- Santa Clara Water-free Cooling: California’s green building code (Title 24 or CalGreen) has some of the most stringent energy efficiency requirements in the world. Many data centers meet these energy efficiency requirements by evaporating water, which is “invisible” to the energy calculations. When we started planning our new facilities in Santa Clara, California, we knew we needed a different approach. We combined return air coolers with economizing air-cooled chillers as well as variable speed pumps and drives to achieve a highly efficient design PUE of 1.23 and WUE of under 0.1 (based on projections of facility maintenance, landscaping, and domestic water). By integrating water efficient technology into our Santa Clara facility design, we reduce stress on the local water resources, leaving more water for use by the surrounding communities as well as the local environment.
- CyrusOne Zero Water Consumption Cooling: No water is consumed to cool this facility (such as water towers or evaporative cooling). Minimal amounts of water are used for humidification and facility maintenance. This facility uses highly efficient chillers, variable frequency drives, and energy-efficient fan wall CRAH units to achieve high efficiency air-cooled chilling. Based on a U.S. Dept of Energy estimate, an average U.S. data center of the same capacity typically consumes over 11 million gallons of water per month for cooling.
- Regional Water Stress: The Santa Clara area currently has sufficient water supply, but that is projected to change drastically in the next decade. By 2030, the region is projected to experience extremely high water stress. Unlike many other data centers, CyrusOne’s Santa Clara campus will not use water for cooling and will therefore be insulated from this regional water risk, both current and future.
Water Risk and Use |
Now |
2030 Projection |
2040 Projection |
Regional Water Stress |
Low |
Extremely High |
Extremely High |
CyrusOne Water Use |
Zero Consumption |
Zero Consumption |
Zero Consumption |
(Risk assessment and projections based on WRI Aqueduct Tool)
- Regional Grid Greenhouse Gases: How much greenhouse gas does this facility’s local electrical grid emit while generating electricity? (Useful for Location-based greenhouse gas reporting)
Greenhouse Gases |
2004 |
2007 |
2012 |
2016 |
2018 |
MTCO2/MWh |
0.399 |
0.309 |
0.295 |
0.239 |
0.225 |
The carbon-intensity of the grid has improved about 2.9% points per year over the last 14 years of published data. Reported by the US EPA eGRID for the WECC California subregion (CAMX).
- Regional Grid Renewables: What percentage of this facility’s local electrical grid is from renewable sources (wind, solar, biomass, hydro, and geothermal)?
Grid Renewables |
2004 |
2007 |
2012 |
2016 |
2018 |
Percent from renewable sources |
24.9% |
21.6% |
25.9% |
36.7% |
40.2% |
This has been increasing about 1% points per year over the last 14 years of published data. Based on US EPA eGRID data for the WECC California subregion (CAMX).