Tom Raftery is building a carbon neutral data centre in Cork called CIX. When I first heard about it, my eyes glazed over. Data centres can be pretty dull topics of conversation – unless you’re interested in conserving energy. I have to confess my understanding of physics ended when I was 12 years old and had discovered how to make gunpowder. But that’s another story. Even so, I managed to understand the basic principles involved.
I won’t go into the details (there is an excellent white paper here) but in essence, Tom and his team have turned the problem of air and temperature control upside down to come up with a solution. I asked Tom if this meant additional construction cost compared to traditional solutions but apparently there is no cost impact. It’s all in the design. This means dramatically reduced power consumption. It should lead to CIX being a lower cost operation. Unfortunately, the cost of data bandwidth in Cork is extortionate – for the time being. That means in the initial stages CIX will be more expensive than other data centres. Costs will fall as CIX capacity is reached. Despite the cost disadvantage, Tom tells me he’s had enquiries from customers prepared to pay a premium so they can be part of this innovative carbon neutral experiment.
Also, Tom initially thought the idea could only have utility in certain circumstances. Surprise, surprise. He’s been getting enquiries from all over Europe. Given Silicon Valley faces an energy crisis, I wonder whether anyone in the US has thought of this. If they haven’t then perhaps they should consult with Tom and his team.
If you care about the environmental impact of running your IT infrastructure then it might be worth giving Tom a call. 
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