Facebook Turns to Coal Power for New Data Center
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Are you a fan of Facebook? If so, you may be interested in knowing that their data center is now powered by coal. Yes, that’s right. This leading social network is powered by the number one cause of climate change.
Last month, Facebook vice president, John Heiliger, announced they would be building their first data center in Oregon. Given the amount of renewable energy available throughout the state, many figured that was the direction this social network giant was headed in. Unfortunately, that wasn’t entirely the case.
Pacific Power, a division of PacifiCorp, is providing the electricity to the data center. According to a Data Center News article written by executive editor, Matt Stansberry:
“While Pacific Power gets some hydropower from BPA, its primary power-generation fuel is coal, according to Jason Carr, the manager of the Prineville office of economic development for Central Oregon.
With the price of hydropower increasing in the Northwest, Facebook opted to bet on the incremental price increases associated with coal rather than face tier-two pricing from BPA.”
In other words, because coal power is simply cheaper, that’s what they’re going with. Granted, they are using an outside-air intake system, which will keep the data servers cool while leaving a much smaller carbon footprint; but considering all the pollution and gases that will be unleashed by the coal plants, well, there’s really no comparison.
I am sure some of you may want to look for a social networking site that is a bit more environmentally friendly. You can find a good list of them on the directory at GreenMaven.com.
By Heidi Marshall
I have been with GreenFudge for about a year now, but I've had a passion for Nature my entire life. When I'm not writing articles, you can find me out hiking, gardening, working on green craft projects, or taking photos for my website. You can check out the site at http://arkisaeo.com
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Tags: climate change, coal power, data center, Facebook, Oregon, Pacific Power, Pollution
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