Bechtel and Nautilus Data Technologies say they have reached a partnership to build high-performance, sustainable data centers.
The partners say their data center projects will use 70% less power for cooling and eliminate the consumption of drinking water. “The partnership will help to transform the environmental footprint of the data center sector and to close the digital divide by deploying to cities, rural communities and developing economies around the world,” according to a news release.
A closed-loop water cooling system uses naturally cold water to keep server racks cool. The system uses naturally cold water from rivers, lakes or bays, and returns all of it to its source after use.
“This is a dramatic improvement over the massive amounts of water—typically drinking water—consumed by the evaporative cooling systems currently used by data centers,” according to the release. “The system delivers additional environmental improvements including no refrigerants, no chemicals, no wastewater, no noise, and no harm to fish and wildlife.”
Related Stories
| Mar 15, 2012
New Florida building code establishes flood and storm surge provisions
The new 2010 code establishes minimum design and construction requirements to protect buildings from wind, rain, floods, and storm surges.
| Mar 15, 2012
Illinois city rejects international code due to home sprinkler requirement
Macomb, Illinois aldermen voted to recommend that the city not adopt 2012 international building and residential code standards requiring the installation of overhead sprinkler systems in newly constructed one-family and two-family homes.
| Mar 15, 2012
Tenant advocates propose licensing landlords in New York City
With thousands of New York City rental units posing potential dangers to tenants, city advocates are proposing measures to make landlords improve building safety.
| Mar 15, 2012
Construction industry a big winner in federal small disadvantaged business procurement
Last year, only 5% of federal contract dollars went to small disadvantaged businesses. Construction and facilities support firms were the biggest beneficiaries.
| Mar 15, 2012
ANSI approves new fall protection standards
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has approved two American Society of Safety Engineers' (ASSE) standards addressing fall protection.
| Mar 8, 2012
Engineering innovation provides new option for meeting seismic codes in skyscrapers
Two University of Toronto engineers have developed “viscoelastic-energy-dissipating dampers” to replace many of the heavy concrete beams used in tall structures.
| Mar 8, 2012
CSI webinar on building code compliance March 22
A March 22 webinar will provide an overview of a 28-step process during the design of a building to ensure compliance with building codes.
| Mar 8, 2012
Federal silica dust rule caught in bureaucratic limbo
A federal rule meant to protect the lungs of workers has been caught in bureaucratic purgatory for more than a year.