Sustainable IT | Ted Samson » July 2007

July 26, 2007 | Comments: (0)

Ambient Orbs spark bright idea for cutting energy waste

TAGS: Energy conservation

Clive Thompson over at Wired has shared an intriguing story about how Mark Martinez, demand response manager of Southern California Edison, got 120 customers to reduce energy consumption by 40 percent during peak periods. He gave them Ambient Orbs, small spheres that you can place on your desk and that light up and change colors in response to changing streams of data.

Thompson notes that these balls of joy were first marketed to individuals for monitoring stock performance. If the orb is blue, all is well; when red, it's time to consider quickly buying or selling.

Rather than receiving Nadsaq data, these orbs as configured by Martinez feed off data about electric rates for SCE customers -- rates that go up, of course, as demand swells. So when Martinez's orb recipients see their balls flashing red, they know that it's a good time to power down where possible (for example, adjust the thermostat, turn off excess lights, and so on).

It really is an elegant solution, as Thompson observes, providing a quiet yet constant reminder about electricity costs. It's all too easy to forget or take for granted that for every minute you have an extra light on or keep your computer and monitor running while not in use or have your servers running at full throttle when they don't need to be, you or your company is paying for it. And it's especially useful to know when demand has spiked and your rates have suddenly shot up.

So I have a suggestion for SCE and other utility companies: Build on this idea because it seems to work. But relying on Ambient Orbs, of course, isn't practical. While they're certainly neat and cool conversation pieces to boot, they're also expensive: $150 a pop (plus shipping and handling).

But how about developing a simple desktop utility that is fed the same data stream received by these orbs? When electric rates go up, a little window can pop up telling you as much -- and perhaps provide some tips as to what actions to take. I know I'd be happy to donate a little bit of my computer-processing power to run such an application.

On a related note, I have a free utility from Uniblue called LocalCooling installed on my system, and it's designed to optimize a PC's power consumption. Among its features, it displays how many killowatt hours, trees, and gallons of gasoline you've saved by managing you computer's energy usage.

(Thanks to TreeHugger for bringing this story to my attention.)

Posted by Ted Samson on July 26, 2007 02:17 PM

July 26, 2007 | Comments: (0)

Energy-efficiency battle is key in war between AMD and Intel

TAGS: Processors

In the ongoing chip wars between AMD and Intel, the battle over power efficiency is heating up. With datacenter operators fixated on electric bills as well as their facilities' environmental impact, and with the EPA pondering Energy Star standards for server hardware, being able to claim the title of Most Energy-Efficient has become far more important.

Even being able to claim 10 percent superior energy efficiency can be a tremendous selling point for one of these chipmakers. If you have a datacenter with 5,000 machines and can save $20 per system per month on electricity, you're looking at pocketing $1.2 million per year. (I suspect there's savings on cooling, too, though I'm not sure how much that would be.)

Some independent groups have pitted AMD and Intel engines in power-efficiency tests, the results of which have cropped up in the past couple of weeks. If you've been reading my Sustainable IT blog, you'll have already read about one such study conducted by Neal Nelson and Associates. In it, Nelson pitted a 3GHz server running AMD Opteron against a 3GHz server running Intel Xeon.

Nelson determined that the AMD-based server used 7.3 to 15.2 percent less power at five different user load levels and 44.1 percent less power while the systems were idle and waiting for work.

That, he said, translates to annual electricity savings between $20.29 and $36.04 per server, depending on the workload, the study concluded. At idle speeds, it amounts to a $99.76 per-server, per-year saving.

The test elicited some heated discussion the likes of which you might expect during an election year. Some suggested that Nelson must have been paid off by AMD to have reached his findings; others aimed a bit higher than just below the belt, at least keeping comments and criticism in the context of Nelson's methodology instead of his morality.

Nelson still stands by his testing, though he plans to run more benchmarks using a new Intel processor. He expects to have results in around a week, and I'll share them.

AMD, not surprisingly, was quite pleased with Neal's results. Intel issued this statement: "We stand by all of our energy-efficient claims, period. We also recommend that IT managers who don't do their own in-house testing turn to the dozens to hundreds of independent and certifiable benchmark organizations for the best, most credible perspective."

As I said, Nelson's tests aren't the only ones to emerge in the past couple of weeks suggesting that AMD has developed more energy-efficient processors than Intel.

A couple of weeks ago over at Tom's Hardware, Bert Töpelt and Daniel Schuhmann posted the results of their own power-efficiency tests between several Intel and AMD processors. In terms of raw energy efficiency, AMD consistently had a better showing. "Whenever low acquisition costs, low follow-up costs, as well as low power consumption are important, AMD's processors are still first choice. AMD also currently offers the cheapest dual-core processor. Finally, AMD processors are very suitable for use in quiet systems," they concluded.

However, unlike Nelson, the guys over at Tom's considered other factors when rating the CPUs. In addition to energy efficiency, they equally weighted in chip price and performance. In that context, Intel's Core 2 Duo E6700 topped anything AMD had -- though AMD's offerings are nearly all superior to the rest of Intel's.

Meanwhile, over at AnandTech, Jason Clark and Ross Whitehead recently had an AMD Opteron Socket-F machine square off against an Intel Xeon Woodcrest machine in what they dubbed a "Low-Power Server CPU Shoot-out." Their conclusion: "AMD is clearly the leader when it comes to performance per watt using the workloads in this article."

Interestingly, they attributed AMD's advantage not to the processor but to the fact that, unlike Intel, AMD doesn't employ fully buffered DIMMs. (In my Sustainable IT blog about Neal's test, one commenter suggested that "As for FB-DIMMS. It was Intel's decision, and they went the wrong path. And from the Wild Wild Web the information seems to be that future chipsets will not support FB-DIMMS due to lack of performance versus the power it consumes.")

My takeaway in all this is that, for the time being, AMD does appear to have an advantage over Intel, at least from a raw energy-efficiency standpoint, which is becoming increasingly important as datacenter operators grapple with high power and cooling bills. But the challenge remains of devising a useful and reliable metric for measuring energy consumption against overall performance.

That doesn't appear to be an easy task, given just how many factors there are to consider. Performance is, after all, a relative term, depending on what kind of tasks your servers are performing.

But you can expect that AMD and Intel will continue to weigh in on the discussion as groups such as the EPA and The Green Grid, as well as independent groups such as we here at InfoWorld, devise benchmarks for gauging energy efficiency. The stakes are simply too high to ignore.

Posted by Ted Samson on July 26, 2007 03:00 AM

July 25, 2007 | Comments: (0)

EPA seeks input on Energy Star for servers

TAGS: Servers

With datacenter energy consumption clearly on the U.S. government's radar, the EPA is now soliciting input from the public for developing an Energy Star standard for enterprise servers.

Energy Star energy-efficiency standards already exist for various products, including desktop hardware and peripherals, as well as major appliances such as refrigerators and washing machines. The ambitious plan to develop standards for complex servers is another indication of just how conscious the Feds have become of the environmental impact of corporate datacenters.

How this Energy Standard shapes up should be of keen interest to hardware vendors, as servers emblazoned with an Energy Star logo will prove alluring to datacenter operators who continue to struggle with the high costs of running and cooling their business-critical machinery. Fortunately, vendors and other interested parties will have a chance to weigh in.

Andrew Fanara, program manager for Energy Star product labeling, sent out a memo (PDF) late last week asking "interested stakeholders" to help shape the ES Specification Framework for Enterprise Computer Servers (PDF).

In its current state, the framework comprises three building blocks, all of which need to be further refined. They include:

• definitions, which entails explicitly describing which products are covered by the specification;


• eligible product categories, which identify specific product categories covered by the specification based on aforementioned definitions;


• and energy efficiency criteria and test procedures for captures the energy consumed by a server "during a realistic workload."

Ideally, the EPA says it would use an industry-standard procedure for measuring energy efficiency, "but if none exists, EPA would work with stakeholders to develop an effective test procedure, according to the current framework." As it stands, EPA is monitoring work currently being done by Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation (SPEC) with the hope that it could serve as the basis for a potential Energy Star server performance metric.

As noted by my colleague Tom Yager, devising benchmarks for server energy efficiency is a complex task, one that independent testers and other organizations are struggling with. Given the varying types of server and the varying workloads they carry, it can't simply boil down to measuring, for example, how much electricity a server uses to perform X basic Web transactions. That would be like racing an unencumbered pickup truck against a hybrid at 60mph on racetrack and determining the hybrid was "better" because it got more miles per gallon. After all, the criteria would have to be different if, for example, you wanted to see which was superior, overall, for towing a heavy trailer: the hybrid or the more muscular pickup.

Interested stakeholders have until Aug. 31 to respond to the EPA's call for input on the framework. For more information, go to the Energy Star Web site.

Posted by Ted Samson on July 25, 2007 12:56 PM

July 20, 2007 | Comments: (0)

Study: AMD more power-efficient than Intel

TAGS: Green technology, Intel, Processors, Processors

AMD Opteron servers proved more energy efficient than those running Intel Xeon in a server-power-efficiency test performed by Neal Nelson and Associates.

Specifically, the independent computer-testing firm announced today that in the tests, "the AMD based server used 7.3 to 15.2 percent less power at five different user load levels and 44.1 percent less power while the systems were idle and waiting for work."

That translates to annual electricity savings between $20.29 per server and $36.04 per server, depending on the workload, the study concluded. At idle speeds, it amounts to a $99.76 per-server, per year saving.

"AMD must have put a lot of energy into optimizing the power usage for their products and it appears that AMD's customers will now realize significant energy savings," said Neal Nelson, president of the testing group, in a written statement.

Neal Nelson and Associates took a new approach for this test, employing at client-server benchmark where Web transactions were processed against a server running Novell SUSE Linux, Apache2, and MySQL. The tests were run on similarly configured 3GHz Intel (Woodcrest) Xeon and AMD Opteron servers, according to Neal Nelson and Associates.

Following is a table showing how the test broke down:

Not surprisingly, AMD was pleased with the test results, though as I write, no one at the company has had a chance to fully review the report. "While we did not review the methodology for these tests, we are not surprised by the results as they reiterate what we hear from customers and see in our own labs," said John Fruehe, manager of worldwide market development for server/workstation products at AMD, in a written statement. "We appreciate Neal's efforts to shed additional light on energy-efficient server computing, as it further validates what we've known is an important issue for our customers for some time. AMD is committed to delivering energy-efficient solutions to our customers, as you'll see when we roll-out our native Quad-Core processor, codenamed 'Barcelona,' (with the same power and thermals as our dual-core processors) later this summer ... ."

Intel issued this comment today: "We stand by all of our energy efficient claims, period. We also recommend that IT managers who don't do their own in-house testing turn to the dozens to hundreds of independent and certifiable benchmark organizations for the best, most credible perspective."

There is a thread on the subject below, and Neal Nelson has taken some time to address the specific questions and comments some of you have raised.

Also, there are discussions going on at Slashdot and Xtreme Systems.

For those of you who are interested in reading the specs on the servers and details of the test methodology, the report can be viewed here [PDF].

Posted by Ted Samson on July 20, 2007 12:52 PM

July 19, 2007 | Comments: (0)

Beat the datacenter heat, cheap

TAGS: Cooling

Low-cost strategies to reduce cooling costs are a surefire cure for the summertime energy-bill blues

Nothing induces panting like the dog days of summer, except perhaps the hyperventilation that occurs when you receive the electric bill after spending a month immersed in air-conditioned-bliss. But there are inexpensive alternatives to blasting 24/7 A/C for keeping your cool at home during these balmy days -- simple things such as sealing air leaks, drawing the shades when the sun's out, and opening windows at night when it's cooler outside.

In the datacenter, admins are feeling the heat as well. Business-critical hardware must remain properly cooled, but the energy bills seem to soar exponentially as the temperature rises.

Fortunately, even the most frugal and financially strapped organizations have ways to cut their A/C bills without having to perform an entire IT-operations overhaul. Following are a few tips for trimming not only some expense from your cooling bills, but as a result, shrinking your organization's environmental footprint in the process.

1. Fight heat with heat. According to tips provided by Sun and attributed to Dave Douglas, the company's vice president of eco-responsibility, increasing the set point temperature in your datacenter by just one measly degree can reduce energy consumption by 4 to 5 percent.

Taking it a step further, raising the set point from 68F to 72F could save 15 percent to 20 percent of the cooling energy "while still keeping air inlet temperatures well within computer manufacturer specifications," according to the information from Sun. In fact, ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers) suggests setting the temperature in a modern datacenter at 78 degrees, which reaps even more savings.

2. Plug holes in the raised floor. Plugging those holes in the floor is a widely recommended best practice. Leaks can result in cool air escaping, as well as hot spots. Holes and leaks can crop up in various places. One of the more common culprits are the cable holes under racks and cabinets.

Robert McFarlane, president of the Interport division at Shen Milsom Wilke, recommends plugging those holes with either a do-it-yourself sealant, made from Masonite and duct tape, for example, or using a commercial product such as KoldLok Brush Grommet. Placing blanking panels on all unused space in front of a rack call also promote efficient cooling.

3. Enter the thermal zone. Experts such as Digital Realty's Vice President of Engineering Jim Smith recommend setting up hot and cool aisles in the datacenter. In this kind of layout, each aisle between rows of server racks is bounded with either just hot-air outlets or cool-air intakes. The goal is to isolate and extract heat before it mixes with cold air.

Use strip curtains to enhance the separation by blocking open space above the racks. (Smith had other insights to share with me in an interview, which you can watch right here.)

4. Pull some plugs. Hopefully you have a way of knowing which machines in your datacenter are actually being utilized. If not, performing an inventory is always a good idea. Once you've done that and determine which ones are running at 0 percent utilization, unplug them, suggests Douglas: "If there is a problem [and] someone complains about the system being unavailable, turn it back on." You will see immediate power and cooling savings.

5. Harness the elements. Air- and water-side economizers, or a combination thereof, can help deliver efficient, inexpensive cooling in the right environments, according to Amory Lovins, CEO of the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI). He told SearchDataCenter.com, "An air-side economizer is very cheap in capital cost and uses essentially no energy, just a tiny bit for controls. Water-side economizer, evaporative cooling with a cooling tower, and heat exchanges in your chilled water loop, [costs] $100 per ton. If you design it very well, it gives you 100 or even 125 units of coefficient performance."

These tips are, of course, just starting-off points, but they're well worth trying. Not only might they help you achieve some of the cost-saving benefits of a greener datacenter, but, hey, all the cool IT pros are doing it.

Posted by Ted Samson on July 19, 2007 03:00 AM

July 17, 2007 | Comments: (0)

HP: Over 1B pounds recycled

TAGS: Green business, HP, Hardware, PCs, Recycling, Servers, Sustainable IT, Waste reduction

Vendor aims to recycle another billion pounds of electronics and printer cartridges by 2010

The expression "What goes around comes around" is proving increasingly apt in the world of enterprise hardware as more companies discover the benefits of recycling retired PCs, servers, handhelds, and the like.

Indicative of the rising interest in hardware recycling, also known as IT asset recovery, HP has announced that its achieved its goal of recycling one billion pounds of hardware six months before the deadline it had set back in 2004. The company now seeks to recycle two billion pounds of gear and printer cartridges -- that is, another billion pounds -- by 2010.

"Environmental responsibility is good business," said Mark Hurd, HP chairman and CEO, in a written statement. "We've reached the tipping point where the price and performance of IT are no longer compromised by being green, but are now enhanced by it."

Pat Tiernan, VP of corporate, social, and environmental responsibility at HP, called the two billion pound goal for 2010 "the most aggressive recycling goal in the industry. "We expect to achieve it in three and a half years by expanding our convenient re-use and recycling services worldwide."

HP currently operates its program in 40 countries around the globe.

"In 2006 alone, HP recycled 164 million pounds of products globally -- the equivalent weight of more than 600 jumbo airliners and a 16 percent increase over 2005," said Tiernan.

Vendors that engage in hardware recycling refurbish and resell systems when possible ha or else mine the products for materials that can be used elsewhere. According to HP, plastics and metals it has recovered have been used to make a range of new products, including auto body parts, clothes hangers, plastic toys, fence posts, serving trays, and roof tiles.

Posted by Ted Samson on July 17, 2007 09:23 AM

July 11, 2007 | Comments: (0)

Study: Smart metering poised to take off

TAGS: Smart grids

The energy grid as we know it is set to get smarter, according a study released today by London-based market analyst Datamonitor. The organization predicts that smart metering will reach 89% penetration in North America and 41% penetration in Europe by 2012.

Smart meters, a key element for a smart energy grid, transmit real or near-real time energy-consumption readings between energy consumers and utilities via a network. Utilities can use that data to better monitor and properly bill for energy usage; it also enables them to more effectively manager power loads, which, among other benefits, can reduce or even eliminate costly (and irritating) forced rolling blackouts.

"One of the key benefits of smart metering is the ability to offer demand response programs," says Alex Kwiatkowski, lead analyst of Datamonitor's Vertical Market Technology team. "In times of high demand, such as on a hot summer day when many air conditioning units are running, utilities do not have sufficient supply to meet demand, so additional power has to be imported at great cost to the utility. To reduce the need for this imported power and, in turn, to cut these additional costs, smart meters can communicate to customers a higher tariff and provide an incentive for them to reduce their consumption during this peak period."

Meanwhile, energy consumers, both household and businesses, can reap better control over their energy bills.

According to Datamonitor's study, titled "Smart metering in the energy and utilities sector," 6% of households in Europe and North America currently have smart meters. "Slower penetration in Europe is the result of concerns over the more competitive market effectively 'stranding' assets when customers want to switch provider – in turn making utilities less inclined to install them in the first place. In North America, by contrast, customer churn is less of an issue and many utilities have already started a program of replacing existing meters with smart meters," according to Datamonitor.

Members of congress has expressed interest in developing a nationwide smart grid in the recently proposed energy bill, which, if passed, would certainly spur smart-meter adoption.

Technology companies such as Echelon, Elster, and EnergyCite stand to benefit from the growing interest in smart metering, as it relies on networking technology and monitoring software. "There will certainly be a key role for technology vendors to demonstrate how they can facilitate smart metering and deliver the benefits it provides," Kwiatkowski says.

Posted by Ted Samson on July 11, 2007 02:11 PM

July 10, 2007 | Comments: (0)

Neoware joins The Green Grid

TAGS: Green Grid

Thin-client vendor Neoware has joined The Green Grid, a non-profit consortium dedicated to advancing energy efficiency in datacenters.

"The Green Grid is a forward-thinking organization dealing with some of the most significant technology and environmental issues facing businesses today," said Klaus Besier, president and CEO of Neoware. in a written statement. "Neoware is proud to be a part of The Green Grid along with other information technology leaders."

The company brings to The Green Grid mix its expertise in desktop virtualization and thin clients, which consume significantly less energy than desktop PCs: Desktops require a maximum of 280 watts of power whereas thin clients use around just 30 watts in the same time frame.

By my count, The Green Grid's roster includes around 75 members, a significant expansion since the group was officially announced last February.

I, for one, am looking forward to hearing what the group has been up to, as it's been rather quiet since holding its first technical summit last April.

As observed by Neoware's Besier, the group does have a critical task to achieve in developing standards and best practices to help datacenter operators get a handle on reducing waste and pollution in their facilities. Even members of the U.S. government have acknowledged the importance of the task, as evidenced by a section aimed at datacenters in Congress members' proposed energy bill.

Posted by Ted Samson on July 10, 2007 03:38 AM

July 09, 2007 | Comments: (0)

Sony hits bottom of Greenpeace eco rankings

TAGS: Apple, Hardware, Nokia, Sony

Despite Sony's consistently poor showings, Greenpeace remains fixated on Apple

Given Greenpeace's seeming obsession with Apple, I'm having an even more difficult time taking the environmental group's ongoing eco-policing of electronic companies seriously.

Greenpeace last week released the latest edition of its "Guide to Greener Electronics," in which it ranks fourteen companies based on particular environmental practices, such as their toxic-chemical policies and recycling programs.

This time around, Sony tumbled to the bottom of the list, down from 11th place. The reason for the drop: Greenpeace says Sony was "penalized for double standards on their waste policies" in terms of individual producer responsibility (IPR), referring to vendors taking responsibility for the environmental impact of their wares instead of expecting customers to do so.

"Sony is a founding member of the European Recycling Platform which supports IPR; however, in the U.S., Sony is part of a coalition that has been opposing producer responsibility and lobbying for U.S. consumers to pay an advanced recycling fee (ARF)," Greenpeace states in the current guide.

Lenovo, which was at the top of the heap last April, is now in third place. "Closer examination of Lenovo's takeback and recycling services has revealed some weaknesses e.g. time-limited takeback in Thailand, therefore Lenovo loses points on that criteria. Lenovo also still fails to score any points for providing models on the market that are free of PVC and BFRs," says the report.

Meanwhile Nokia crept to the No. 1 slot. "Nokia gets top marks for its support for [IPR], (each company should take care of the electronic waste from its own-branded discarded products). But, it loses points for poor reporting on the amounts of discarded mobiles that it recycles as a percentage of past sales."

Yet despite Sony's free-fall to last place, as well as the other changes in the rankings since April, Greenpeace appears utterly fixated on the fact that Apple managed to increase its standing from last place to tenth.

"Clearly, companies are racing to produce greener products" says Iza Kruszewska, Greenpeace's toxics campaigner on the Greenpeace Web site. "Steve Job's latest commitment to eliminate toxics materials moved Apple up the chart and they now face a challenge, with the iPhone, to meet customer expectations to be the environmental leader Apple-lovers want."

Notably, Greenpeace has been criticizing Apple for its allegedly poor green practices for quite some time, even going to far as to launch a "Green my Apple" campaign.

So Greenpeace: If you are going to police the environmental practices of companies, I suggest that you be consistent -- if you want your rankings to be taken seriously. Yes, it's good to see that Apple is doing more for Mother Nature, but meanwhile, Sony, by your standards, has continued to slip over the past several months. Should we expect a flashy, targeted marketing campaign drawing attention to Sony?

Or are you determined to continue getting as much mileage as you can breathing down Apple's neck, even though the company ships far fewer products -- and thus has a relatively smaller environmental impact -- than Sony?

Posted by Ted Samson on July 9, 2007 12:37 PM

July 05, 2007 | Comments: (0)

Power delivery, the smart way

TAGS: Alternative energy, Government, Green technology, Power consumption, Smart grids, Sustainable IT

Congress contemplates upgrading the nation's dumb electricity-delivery infrastructure to a smart grid

Electricity prices are costly, sure, but you know what else is expensive? Power outages. They cost U.S. business at least $50 billion a year, according to Electric Power Research Institute estimates, as computer screens go black, servers stop humming, conveyor belts stop moving, and workers step out for coffee. (By an odd coincidence, InfoWorld's San Francisco office is suffering a power outage as I write this article at my home office in Sacramento. I think I've discovered another benefit to telecommuting.)

It's rather heartening to see that elected officials have taken notice of the problems with the nation's energy-delivery systems, which have proven to be, at times, unreliable (rolling blackouts, anyone?) and unable to meet the nation's ever-increasing demand.

Part of the proposed energy bill from members of Congress calls for the possible development of a countrywide smart electric grid, a system that could result in overall more efficient and reliable electricity service here in the States.

Essentially, a smart grid is an intelligent electricity-delivery system, through which energy suppliers and consumers are all interconnected through a network. Smart meters are installed at homes and business to monitor energy consumption and transmit that information back to energy providers. Energy providers not only have the ability to track energy consumption -- but also to automatically throttle down energy consumption on a granular level when demand gets too high.

For example, participating users -- be they business or home owners -- might agree to have their building's air conditioning systems automatically turned down, or certain lights turned off, during peak hours when the grid is being heavily taxed. That reduces the strain on the grid, thus preventing rolling blackouts and costly downtime.

Preventing unplanned downtime for systems and employees is but one of the benefits of a smart grid. Smart meters are capable of measuring energy consumption all hours of the day, and utilities could set prices according to demand during a given time. Thus, those who wait until after peak hours to perform certain tasks -- be it a consumer turning on the dishwasher or a network admin setting systems to be woken up for patching -- could save some green.

"Letting customers choose to lower their bills by shifting usage reduces peak demand and helps avoid power shortages, transmission problems and the need to build new power plants," says Richard Mora, president and CEO of Landis+Gyr, a member of the Demand Response and Advanced Metering (DRAM) Coalition. "Just as important if not more so, by some customers reducing peak demands, it dampens the market power of sellers during peak periods and thus lowers prices for everyone."

Mora also notes that "the two-way communication ability that comes with smart meters and other demand-response technologies gives electricity providers another tool for optimizing their planning and operations and creating a truly smart grid.”

(There's an interview with Steve Widergren, administrator for the GridWise Architecture Council, right here in which he discusses in more detail how this might work for a business.)

A smart grid also can deliver energy more efficiently, according to a report by the Energy Future Coalition titled "Challenge and Opportunity: Charting a New Energy Future." [PDF] "Grid upgrades that increase the amount of power that can be moved through the transmission grid and that optimize those power flows will reduce waste and maximize use of the lowest-cost generation resources."

Again, that's good for consumers -- plus by reducing waste, it's also good for the environment.

Yet another benefit: Using the smart grid monitoring tools, providers could assess in real time how much electricity far-flung green power sources, such as wind farms and solar panels, are churning out at a given time.

Points for the grid
Smart-grid technology is already proving is worth. I recently spoke with JT Keating, the VP of marketing at Site Controls. The company offers an energy and facilities management solution called Site-Command. The platform remotely monitors, logs, and controls HVAC, lighting, outdoor signage, refrigeration, and other major in-store energy consumers. Admins have online, real-time access to the switches for all of these energy-users.

Additionally, the company offers a hosted service to monitor energy usage at its customers facilities. (Right now, the company targets large retail, restaurant, and convenience store chains.)

According to Keating, the company works with customers to establish practices for reducing energy consumption for times that local utilities are threatening to launch rolling brownouts because energy demand is too high -- a practice Keating likens to "performing surgery with an ax."

Depending on the customer, that might mean setting the AC a couple of degrees higher or turning off certain lights, practices that can add up and prevent the need for a planned blackout. According to the company, "Site Controls' intelligent load management capabilities reduced peak load by 38 percent during the emergency curtailment requested by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT)" in 2006.

Utilities such as PG&E in California and Con Edison in New York already have smart meters in place at some of the customer's locations, which have proven successful in helping monitor energy consumption and promote conservation to stave off power outages.

Smart grid technology is out there, and as evidenced by the proposed energy bill, even our sometimes non-tech-savvy elected officials are now becoming aware of the potential benefits. Even if the overall bill ends up getting buried, I, for one, certainly hope that the Feds vigorously pursue legislation promoting smart grids. Like so many other green-technologies, it's good for business and it's good for the environment, something all politicians should be behind.

Posted by Ted Samson on July 5, 2007 12:03 AM

July 04, 2007 | Comments: (0)

Yahoo deems city with three hazardous waste sites "greenest"

TAGS: Yahoo

Hastings, Nebraska has accomplished an impressive feat: Despite having three locations listed on the EPA's National Priorities List (NPL) of hazardous waste sites, it's been deemed the greenest city in America -- by Yahoo.

In May, Yahoo announced the "Greenest City in America" Challenge, through which the search company gave Internet users a chance to earn "green credits" for their respective cities -- mostly by using various Yahoo services. The city whose residents had piled up the most credits (adjusted to reflect population to even the playing field) was to earn the grandiose title, as well as either a fleet of hybrid taxi cabs or $250,000 to go toward green civic initatives.

Well, the winner turned out to be Hastings, which has a population of around 25,000. The city's claims to fame include being the birthplace of Kool-Aid, as well as home to three of the 1,243 EPA NPL sites, a list of locations in the U.S. that are known or that threaten to release hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants.

The most recent addition was at West Highway 6 and Highway 281, added the the NPL in April, 2006. The reason: "Hazardous substances have been released into the environment and have impacted two municipal wells, and some private and local business wells."

"The determined green spirit demonstrated by the people of Hastings, Nebraska, underscores Yahoo's belief that individual actions can add up to significant change," said Yahoo co-founder David Filo in a written statement in regard to Hastings winning the contest. "Cities from the coasts to the heartland rallied together to participate and we're encouraged by how the citizens came together around this important cause."

"Hastings is honored to be a part of Yahoo's 'Be a Better Planet' program and to be crowned as the greenest city in America," said Hastings Mayor Matt Rossen in a written statement. "This achievement has spurred us to become even greener, and we thank all of the citizens in central Nebraska who have supported us and helped promote this great city and state in which we live."

According to Yahoo, the city's green initiatives include "conversion of methane to energy at its pollution control center, local production of Ethanol E85, extensive networks of parks and hiking and biking trails, and installation of energy-efficient street lighting." (There was no mention of cleanup of contaminated groundwater sites in Yahoo's announcement.)

Hastings is opting for the $250,000 prize instead of the hybrid cabs.

The top 10 winners of Yahoo's "Greenest City in America" are:
1. Hastings, Nebraska
2. Pelzer, South Carolina
3. San Carlos, California
4. Mill Valley, California
5. Topeka, Kansas
6. Dover, Delaware
7. Spring, Texas
8. Lawrence, Kansas
9. Walnut Creek, California
10. Fairfax, Virginia

Posted by Ted Samson on July 4, 2007 11:23 PM