SUSTAINABILITY
Omdia | February 08, 2022
A ground-breaking survey by research group Omdia showed that within the next four years data center operators will deploy uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) which are able to interact with the electric grid and support essential energy-management initiatives.
The use of renewable energy is growing on all fronts and is becoming the new normal in the data center industry. The integration of variable renewable energy resources into a more dynamic electric grid comes with new challenges and technical requirements. Data centers are in a unique position to increase the reliability of the electric grid by allowing access to a part of their backup power systems. Data center UPSs have evolved to attain high efficiency, smaller footprints, improved battery energy storage systems (ESS), and monitoring systems.
Smart grid ready UPSs incorporate technologies that enable the equipment to sense and interact with the electric grid, helping data centers to become smarter about the amount and timing of energy consumption, contributing to the pursuit of a more sustainable data center.
The integration of renewable energy into the smart electric grid can benefit from smart grid ready UPS, to smooth out the unpredictability of renewable resources, balancing energy supply and demand, and to reduce or defer electric grid infrastructure investment. Manufacturers like Eaton, Schneider Electric, and Vertiv are already offering UPSs with these capabilities.”
Moises Levy, PhD, Principal Analyst and lead of Omdia’s data center power, cooling and sustainability research practice
To capture all viewpoints of this critical subject, Omdia surveyed a combination of data center operators, engineering, architecture and consulting firms, as well as, utility companies, across North America, the Nordics, UK, Ireland, France, Germany, and Australia.
The nearly 380 respondents indicated that the top driver for adopting smart grid ready UPS is contributing to sustainability initiatives. This was followed by technology innovation pioneer, and reputation and competitive advantage. Importantly, the lion’s share* of respondents indicate they are confident that using smart grid ready UPS will not put their mission critical workloads at risk.
Cloud service providers were pointed out as the vertical that is most likely to benefit from smart grid ready UPS by nearly half of the survey respondents. However, enterprises from all vertical industries are a part of the conversation as long as they operate a data center. From a regional perspective, the Nordics, and UK and Ireland are the two regions leading the number of UPS with capabilities to interact with the grid being deployed.
About 80% of respondents estimated that 10-50% of the capacity of batteries in the data center today is excess and can be potentially used to support the electric grid. This would be a significant enabler to the integration of variable renewable energy sources into the electric grid. Most respondents indicated that solar and wind were the two microgrid applications which would most benefit from utilizing this technology.
“The data center industry is the backbone of the digital economy and has enabled significant efficiencies in how we conduct business, communicate with one another, and develop innovative technologies. From this perspective the data centers are already a force for good which is making the world more sustainable. With emergence and proliferation of smart grid ready UPS technology data centers are enabling an even more sustainable world,” said Vlad Galabov, Research Director at Omdia’s Cloud and Data Center Research Practice.
The Omdia Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) Intelligence Service covers comprehensive insights and forecast of the UPS hardware and services markets. Omdia’s UPS trackers continue to evolve and build on our existing, detailed database of the market. Using the reports clients can master with detailed data, trends, forecasts, and trusted insights.
* 77% (very confident and confident), and 98% (including somewhat confident)
About Omdia
Omdia is a leading research and advisory group focused on the technology industry. With clients operating in over 120 countries, Omdia provides market-critical data, analysis, advice and custom consulting.
Omdia was formed in 2020 following the merger of IHS Markit, Tractica, Ovum and Heavy Reading. Sitting at the heart of the Informa Tech portfolio, Omdia reaches over four million technology decision makers, influencers and practitioners that form part of the wider Informa Tech community and has specialist research practices focusing on Enterprise IT, AI, Internet of Things, Communications Service Providers, Cybersecurity, Components & Devices, Media & Entertainment and Government & Manufacturing.
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ENERGY
Amshore | March 03, 2022
Amshore, a leading renewable energy developer, announced promotion of Cas Purdy to Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and the appointment of Leo Anzaldua as Controller.
Both Cas and Leo are seasoned business executives responsible for maximizing our company’s operating performance and helping achieve corporate objectives. By promoting Cas, bringing Leo on board, and our investments in development, we are building out our management team with the talent we need to take our renewable energy development business to the next level. Our focus on delivering exceptional services to our clients will be enhanced by our ability to provide more corporate-level support to our development team—freeing them to focus on revenue-generating clean energy projects.”
Deana Strunk, Owner at Amshore
As Chief Administrative Officer, Cas has a broad range of responsibilities including strategic planning, finance, legal, human resources, information technology, marketing, communications and more. He was previously Executive Vice President at Amshore. Cas has more than 20 years of experience in business leadership. Prior to Amshore, he was Vice President and Head of Marketing at cybersecurity company Trustwave. He also held leadership roles at IBM, Websense (now Forcepoint) and Guidance Software (now part of OpenText). Cas received his bachelor’s degree in Public Relations from the University of Texas at Austin, and he studied French at the University of Paris (La Sorbonne).
As Controller, Leo leads and directs the accounting and finance functions at Amshore. He has more than 30 years of financial experience. For more than a decade, Leo was Controller/Vice President of Finance at ClimbTech. Before ClimbTech, he was Director of Accounting at Personal Administrators. Leo studied business administration at The Tecnológico de Monterrey in Mexico.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2020 saw consumption of renewable energy in the United States grow for the fifth year in a row, reaching 12 percent of total U.S. energy consumption. Renewable energy was the only source of U.S. energy consumption that increased in 2020 from 2019.1
Over the last 20 years, Amshore has originated and developed solar and wind energy facilities generating 2.9 gigawatts of power covering over a half a million acres. Recently, Amshore promoted former senior project developer Aaron Young to Vice President, Development.
About Amshore
Amshore Renewable Energy develops sustainable energy solutions for utility companies and independent power producers looking to expand their renewable energy projects throughout North America. Amshore has originated and developed solar and wind energy facilities generating 2.9 gigawatts of power covering over a half a million acres, and the company offers advanced energy management control and novel energy storage systems. Established in 2002, Amshore is based in the Dallas, Texas, area.
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ENERGY
Zendure | January 21, 2022
Zendure USA Inc. announced that it has hired Jim Haflinger to the role of Chief Technical Advisor. As the Silicon Valley portable charger company expands into the sustainable energy sector, Haflinger will lend his decades of electrical engineering experience to Zendure's research and development team.
Prior to joining Zendure, Jim Haflinger was a Senior Principal Engineer at Nortek, where for 11 years he designed many products for home automation, security, personal safety, and solar backup power. He served Kodak for over six years as a Lead Electrical Engineer for the company's printer division, designing printheads and multi-protocol interfaces. The role had him coordinating product design and manufacturing in Europe, Asia, and the United States. He was also the engineering representative for the Customer Experience team to make the products more user friendly and easier to install and use.
In total, Jim Haflinger has over 30 years of experience designing a wide variety of products, including SCSI interfaces and diagnostic equipment, data management tools, and switching power supplies for medical applications.
Haflinger holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Santa Clara University and owns over a dozen patents on a variety of technologies. He is a member of IEEE (The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) and the Electric Auto Association and is the author of the 2nd edition of "Making SCSI Work".
Recently, the company raised over $1.3 million in crowdfunding for their new SuperBase Pro power station. This year at CES, Zendure set up a high-tech camping experience for visitors and debuted even more energy storage solutions and solar power generators and has plans to further expand into sustainable energy and home power management.
With Jim Haflinger's product development and engineering expertise, the company hopes to come up with innovative solutions to bolster and accelerate the green energy revolution, including next-gen solar power and energy storage products.
We are elated to have Jim advising our team, and the timing couldn't be better. With his immense experience in all things electric, Jim will help us lead the global charge toward a sustainable future."
Bryan Liu, Zendure CEO and founder
Zendure is a sustainable energy company located in Silicon Valley in the United States and the Guangdong - Hong Kong - Macao Greater Bay Area in China. Since its establishment, Zendure has continuously launched innovative products, made rapid breakthroughs in the core technologies of energy storage and power supplies, and continues to bring pleasant surprises to the user experience. The company recently received a multi-million dollar series-A round of funding from a joint investment from Shanghai GP Capital and YOTRIO group.
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SUSTAINABILITY
Wien Energie | December 16, 2021
RIDDLE&CODE Energy Solutions, a subsidiary firm of the leading European blockchain interface company RIDDLE&CODE, announced a joint venture partnership with the largest energy provider in Austria, Wien Energie. The signing of the agreement took place on 9 December, with the objective of accelerating global decarbonisation efforts and distributing solutions that have proven effective in Vienna to customers worldwide.
Under this agreement, Wien Energie and RIDDLE&CODE will share financial and technological resources to provide cutting-edge services and continue shaping the future of the energy market. A joint venture of two companies that have collaborated for years will leverage Wien Energie’s technical, commercial and legal expertise in the energy sector and access to more than two million customers, and RIDDLE&CODE’s know-how in asset tokenization.
The energy market is complex, and the complexity further increases with decentralisation.Wien Energie has long-standing experience of decarbonising energy production portfolios. RIDDLE&CODE helps bring more transparency and traceability into the system, while incentivising sustainable business models, such as our dynamic Citizen Solar Power Plant. We are looking forward to strengthening our collaboration with our signature today and opening the next successful chapter for this young company."
Michael Strebl, Wien Energie CEO
Citizen Solar Power Plant utilises energy tokenization platform MyPower, patented Trusted Gateway and the regulatory-compliant Token Management Platform, which provides the foundation for trusted data sharing. Upcoming MyPower releases will focus on creating data market interfaces for all machines connected to the energy grid and offering tokenized green power purchase agreements. It will also focus on opening the platform’s capabilities to the automotive industry to create a “Green Mobility Chain of Trust”, which will provide a chain of evidence between green energy sources, charging stations and battery electric vehicles (BEVs).
Wien Energie
Wien Energie is one of Austria’s largest utility providers, responsible for ensuring the reliable supply of electricity, natural gas and heating to around two million people, 230,000 businesses and industrial facilities, and 4,500 farms in the Greater Vienna metropolitan area.
RIDDLE&CODE Energy Solutions
RIDDLE&CODE Energy Solutions, a subsidiary firm of the leading European blockchain interface company RIDDLE&CODE, provides the blockchain-powered infrastructure that enables resilient, low-cost and green electricity production and builds a foundation for a decentralised urban energy marketplace.
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