Comments on: The controversial world of clean power and data centers http://gigaom.com/2012/07/11/the-controversial-world-of-clean-power-and-data-centers/ Thu, 23 May 2013 02:16:54 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: jjray66 http://gigaom.com/2012/07/11/the-controversial-world-of-clean-power-and-data-centers/#comment-865068 Tue, 17 Jul 2012 13:27:37 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=539955#comment-865068 >>Hydro can be as cheap as 3 cents per kilowatt hour<<
Wish to mention that hydro electric damns have a negative environmental impact even though it is not a clean air issue.

]]> By: Charlie M. http://gigaom.com/2012/07/11/the-controversial-world-of-clean-power-and-data-centers/#comment-864438 Sun, 15 Jul 2012 04:43:59 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=539955#comment-864438 Hydropower is the cheapest, cleanest, most reliable clean energy. It can be generated in cascades of multiple small stations on a single river with no big impact dams. There is an excellent guide to “sustainable hydropower” made by the World Commission on Dams. Green-motivated banks, investors, aid agencies and non-profits use these and the International Finance Corporation’s sustainability guidelines to keep them on the right track with regard to suitable hydro projects.

]]> By: splat http://gigaom.com/2012/07/11/the-controversial-world-of-clean-power-and-data-centers/#comment-864146 Sat, 14 Jul 2012 00:53:44 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=539955#comment-864146 FWIW, the Tennessee River (TVA) has a network of big hydro-electric dams.

]]> By: Michael W. Perry http://gigaom.com/2012/07/11/the-controversial-world-of-clean-power-and-data-centers/#comment-864010 Fri, 13 Jul 2012 16:32:07 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=539955#comment-864010 These data centers are still new and already the rationale for putting them there may be changing. With fracking technology bringing low-carbon natural gas prices down and assuring supplies for decades, in a decade or less it may be important to locate closer to its sources.

It may also make sense to generate power on-site both to save transmission costs and ensure reliability. In fact, it may make sense to cluster server farms around a common generating facility.

Last of all, “clean” energy is best used of electrical power that doesn’t have a lot of energy spikes in it or shifts in voltage and frequency.
Not only is clean not green, the real impact of so-called ‘green’ is distorted by the sheer silliness of environmentalists.

Covering thousands of acres of desert with solar cells or sucking megawatts of energy out of the wind has a major impact on both local micro-climates and the global climate. It’s just that environmentalists are too city-bred and fad crazy to realize that.

Environmentalism is driven more by phobias and buzz words than good sense about the world we live in.

]]> By: GreenQloud http://gigaom.com/2012/07/11/the-controversial-world-of-clean-power-and-data-centers/#comment-863347 Thu, 12 Jul 2012 11:36:05 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=539955#comment-863347 we were about to say the same thing.

]]> By: Jose Menez http://gigaom.com/2012/07/11/the-controversial-world-of-clean-power-and-data-centers/#comment-863008 Wed, 11 Jul 2012 15:48:25 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=539955#comment-863008 The fact this author claims solar power is clean, with the laundry list of toxic materials used in their construction is ludicrous. Also, look at the amount of green space which has to be cleared for a solar farm vs nuclear. Solar panels at the end of their life either need to be recycled or they will contaminate the local environment, just like nuclear. Nuclear power is a much greener alternative for baseband power. There is a reason all the oil producing countries are investing and constructing nuclear power. Please provide a balanced view when calling nuclear dirty and solar green.

]]> By: vrm http://gigaom.com/2012/07/11/the-controversial-world-of-clean-power-and-data-centers/#comment-862964 Wed, 11 Jul 2012 13:53:58 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=539955#comment-862964 It makes more sense for companies that can afford it, to distribute their data centers over a wide geographical network. This can minimize impact of disasters- natural or man-made.

]]> By: Jose Menez http://gigaom.com/2012/07/11/the-controversial-world-of-clean-power-and-data-centers/#comment-862963 Wed, 11 Jul 2012 13:45:58 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=539955#comment-862963 I would recommend the author do some research in nuclear power. Nuclear power is by far the cleanest option for baseband power. Solar panels have a laundry list of toxic materials used in their production, and he makes the claim it is clean. I’m not here to say nuclear is not without risks and hazards, but on a practical scale. A person will receive more radiation flying in an airplane at 35,000 ft than living near a nuclear power plant. I make the plea to the author to research first then write a follow up.

]]> By: twospruces http://gigaom.com/2012/07/11/the-controversial-world-of-clean-power-and-data-centers/#comment-862955 Wed, 11 Jul 2012 13:18:55 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=539955#comment-862955 So – today you cannot substitute clean energy for traditional generation (I’m including hydro as traditional) – until you have electrical energy storage. So far it is looking like the “cloud” is just driving up electricity demand…not the other way around.

]]> By: Alex Jones http://gigaom.com/2012/07/11/the-controversial-world-of-clean-power-and-data-centers/#comment-862853 Wed, 11 Jul 2012 07:41:04 +0000 http://gigaom.com/?p=539955#comment-862853 They should go to Iceland where data centers can run off an abundance of geothermal energy and where there is abundant sources of water to cool the equipment.

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