NYSERDA to Invest $100 Million in Data Center Research

Over the next two years, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) will provide over $100 million to help data centers (notable energy hogs because of the amount of electricity they need to power and cool servers) and manufacturers control their energy costs and improve their competitiveness. To ensure the widest possible access to these energy efficiency funds,NYSERDA has awarded three companies approximately $2 million each to help manufacturers and data centers identify cost-effective energy-saving options and educate these businesses on available funding. The companies are Clough Harbour & Associates (CHA), Albany, N.Y.; Energy & Resource Solutions (ERS), New York; and Willdan Energy Solutions, New York. New York has the nation's second largest concentration of data centers and NYSERDA says the state's investment over the next two years will help the data center industry grow and support economic development. Recent studies conducted by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found that New York data centers spend nearly $600 million per year on energy costs and projected that their energy consumption could double in three to five years.