The modern world relies heavily on computing technology, from e-commerce webistes, to email servers to financial processing computers. For efficiency reasons large datacentres provide the resources to run many thousands of these computers on one site, with customers administering their machines remotely over the internet.

One of these companies, Rackspace, seeking to move on from its experiences in carbon-offsetting its activities, has constructed a pioneering datacentre in Slough drawing its power from a local wood-fired CHP plant.

"At first glance the idea of Rackspace's wood-fired datacentre may look like a rather primitive solution for reducing the firm's carbon footprint, but in fact CHP plants represent one of the more technically feasible sources of clean energy and it would be no surprise to see growing numbers of firms and business estates investigating how this model could also work for them."

With the provision of the right information infrastructure, Wales with its ready access to biomass reserves, is well-placed to attract projects of this nature.

IT Week article

Labels: biomass, carbon neutral, case study