Specs of a data center powered by microturbines

Description

Syracuse University – regularly ranked among the Top 100 in the United States –opened the Green Data Center in December 2009. The 12,000 square foot facility is designed to use 50 percent less energy and produce fewer greenhouse gasses than traditional data centers.

Location

Syracuse, New York, USA

Commissioned

December 2009

Fuel

Natural gas

Propane-air mixture as backup fuel if natural-gas system fails

Technologies

12 Capstone C65 Hybrid UPS microturbines used in a CCHP application.

Two 150-ton Thermax absorption chillers.

Cain Industries heat exchanger.

Validus high-voltage AC-DC rectifier.

One 40-ton EnerSys battery bank to carry the data center’s maximum load for 17 minutes in rare catastrophic situations.

Results

The data center is 

designed to use 50% less energy and produce fewer greenhouse gasses than traditional data centers.

Capstone’s Hybrid UPS generates power 

while also using utility power to meet the center’s electrical load demand. This allows the system to operate at the optimum point, which is a balance between electrical requirements and heating and cooling demand.