Server farm - district energy for muni lands idea

KC · 24-08-2011, 09:12 PM

Edmonton should try to attract a server farm for the municipal airport lands redevelopment. In the winter the farm could supply heat and in the summer heat pumps could provide cooling with waste heat being used in pools, greenhouses at night, maybe as a complement to a hybrid solar system, etc.

The_Cat · 24-08-2011, 11:27 PM

I think this could be a possibility as the CCA lands are developed in stages.

KC · 25-08-2011, 08:16 AM

Yeah, they may be the future. So like cities that are airport hubs, server hubs might also work as an anchor to attract a lot of ancillarybusiness.

It seems that we're returning to a computing model close to the old dumb terminals we used to use (aka central plant/public utility/mainframe model). Except they are now handheld. Now it's got a new name for the umpteenth time and companies like Apple and Microsoft that fought IBM, Oracle over it are now promoting it under the "cloud computing" branding so everyone will now be on board.

thegongshow · 22-09-2011, 04:15 PM

Great idea KC! Server farms are big business:

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/st...terstitialskip

KC · 25-02-2012, 07:39 AM

The "cloud" belongs over the airport lands!!!

FlyFlyAway · 25-02-2012, 10:27 AM

Server farms require massive amounts of electricity. They are located based primarily on the availability of cheap, highly reliable, price-stable, hopefully green sources of electricity. Alberta electricity rates poorly on almost all of those factors.

Unless you're proposing a dirt-cheap geothermal electrical generating station, this is not a practical suggestion beyond relocating some of the Government of Alberta's various data centres (including those outsourced to third parties). I can assure you that there's no net value in that suggestion at this time.

Also, server farms provide very limited on-going employment opportunities. Those few opportunities are welcomed in isolated farm towns of 5,000 people. They would be irrelevant in a large city. Plus, the whole idea of cloud computing is to allow users to access compute power from anywhere - there's no reason why a firm using the server farm would need to be located anywhere near it.

Public server farms in Canada are best located in Quebec, northern BC (in cooperation w/ Telus), and of course Manitoba. The principles of reusing heat are (somewhat) sound and beginning to be implemented in advanced data centres; their application in Edmonton is not cost-effective. You'd no more build a competitive server farm in Edmonton in 2012 than you would an aluminum plant.

KC · 29-02-2012, 07:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlyFlyAway

Server farms require massive amounts of electricity. They are located based primarily on the availability of cheap, highly reliable, price-stable, hopefully green sources of electricity. Alberta electricity rates poorly on almost all of those factors.

Unless you're proposing a dirt-cheap geothermal electrical generating station, this is not a practical suggestion beyond relocating some of the Government of Alberta's various data centres (including those outsourced to third parties). I can assure you that there's no net value in that suggestion at this time.

Also, server farms provide very limited on-going employment opportunities. Those few opportunities are welcomed in isolated farm towns of 5,000 people. They would be irrelevant in a large city. Plus, the whole idea of cloud computing is to allow users to access compute power from anywhere - there's no reason why a firm using the server farm would need to be located anywhere near it.

Public server farms in Canada are best located in Quebec, northern BC (in cooperation w/ Telus), and of course Manitoba. The principles of reusing heat are (somewhat) sound and beginning to be implemented in advanced data centres; their application in Edmonton is not cost-effective. You'd no more build a competitive server farm in Edmonton in 2012 than you would an aluminum plant.

But,but,but... I don't understand... We have the Alberta Advantage AND electricity deregulation!

P.S. good points. Thanks for the input.

24-08-2011, 09:12 PM	#1
KC Addicted to C2E Join Date: Mar 2006	Server farm - district energy for muni lands idea Edmonton should try to attract a server farm for the municipal airport lands redevelopment. In the winter the farm could supply heat and in the summer heat pumps could provide cooling with waste heat being used in pools, greenhouses at night, maybe as a complement to a hybrid solar system, etc.

24-08-2011, 11:27 PM	#2
The_Cat Addicted to C2E Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Sherwood Park, AB	I think this could be a possibility as the CCA lands are developed in stages. __________________ "Talk minus action equals zero." - Joe Keithley, D. O. A.

22-09-2011, 04:15 PM	#4
thegongshow Partially Addicted to C2E Join Date: May 2007 Location: In a van down by the river	Great idea KC! Server farms are big business: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/st...terstitialskip __________________ It's not EIA it's YEG

25-08-2011, 08:16 AM	#3
KC Addicted to C2E Join Date: Mar 2006	Yeah, they may be the future. So like cities that are airport hubs, server hubs might also work as an anchor to attract a lot of ancillarybusiness. It seems that we're returning to a computing model close to the old dumb terminals we used to use (aka central plant/public utility/mainframe model). Except they are now handheld. Now it's got a new name for the umpteenth time and companies like Apple and Microsoft that fought IBM, Oracle over it are now promoting it under the "cloud computing" branding so everyone will now be on board.

25-02-2012, 07:39 AM	#5
KC Addicted to C2E Join Date: Mar 2006	The "cloud" belongs over the airport lands!!!

25-02-2012, 10:27 AM	#6
FlyFlyAway Partially Addicted to C2E Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Edmonton	Server farms require massive amounts of electricity. They are located based primarily on the availability of cheap, highly reliable, price-stable, hopefully green sources of electricity. Alberta electricity rates poorly on almost all of those factors. Unless you're proposing a dirt-cheap geothermal electrical generating station, this is not a practical suggestion beyond relocating some of the Government of Alberta's various data centres (including those outsourced to third parties). I can assure you that there's no net value in that suggestion at this time. Also, server farms provide very limited on-going employment opportunities. Those few opportunities are welcomed in isolated farm towns of 5,000 people. They would be irrelevant in a large city. Plus, the whole idea of cloud computing is to allow users to access compute power from anywhere - there's no reason why a firm using the server farm would need to be located anywhere near it. Public server farms in Canada are best located in Quebec, northern BC (in cooperation w/ Telus), and of course Manitoba. The principles of reusing heat are (somewhat) sound and beginning to be implemented in advanced data centres; their application in Edmonton is not cost-effective. You'd no more build a competitive server farm in Edmonton in 2012 than you would an aluminum plant.