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HP Claims Cow Manure Could Power Server Farms

by Caleb Johnson on May 20, 2010 at 05:00 PM

Oddly enough, cow manure could be a possible solution for technology companies looking for cheaper real estate and electricity. According to The New York Times, a paper written by Hewlett-Packard engineers proposes that tech companies build facilities near dairy farms and use biogas, which is a type of methane created from cow manure, to power their server farms. HP claims that 10,000 cows could produce enough waste to power a 1-megawatt data center, equal to a small computing center that a bank might use.

While this method wouldn't totally replace current power systems, it could provide a cash flow supplement to farmers and a way to dispose of waste. An HP illustration shows how this would provide companies with cheap electricity while also aiding farmers in a modern day ecosystem. Since heat is needed in the biogas creation process, and computer servers create heat, HP argues that a "symbiotic" relationship exists where it would be beneficial for companies to lease or purchase land near dairy farms. We can't say we ever expected our phones to be running on a bovine-powered cloud. [From: The New York Times]

Tags: cows, electricity, farm, farming, green, hewlett-packard, hp, server, top

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