DOE announces $47M in funding for green IT projects

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Last week Secretary Steven Chu of the US Dept of Energy announced $47M in funding for 14 projects in energy efficient computing

…to support the development of new technologies that can improve energy efficiency in the information technology (IT) and communication technology sectors. The data processing, data storage, and telecommunications industries are a crucial part of the American information economy. The rapid growth of these industries has led to an increase in electricity use, but improvements in the sector’s energy efficiency can provide significant energy and cost savings.  The energy efficiency projects announced today will reduce energy use and carbon pollution, while helping to develop a strong, competitive domestic industry.

The projects are funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. As part of the criteria, projects had to focus on these areas

Equipment and Software – These projects will focus on the core components of a data or telecommunications center, such as servers and networking devices as well as software to optimize equipment energy use.

Power Supply Chain – These projects will develop technologies to minimize the power loss and heat generation that occurs as electricity moves through the ever growing number of server-based IT and communications systems.

Cooling – This effort will seek to demonstrate ways to cool the equipment used in IT and telecommunications work more effectively and with less power than current methods.

The $47M is being matched by funds from private industry, for a total investment of $115M. Among those receiving funding are HPC stalwarts IBM ($1.6M and $2.3M) and HP ($7.4M).