Plans for tidal-powered "Blue Data Centre" flow forward

Innovative plans for what promises to be the world's first tidal-powered datacentre moved a step closer to reality today with the news that the company behind the tidal turbine technology, Atlantis Resources Corporation, has signed a development partnership with datacentre developer Internet Villages International (IVI).

Under the terms of the alliance, IVI is expected to build an energy-efficient "Blue Data Centre" that will be connected to Atlantis' planned tidal power arrays in the Pentland Firth off the north coast of Scotland.

Atlantis plans to install two 10MW tidal current turbines and will also seek to exploit a planning loophole that allows fast connection of demonstration tidal turbines generating 10MW or less to the grid by inviting a third-party tidal energy firm to also install another 10MW system at the site.

"This project is so exciting because it allows us to sidestep the GB queue for connection to the grid; something which has traditionally held back remote renewable energy projects", explained Dr James Mitchell, head of business development at Atlantis.

IVI, which describes itself as a sustainable property company specialising in energy-efficient datacentres, is to build a datacentre requiring 150MW with the three turbine systems initially expected to provide 30MW of power. Should they prove successful, Atlantis hopes to gain planning permission for further tidal arrays that would not only allow all the energy needs of the datacentre to be met using tidal power, but also enable unused energy to be sold to the grid.

Under the terms of the deal, Atlantis will also seek to provide tidal power to IVI's current Alba 1 datacentre project in Dumfries and Galloway.

Peter Hewkin, chairman of IVI, said that the partnership would underline the two companies' commitment to green datacentre technologies, adding that he hoped other firms would consider locating green datacentres in Scotland, where relatively low average temperatures and increasing renewable energy capacity can help underpin improvements in server farms' carbon footprints.

"Our relationship will act as an enabler for a green rush as the datacentre industry moves to Scotland," he predicted.

In related news, IT giant Sun Microsystems yesterday announced the completion of its new datacentre in Broomfield, Colorado, which the company said marks the largest datacentre consolidation in its history.

The company said that the use of new energy-efficient servers, power and cooling systems meant the project would result in cuts in carbon emissions of 11,000 metric tonnes a year, slash the company's US carbon footprint by six per cent, and save it more than $1m (£709,000) in annual energy bills.

Sun also said that it would now offer the technologies and strategies pioneered at Broomfield to customers as part of a new energy-efficient datacentre offering.