Apr 23 2008
On April 21, EPA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with The Green Grid to promote energy efficiency in small computer rooms. This event recognizes the innovative efforts of EPA and the Information Technology (IT) industry to promote the "greening" of computer facilities. The effort begins with evaluating an existing EPA computer room for ways to optimize energy efficiency, then finding ways to standardize processes and performance measures. Ultimately, the goal of this partnership is to share best practices for replication with other governmental agencies and industry stakeholders. Future partnerships between EPA, federal partners, and associations will help design and build our way into a green federal IT infrastructure.
Computer rooms across the United States accounted for an astonishing 1.5 percent of total U.S. electricity demand in 2006 - equivalent to the annual electric consumption of the state of Florida. "Throughout the U.S., computer centers are becoming the fastest growing users of energy. As this sector experiences tremendous growth, EPA and The Green Grid see tremendous opportunity," said EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson. "By investing in energy efficiency in our own computer centers, we are proving that doing what's good for the environment is also good for the bottom line." While these computer rooms may be small, they are numerous at EPA and other large organizations, and this effort promises to yield large energy savings.
EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson and John Tuccillo, a director of The Green Grid, formalized the MOU in a signing ceremony held in Washington, D.C.