Data centers are energy hogs.

The most recent EPA estimates say the nation’s data centers use the same amount of power each year as nearly 6 million average homes. The technology infrastructure itself accounts for half; cooling data storage areas sucks up the other 50 percent.

Green House Data's Energy Conservation Efforts

Green House Data in Cheyenne is run by electricity from local wind farms, supplemented by renewable energy credits the company buys.

The company’s first 500-square-foot unit is filled. Clients include Handel Information Technologies, IDES, AristaTek Inc., the Wyoming Tribune Eagle and the National Outdoor Leadership School. A company based in Dubai is also a client.

A 2,000-square-foot building went online in September 2009, and Green House’s plans include a total of 10,000 square feet in Cheyenne and expansion to other sites.

“We intend to take this business model to two other locations where there are renewable power resources,” says Shawn Mills, the company’s president and founder.

Green House also is adding its own wind-generation capacity, two 50-kilowatt turbines to power the data center’s cooling plant.

Mills estimates Green House uses 60 percent less energy than a comparable data center using traditional power. Energy efficiency is built into the design and includes ground source heat pumps, server side cooling, hot isle heat containment and modular data storage.

The company offers co-location and managed hosting, and business has been good even in a shaky overall economy, helping keep Wyoming's economic development stable. “Most companies looking at data center opportunities are not wanting to build their own,” Mills says. “A lot are moving from owning IT hardware to having us own it.”