Post by coolplanet on Aug 15, 2013 17:03:24 GMT -5
Bracing for the Cloud
Digital Economy Requires Massive Amount of Electricity
To understand the voracious growth and scale of investment in the global information-communication-technology ecosystem, consider this fact: the cloud is now approaching 10 percent of the world’s electricity consumption. At the individual level, when you count all components of usage – not just charging – the average iPhone consumes more energy annually than a medium-sized refrigerator. A new report from Digital Power Group CEO Mark Mills titled “The Cloud Begins with Coal” calculates just how much electricity (mainly sourced by coal) and physical infrastructure will be needed in order to power our digital economy.
August 13, 2013 | Breakthrough Staff
thebreakthrough.org/index.php/programs/economic-growth/bracing-for-the-cloud/
They weigh less than five ounces, but according to recent data, when you count everything that matters, the average iPhone consumed more energy last year than a medium-sized refrigerator. By the numbers, a refrigerator from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star ratings list uses about 322 kWh per year. In contrast, the average iPhone used 361 kWh of electricity when you add up its wireless connections, data usage, and battery charging. Considering that a smart phone represents just one device in the ocean of the world’s Information-Communications-Technologies (ICT) ecosystem, it seems superfluous to say that the digital economy is poised to consume massive amounts of energy.
The argument bears repeating, however. Recent media coverage of the cloud suggests that improvements in energy efficiency will curb energy consumption. In his new report titled The Cloud Begins With Coal: Big Data, Big Networks, Big Infrastructure, and Big Power, August 2013, Mark Mills, CEO of Digital Power Group, argues that, despite suggestions otherwise, these applications should have very little impact on overall IT power consumption. The study, which was sponsored by the National Mining Association and the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, concurs (perhaps unexpectedly) with earlier studies undertaken by Greenpeace, and further illustrates that the rapid growth of the global digital era is transforming our energy ecosystem in unprecedented ways.
According to Mills, the global ICT system is now approaching 10 percent of the world’s electricity generation. By current calculations, the cloud uses about 1,500 TWh of electricity annually, which is equal to the combined electrical generation of Japan and Germany.
In the near future, hourly Internet traffic will exceed the Internet’s annual traffic in the year 2000. The global ICT ecosystem now also consumes as much electricity as global lighting did circa 1985.
Full article at link:
thebreakthrough.org/index.php/programs/economic-growth/bracing-for-the-cloud/
Digital Economy Requires Massive Amount of Electricity
To understand the voracious growth and scale of investment in the global information-communication-technology ecosystem, consider this fact: the cloud is now approaching 10 percent of the world’s electricity consumption. At the individual level, when you count all components of usage – not just charging – the average iPhone consumes more energy annually than a medium-sized refrigerator. A new report from Digital Power Group CEO Mark Mills titled “The Cloud Begins with Coal” calculates just how much electricity (mainly sourced by coal) and physical infrastructure will be needed in order to power our digital economy.
August 13, 2013 | Breakthrough Staff
thebreakthrough.org/index.php/programs/economic-growth/bracing-for-the-cloud/
They weigh less than five ounces, but according to recent data, when you count everything that matters, the average iPhone consumed more energy last year than a medium-sized refrigerator. By the numbers, a refrigerator from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star ratings list uses about 322 kWh per year. In contrast, the average iPhone used 361 kWh of electricity when you add up its wireless connections, data usage, and battery charging. Considering that a smart phone represents just one device in the ocean of the world’s Information-Communications-Technologies (ICT) ecosystem, it seems superfluous to say that the digital economy is poised to consume massive amounts of energy.
The argument bears repeating, however. Recent media coverage of the cloud suggests that improvements in energy efficiency will curb energy consumption. In his new report titled The Cloud Begins With Coal: Big Data, Big Networks, Big Infrastructure, and Big Power, August 2013, Mark Mills, CEO of Digital Power Group, argues that, despite suggestions otherwise, these applications should have very little impact on overall IT power consumption. The study, which was sponsored by the National Mining Association and the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, concurs (perhaps unexpectedly) with earlier studies undertaken by Greenpeace, and further illustrates that the rapid growth of the global digital era is transforming our energy ecosystem in unprecedented ways.
According to Mills, the global ICT system is now approaching 10 percent of the world’s electricity generation. By current calculations, the cloud uses about 1,500 TWh of electricity annually, which is equal to the combined electrical generation of Japan and Germany.
In the near future, hourly Internet traffic will exceed the Internet’s annual traffic in the year 2000. The global ICT ecosystem now also consumes as much electricity as global lighting did circa 1985.
Full article at link:
thebreakthrough.org/index.php/programs/economic-growth/bracing-for-the-cloud/