Amandeep Dhaliwal | 09/21/2010 | TNM
Yahoo’s newly-opened high-tech, energy-efficient data center in Lockport, N. Y., marks the first implementation of the search giant’s green data center design, called the “Yahoo Computing Coop (YCC)” or the “Yahoo Chicken Coop.”
According to a company release, the energy-efficient design of the YCC, which aims at enhancing airflow to meet the cooling needs of the data center, was recognized by the US Department of Energy with a sustainability grant of $9.9 million this year.
Largely based on the principles of chicken coop design – comprising a series of long, tall buildings aligned along the path of the prevailing winds – the YCC design of the new Yahoo data center essentially uses a combination of Lockport’s cool climate, prevailing winds and hydropower to cool the 120-by-60-foot server buildings.