In 1973, at the peak of the global energy crisis, when oil prices reached their maximum, the governments of Western countries were forced to adapt to new economic conditions. Thus, the crisis became the starting point for the start of energy restructuring. In the same period, developed national energy saving programs were adopted in developed countries.

At the moment, and in the near future, the largest consumers of electricity are data processing centers: they account for about 2% of all electricity generated in the world.

Now annually about 24.7 billion US dollars are spent on power supply and cooling of unused server systems in data centers. This is about 15% of servers in data centers that are idle and at the same time consume electricity. The average annual power consumption of a server with a 400-watt power supply is approximately $ 800 US.
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For data center operators, it quickly became apparent that reducing the electricity used for technological purposes would not only reduce the amount of bills from power companies, but also make it possible to use the released capacity for commercial purposes, which is important in the face of serious electric power shortages in many regions.


It turns out that, by its very nature, the use of energy efficient technologies falls quite easily into the model of a commercial company whose main goal is to maximize the benefits. In fact, it turns out that the cost of energy-efficient equipment is much higher than the counterparts that do not correspond to the “green” technologies, and this, in turn, increases not only the capital costs at the start, but also the payback of the project as a whole. Actually, the conclusion suggests itself: why pay more, if it may bring an economic effect, but in the long run, money is needed now.

What drives companies that actively implement energy-efficient technologies - is it really a concern for nature? Of course not. As we said above, companies are only interested in making a profit, and if it is necessary to cut down all the forests in Siberia in order to burn them and get enough energy, believe me, they will do it.

State

In the West, the state plays an important role in the introduction of expensive green energy-efficient technologies by commercial companies. The simplest and most obvious way to regulate is the introduction of various environmental regulations and very impressive fines for their violation.

In the near future, the US Environmental Protection Agency [1] plans to introduce new standards called Energy Star, designed for data centers. Regulatory practice and related taxes are used in other developed countries. For example, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan [2] oversees the Top Runner program, offering stakeholders the basic principles for choosing energy efficient equipment, similar to those listed in Energy Star. METI is working to create a system of data center performance indicators and harmonize such a system with similar developments by the Department of Energy and the US Chamber of Commerce, the EPA and the Green Grid [3]. METI and the Ministry of the Interior of Japan independently publish recommendations for data center operators, and in the coming years, officials plan to combine all recommendations into a single document.

Taxation of electricity is currently being discussed in different countries [4]. Japan abolished the tax levy for energy consumers, and in some US states, trading in emission quotas is being implemented (the cap-and-trade program). The program cap-and-trade (state of California) is aimed at reducing harmful emissions [5]. This summer, he launched an online auction where 150 of the state’s largest emitters can buy CO2 emission quotes. From 2015, the program will be extended not only to industrial enterprises, but also to fuel distributors.

Of course, the introduction of draconian measures and protective norms will have a negative impact on the economic climate in the country and will lead to a significant outflow of investments. Therefore, it is most reasonable to gradually increase the environmental pressure, while stimulating companies not only with “a scourge, but also with a carrot”, and this has been happening and is happening, but so far only in developed countries.

For example, in the same US government at the federal and regional levels allocates millions of dollars in the form of grants and various tax benefits not only to attract companies to the regions, but also to stimulate the use of energy efficient technologies.

Thus, companies have the opportunity to close a substantial part of their additional costs arising from the acquisition of more expensive equipment, and inform their customers that they use the services of a company that cares about the environment.

Community organizations

The difference in mentality also plays a certain role: to protect nature, not to throw garbage on the streets, but to put it in containers by type of waste (paper, plastic, glass) in the West and in Japan are taught in school, and in more mature age these rules are grafted in the very way life, as well as the example of others, therefore, it is much easier to play by the rules of such people when they are at the helm of companies - they have been taught this since childhood. In addition, those who do not comply with the rules are subject to huge fines. A huge role is played by the image component, the ability to say publicly: We care about the environment and people, so we use more expensive energy-efficient technologies and renewable energy sources. ”



In addition, environmental organizations play an important role, for example, Facebook has repeatedly received warnings and “black marks” from Greenpeace for the fact that the company's data centers used electricity generated at coal and nuclear power plants, and therefore data centers are considered the most efficient sources. hazardous pollution. Greenpeace also developed its clean energy index , which ranks the largest IT companies by the degree of use of "green" technologies. Under public pressure, Facebook began to take a step towards green technologies, including the use of energy-saving and environmentally friendly sources of energy. Meanwhile, Google went even further, starting to use the cold waters of the Gulf of Finland to cool its data center in Finland, which significantly reduced the power consumption of the data center. And such projects around the world is becoming more and more.

In Russia, where not enough attention is paid to environmental protection, and it is limited only to bans and fines, the wide distribution of energy efficient technologies is quite local in nature, and they are used in cases where no serious investment is required.

In 1996, the Law on Energy Saving was adopted in the Russian Federation, which simultaneously became both an incentive for the development of energy efficiency and a brake on the way of this process.

With its declarativeness and vagueness, the law created barriers to the expanded introduction of the energy saving regime in the regions. Nevertheless, over 15 years of the existence of the law, teams of enthusiasts have been formed who have realized the full need for an energy efficiency program and possible ways to implement it. A huge amount of energy saving information has been accumulated.

In November 2009, the Federal Law N 261- “On Energy Saving and Improving Energy Efficiency and Amending Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation” (with amendments and additions) was adopted

The final ratio shows that the energy efficiency of the Russian economy is 2.5–3 times lower than the world average energy efficiency for the entire period. Moreover, the estimated potential energy savings over the 16 years has increased from 350 to 420 million tons of standard fuel per year. Today, in terms of the inefficiency of energy use, Russia is in 12th place in the world - between Kazakhstan and Ukraine. The energy efficiency of the economies of European countries and Japan is 3.5 times higher, China’s economy 2.3 times, Canada 2 times, the USA 2.5 times.

It should be noted a recent turning point: the combination of rising energy prices, increasing demand for computing power, environmental problems and economic pressure made green data centers the engine for the transformation of the entire IT industry. According to a recent report by Pike Research, part of Navigant's Energy Practice, the global market for green data centers will grow from $ 17.1 billion in 2012 to $ 45.4 billion by 2016, with a cumulative annual growth rate of almost 28% .

Currently, Western equipment manufacturers, including those for IT, are forced to actively work on improving efficiency. The reason for this is the enormous pressure from the public and all sorts of environmental organizations. Thus, these changes cannot but affect Russia.

In turn, we would also like to draw attention to the problem of using energy efficient technologies in Russia and recall that November 11 is International Energy Efficiency Day. To this date, together with CROC, we have prepared an original gift for all subscribers of the specialized industry magazine TsODy.RF.

[1] Environmental Protection Agency; EPA

[2] Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry - METI

[3] Global organization with a focus on improving the efficiency of data centers

[4] Global taxes on carbon / energy consumption: www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1492651/Factbox-Carbon-taxes-around-the-world

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_tax

[5] San Jose Mercury News, August 30, 2012, “California's cap-and-trade program to cut emissions starts a trial run” by Dana Hull (dhull@mercurynews.com), www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_21428079/trial -run-california-cap-trade-program-thursday-cut-emissions