Yahoo! – Shravan Reddy – 2015

Goals

Yahoo tasked EDF Climate Corps fellow Shravan Reddy with finding opportunities within Yahoo’s datacenters to help the company reduce its reliance on diesel generators as a source of backup power. He was also asked to assess opportunities to reduce the water use within datacenter operations.

Solutions

Reddy worked with the datacenter facility manager at the Grant County Public Utility District (GCPUD) to assess the feasibility of installing a redundant power supply line. Shravan studied various implications of the project on operations, and he assessed the risk that could result  from a complete loss of power to the facility. After finding  that GCPUD has one of the lowest carbon footprints in the country and one of the most reliable power supplies, the team is evaluating whether to pursue the technical due diligence for project implementation. Reddy also suggested an improvement in the design of the internal cooling media that will help reduce annual water use.

Potential Impact

The installation of the redundant power supply line could lead to several benefits for the organization. Yahoo could save over $200,000 in costs currently used in the operation of its diesel generators. The project would also reduce in annual greenhouse gas emissions by 450 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent and help reduce annual water consumption by 160,000 gallons. Additionally, the project would improve system reliability, which is extremely important in the operation of mission critical systems such as datacenters.