Cloud computing has always been believed to have a
‘green’ technology simply because of its ability to
save energy and costs by better utilization of computer resources.
It has been argued that by moving multiple physical resources to a
virtual consolidated cloud-based infrastructure, enterprises will
save significantly on energy consumed.
However, a recent Greenpeace report has shattered the image of
cloud computing as a clean technology, by an explosive report
titled ‘Make IT Green: Cloud computing and its contribution
to climate change’. The report citing statistics says
that at current growth rates, data centers and telecommunication
networks -- the two key components of the cloud, will consume about
1,963 billion kilowatts hours of electricity in 2020. This is more
than triple their current consumption and over half the current
electricity consumption of the United States or more than France,
Germany, Canada and Brazil combined.
Greenpeace argues that as adoption of the cloud grows, there
will be an increasing demand for energy, and that massive storage
facilities will consume incredible amounts of energy. Greenpeace
also notes that in the quest for accessing power at the lowest
cost, companies are ironically using ‘dirty’
technologies such as coal to power their data centers. It cites the
example of Facebook, which recently commissioned a new data center
in Oregon and signed an agreement with PacificCorp, a utility that
gets the majority of its energy from coal-fired power stations, the
United States’ largest source of greenhouse gas
emissions.
|
"While the intent of Greenpeace is laudable in highlighting
gaps in common perceptions, the metrics need a closer
dissemination”
- M Laxmi Narayan (Lux) Rao, Marketing Director, Global Sales
Programs, Jamcracker
|
Greenpeace’s premise is simple – the growth of the
cloud should not increase demand for more cloud infrastructure to
be built in places where it will increase demand for dirty coal
powered electricity – leading to an increase in CO2
emissions.
With the current hype and interest around cloud computing, this
report has naturally received an avalanche of passionate responses
across the globe. A significant percentage of analysts and vendors
have ripped Greenpeace apart for its selective reporting of numbers
from a report titled ‘SMART 2020: Enabling the low carbon
economy in the Information Age’ issued by the Climate Group
and the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSI) in 2008.
|
Greenpeace argues that as adoption of the cloud
grows, there will be an increasing demand for energy, and that
massive storage facilities will consume incredible amounts of
energy
|
M Laxmi Narayan (Lux) Rao, Marketing Director, Global Sales
Programs, Jamcracker (a SaaS solutions aggregator), says that given
the popularity of cloud computing, it has stirred up a
hornet’s nest. “While the intent of Greenpeace is
laudable in highlighting gaps in common perceptions, the metrics
need a closer dissemination,” opines Rao, pointing out the
need for looking closely at the original report that Greenpeace has
based its current report.
Rao quotes from the report that Greenpeace used to arrive at its
statistics. The report clearly says that the Global IT sector
contributes to a mere 2 percent of global CO2 emissions. This is a
key statistic that that Greenpeace has conveniently not mentioned
in its latest report.
Another key statement that has not been stated in the report is
the fact that specific ICT opportunities identified in the report
can lead to emission reductions five times the size of the
sector’s own footprint. “In effect what the report
states is the fact that the IT sector has a key role to play in
ensuring that we are enabling a green planet,” explains Rao,
highlighting how specific statistics if taken out of context can
acquire a completely different meaning.