Data Center Efficiency

Making sure our data centers run as efficiently as possible

In June 2009, we announced new goals for increased data center efficiency. We are committing to a 40% reduction in the carbon intensity of our data centers by 2014.

Here is where it gets a little "techie". We will reach this goal through a combination of the following strategies:

  • High-efficiency data center design (eg, free cooling)
  • Increasing our utilization of data centers through eliminating unused servers and phasing in more efficient servers
  • Boosting average CPU utilization
  • After squeezing as much productivity as possible out of every last kilowatt-hour, we will make the electricity we do use as clean as possible, by making alternative energy an important criteria in site selection

This new goal is a product of many of the things we have learned over two years of voluntarily measuring and monitoring our carbon footprint. It has also become possible as Yahoo! designs, owns and operates data centers and decommissions capacity in leased and licensed facilities. With increased focus in this area, we will be discontinuing the purchase of international voluntary carbon offsets for the company's footprint. While buying offsets against our company footprint has been an excellent first step and discipline for the company, we've agreed that the best way for Yahoo! to combat climate change moving forward is to focus upon making our data centers the cleanest and most efficient in the business.

We also announced the siting of a new, highly-efficient, state-of-the-art data center in upstate New York. This will be the third data center that Yahoo! has built from the ground up, and the most efficient design yet. Electricity will come principally from hydropower supplied from New York Power Authority, rated by the EPA one of the cleanest utilities in the country.

We've been pushing green data center standards since we started building our own data centers two years ago. For example, our facilities in Washington are powered by zero-carbon wind and hydroelectric sources, and we use free cooling for most of the year, dropping energy consumption by 40-50%. As we build more capacity to meet demand, we'll continue to focus on innovations and inventions that improve energy efficiency. And we've been sharing best practices to encourage the entire industry to put smarter policies in play.