HP expands datacenter location checklist to include ready source of manure

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I was going to use “poop” in the title in honor of my kids, but then I thought that was unprofessional. Then I thought, “hey, this is a blog.” As you can see I went with a hybrid approach…thoughts?

Anywho, c|net’s Erica Ogg reported earlier this week that researchers from HP Labs are presenting a paper at the ASME International Conference on Energy Sustainability conference on the use of waste products from cows to provide power for datacenters

Cows in the datacenterAs odd as it may sound, that’s where the cows come in. The average dairy cow produces 55 kilograms of manure per day, or 20 metric tons per year. An individual cow’s manure can generate 3 kilowatt-hours of electrical energy per day. (That alone could power television usage in three U.S. households on a daily basis.)

And on a farm with 10,000 cows, that amounts to enough energy to power a 1-megawatt data center, according to HP researchers.

And there you have what it sure to be an awesome conversation starting at your next cocktail keg party.