HP data center fueled by hopes, dreams and… cow dung

We’ve seen data centers use excess heat for greener purposes, but how’s about injecting a little green into the other side of that equation? HP Labs is on that very wavelength, going so far as to publish details on how these centers could be partially powered by none other than cow manure. Yeah, cowpies. The essential thought process went a little something like this: “Data centers need a lot of energy. Dairy farms create a lot of methane. Let’s make it happen.” Purportedly, 10,000 dairy cows could “fulfill the power requirements of a 1-megawatt data center — the equivalent of a medium-sized data center — with power left over to support other needs on the farm,” and heat generated by the data center could “be used to increase the efficiency of the anaerobic digestion of animal waste.” The stomach-twisting details can be found beyond the break, but we can’t be held responsible for any images you conjure up. Remember — once your third eye sees it, you can’t un-see it.

[Thanks, Bob]

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HP data center fueled by hopes, dreams and… cow dung originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 19 May 2010 14:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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