A pioneer of experimental technology and innovations, Google plans to serve live traffic from the world’s first seawater-cooled data center in Finland by fall of this year, according to GigaOM. The seawater-cooled data center uses complex filtration systems to pump clean seawater into a heat transfer system, which cools the data center. The water is then pumped back out to sea at a similar temperature it was received to have as little impact as possible on the ecosystem.
Google has some kinks to work out between now and fall—like how to clean the filters and the system without turning it off—but early tests show promise for this cutting-edge cleantech system. Google predicts the PUE (a widely used efficiency metric) will likely be in the 1.1 or 1.2 range—very good.
Google also announced Tuesday it will provide $55 million to help construct a 1.5 GW wind farm in Southern California’s Mojave Desert. With this investment, Google has now invested over $400 million in clean power projects including wind and solar farms, and greentech start-ups.
Read more from GigaOM.
