Interesting that Ireland & concern for electric power consumption by
computers should appear together in a new context.
In late 2017 there were articles widely quoted (and since questioned on
accuracy) that use of computers for mining cryptocurrency was estimated
to consume annually more electrical power world-wide than the entire
annual electric power consumption of Ireland. The assumptions made in
that estimate have caused its accuracy to be questioned, but the usage
by this activity is still considered sufficiently significant that an
increasing number of countries with stressed electric power grids have
put restrictions on cryptocurrency mining.
Cryptocurrency mining makes the most sense in locales where there is
cheap electricity available, which I gather is not the case in Ireland,
where electricity is reportedly among the most expensive in Europe; so
presumably the concerns in this article are about more conventional data
center power usage.
Joel C. Ewing
On 2/11/23 09:40, Dave Jones wrote:
Recently the BBC posted an article about how the grow in Irish data centers (or "centres"
for the Brits) is causing a possible power crises. See "Can we make the internet less
power-thirsty?" (https://www.bbc.com/news/business-64429819). Sounds like a great opportunity
for IBM to highlight the sustainability of large numbers of Linux on z servers running on a z16 box.
Hopefully somebody at IBM is taking a hard look at this now.
And the Brits seem to get it:
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He points out that using the term "cloud" is highly misleading, as it is "a very
physical thing".
The cloud does not float in the atmosphere, it consists of computer servers
with a vast appetite for electricity.
The Irish example highlights how a combination of environmental concerns and
worries about capacity in the grid have triggered a race to save the reputation
of the data centre industry.
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DJ
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Joel C. Ewing
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