Delegates at Data Centre Strategies 2009 have been shown plans for a new datacentre to be built at the Mauritius Eco-Park which takes cold water from the deep oceans and pumps it up to use for cooling.
The plan calls for pipes to be placed 1000 metres below sea level, where the water temperature is about five degrees centigrade. The water is then pumped up around the cooling system before being returned to the oceans, saving up to three quarters of cooling costs.
Similar systems are already in used in the South Pacific and the system would help Mauritius develop more of a high-tech sector.
“Mauritius is ideally positioned at the crossroads of Africa, Asia and Australia and outside major earthquake ridges,” commented Philip Low, managing director at BroadGroup, who are researches and producer of the event.
“The island is also well known as a major financial and infocom hub. Being relatively remote but well-connected to the world is a major attribute for the island-nation to position itself as a disaster recovery and business continuity destination.”
Google has also been looking at the idea of using sea water cooling for datacentres. Last year the company submitted a patent application for floating datacentres that were powered in part by wave action and cooled using sea water.
Cornell University already uses a similar system for cooling its entire campus, taking cool water from the nearby lake and using it to replace the university’s air conditioning systems.