Computer power
We tend to forget that computers have running costs, but if you have a lot of computer equipment it can make a serious dent in the electricity bill. When you are running a data centre, the costs can be huge.
In America, the National Security Agency (NSA), like GCHQ in Britain, is responsible for monitoring and analysis of foreign intelligence communications. It is planning to build a one million square foot data centre (approximately 120 acres) at Camp Williams, Utah, and a major reason for that choice is that the area has good supplies of low cost electricity. It is estimated that the facility will require a massive 65 megawatts of power. Obviously, that will not all be directly due to the computing equipment since there will be human requirements for lighting, heating, air conditioning and coffee machines, but nevertheless it illustrates how electricity is a major cost factor in data centres. Initial building work will cost $181 million, of which $52 million will be spent on the electrical infrastructure. The final cost is expected to be $1.9 billion.
Cheap power was also a major factor in Yahoo's planning for its next data centre. It will be building a $150 million data centre at Buffalo covering 95,000 square feet initially and expected to double in size during the second phase of building in 2012. It will eventually house in excess of 150,000 server units. The power will come from Niagra Falls which has guaranteed a 15 megawatt supply at prices which will save Yahoo $100 million over the next 15 years.
22nd July 2009