Are Desert Solar-Powered Data Centers the Future of Energy Efficiency?

[johny899]

After binge-watching shows on Netflix, have you looked at your bill and thought, “Boy, those data centers really use a lot of electricity”? I hear ya! Data Centers maintain our online world; that includes streaming video from Netflix, cloud storage and all the tools that control A.I. With all this energy being used to keep us connected, how about putting those data centers in the desert? Crazy idea, right? Yeah, I think it could work!

Why the Desert is Perfect​

I often wondered why we build these big buildings that require a lot of power in the middle of cities that already have more than enough energy demand. Desert areas provide an abundance of sunlight, large area to build and are far less crowded. Have you ever looked at a desert area from a plane? They look like they have a lot of space!

Deserts could win:

• The sun shines all day long, every day and provides power for solar panels.
• Desert land is less expensive and it makes it easy to construct large systems.
• When heat generated from servers is located in the desert, there will not be as much heat generated and affected in a city.

It seems like it just makes sense!

What's the Challenge?​

Now that I am no longer in "dreaming" mode and can be honest, it is not easy to operate data centers in high-temperature locations. Extreme heat affects all Data Center equipment. Cooling becomes an important part of the Data Center's operations. Sandstorms also attack all surfaces of the Data Center.

Here are some key issues we need to find solutions for:

• Efficient Cooling Systems
• Durable Hardware that can withstand both Heat and Dust
• Large Battery Systems for use when solar power is unavailable at night

Have you ever thought about using your phone in direct sunlight, and it had shut off due to overheating? Now think about each one of those phones as one of hundreds of thousands of servers located in a sunny environment. It's called a "mass meltdown."

Will Solar Energy-Powered Desert Data Centers Fix Our Energy Crisis?​

My answer is YES! If we implement good cooling technologies and improve existing battery systems, we will have the ability to reduce our dependence on Fossil Fuels. Also, it will take pressure off the National Power Grids.

So are Solar Energy-Powered Desert Data Centers going to solve our Energy Crisis? I think they have a great chance of doing that, but we will need technology to keep pace with our expectations. Desert Data Center Farms may become as common as Solar Roofs one day.