“The result is a nominal increase in our annual energy consumption compared to our evaporative data center designs across our global fleet,” says Steve. The company says additional innovations to provide more targeted cooling are in development and are expected to continue to reduce energy consumption.
Microsoft plans to test non-evaporation water designs at new facilities in Phoenix, Arizona and Mt. Pleasant, Wisconsin, with operations expected to begin in 2026. The company has initiated implementation of water evaporation technology. Next-generation cooling in all new data center designs. from August 2024.
The move to next-generation data centers is expected to help reduce Microsoft’s WUE to near zero for each data center using zero water evaporation. As the fleet expands, this transition will contribute to further WUE reductions across the Microsoft fleet.
Although the current fleet continues to operate with a combination of air- and water-cooled systems, the company’s commitment to water conservation remains clear. “Starting in August 2024, all new Microsoft data center designs began using this next-generation cooling technology, as we work to make waterless evaporation the primary cooling method in the our entire portfolio. These new sites will go online at the end of 2027.”
Discover the latest edition of Data Center Magazine and join the conversation at our global conference series, Technology and AI LIVE And Data Center LIVE.
Discover all our upcoming events and secure your tickets today.
Data Center Magazine is a BizClik brand