Issue link: http://cp.revolio.com/i/860140
24 | THE DATA CENTER JOURNAL www.datacenterjournal.com and all energy sources, whereas the price is only for industrial electric- ity. e average electricity price for all sectors follows a similar trend, however, just at a higher price. e price for all energy types is probably similar. Moreover, the average price hides the large variations among different locations or markets. Rural areas, for example, may have lower prices than urban areas. renewABles: still peAnuts Despite the steady promotion of wind, solar and similar alternative energy sources, they remain a small fraction of total U.S. power produc- tion. ey have seen an upward trend in production since about 2001, but only in 2011 did they exceed nuclear power (aer having traded positions periodically since the late 1980s). As a percentage of total power produc- tion, so-called renewables are just 12% and have yet to show signs of becoming a more than a supplemen- tary portion of that total. Wind and solar amounted to only about 3% of total production. Among conven- tional energy sources (fossil fuels), a decline in coal has been more than offset by natural gas and crude oil, leading to a sharp increase since about 2010 aer nearly a four-decade plateau. Of course, a power grid that relies mostly on intermittent alterna- tive sources such as solar and wind would face tremendous problems. Specifically, utilities would be hard pressed to supply the steady power that customers—especially data centers—demand. Running coal plants irregularly or at low utilization is inefficient, wasting some of the ostensible gains that renewables can provide. e right balance of sources remains an open question, however. A chief concern driving the push for alternative energy sources is the environment—particularly airborne emissions. Setting aside the question of whether carbon-dioxide emissions are bad, EIA data indi- cates that aer peaking in the late 2000s, the absolute amount has fallen approximately 10%. Emissions per capita have thus fallen even more. Between 1980 and 2009, nitrous-ox- ide rose 15%, but because the popula- tion rose 35% during that same period, per-capita emissions fell. Methane emissions rose about 3% during that period. Neither showed a steady trend in the interim. outlook for tHe dAtA center For data centers, this informa- tion goes to the heart of several important areas: expenses, energy quality and availability, and govern- ment regulations. In the case of expenses, the average electricity price for industrial use increased sharply aer the dot-com bust, but it leveled off aer the Great Recession. e nat- ural question is where it will go from there. Although anything but further increases would seem unthinkable, a downward trend is possible, as the 1980s and 1990s demonstrated. Part of the recent price plateau may be greater production combined with flat to down demand. Whether the Jevons paradox is at work is unclear, but certainly energy efficiency has increased without a commensurate increase in demand. Moreover, this overall average price fails to address the wide variation from region to region. In prime areas (oen closer to customers), data center operators can