California: The total world server electricity usage from datacenters in Asia and Pacific region, excluding Japan, will increase from 10 per cent in 2000 to about 16 per cent in 2010, while the US share will decrease from 40 per cent to about one-third over that period.

A study released by AMD, based on the data from industry analyst firm IDC, reveals the shifting patterns in worldwide datacenter energy use across five regions including the US, Western Europe, Japan, Asia and Pacific (excluding Japan) and the rest of the world.

The absolute electricity consumption for servers in the Asia and Pacific region under this scenario would more than double from 2005 to 2010, requiring electricity capacity equal to output from two new 1000 MW power plants.

For the entire world, server consumption from 2005 to 2010 would require additional capacity equal to more than 10 additional 1,000 MW power plants, according to the study.
 
"Our hope is that this research helps bridge the gap between knowledge and action by furthering worldwide understanding of the economic and environmental costs associated with escalating datacenter energy consumption," AMD's Server and Workstation Marketing Director Bruce Shaw said.

According to a recent US EPA Report, datacenter energy consumption in the US five years from now could be cut by as much as 20 per cent with relatively minor efforts by datacenter managers.

This includes turning on available power management features, enabling higher rates of resource consolidation, shutting off unused servers and improving infrastructure operations.

The report also shows that electricity used by servers in the US and Europe currently comprise about two thirds of the world's total, with Japan, Asia and Pacific and the rest of the world each falling at between 10 and 15 per cent of the total.

Examining electricity use by region from 2000 to 2005, the study found that server electricity use in the Asia and Pacific region (excluding Japan) grew at a 23 per cent annual rate, compared to a world average of 16 percent a year, making this region the only one with server electricity use growing at a rate significantly greater than the world average.

The report further revealed that the Western European growth rate of 17 per cent was slightly above the world average, while growth rates in the other regions were lower than the world average.
 
According to AMD, if the 20 per cent savings estimated in the EPA report are applied to the projections in the report for global datacenter electricity use in 2010, total savings would equal approximately five 1,000 MW power plants.

"With the new findings we can begin to take next steps, including examining how we can power datacenters around the world while addressing impacts on global climate," AMD Green Senior Strategist Larry Vertal.

Informing that coal currently provides 25 per cent of global primary energy needs and generates 40 per cent of the world's electricity, he said that global community must work harder than ever to not only deliver more efficient server and cooling technology, but also to work with our industry and government partners to develop environmentally sustainable solutions

The new research adds detail to an AMD-sponsored study published in February that identified the worldwide costs associated with datacenter energy use.

The study found that in 2005 total datacenter electricity consumption in the US, including servers, cooling and auxiliary equipment, was approximately 45 billion kWh, resulting in total utility bills amounting to $2.7 billion.

That study estimated total datacenter power and electricity consumption for the world to cost $7.2 billion annually.
—iGovernment Bureau