Google releases data center power usage


After remaining secretive about its data center in The Dalles, Google posted details about its global power consumption.

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After remaining secretive about its data center in The Dalles, Google posted details about its global power consumption.

This week, though, Google has flipped on the lights. It posted details of its efforts to conserve energy and buy renewable power for its data centers, and put a number to the company’s global power consumption: 258 million watts, roughly equal to 188,000 homes. 

“As we — and the industry — have matured, we’ve decided that it’s more important to share information about energy consumption as a way to encourage dialogue and action around corporate sustainability,” Rick Needham, Google’s director of green business operations, said in a written statement Thursday. 

Google does use a lot of power, said Jonathan Koomey, a consulting professor at Stanford University who has studied data center energy use extensively. But by being more open about its operations, Koomey said, the company wants to demonstrate that it’s also very efficient.

Read more at OregonLive.com.

Read Google’s secret thirst for power from Oregon Business.

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