During my graduate school work, I had the unique opportunity to work on what is still one of the most energy efficient data centers in the world. This was a collaborative effort between Syracuse University, IBM Corporation, GEM Energy and NYSERDA. This state-of-the-art data center implemented several innovative features that promised to reduce primary energy consumption by as much as 50 percent when compared to a conventional utility-powered data center. Much of the improvement stems from the use of an on-site natural gas microturbine-based cogeneration system. This system supplies the data center’s electricity and cooling needs and provides surplus electricity, cooling and heating to adjacent campus buildings.
Here is a link to some details of the Syracuse University Green Data Center.
Additionally, check out this video, featuring some of my colleagues discussing the project:
Dustin W Demetriou 