationships with the telecommunications providers and has an extensive background in IT infrastructure support, database administration and software design and development. Alex architected Lifeline’s proprietary GRCA system and is hands-on every day in the data center.