Mark Bramfitt - Utilities & IT

Speaking At: ConEd Energy Efficiency Summit 2012

Well, not speaking so much as moderating a panel discussion...

ConEd has a great program planned for their 2012 Energy Efficiency Forum on May 1 in midtown, and I'll be on hand to moderate an afternoon session on deploying data center energy efficiency easures to capture capacity.

We have a crowded panel, with both vendors and end-users, so will likely fill up our forty-five minutes, but I will encourage our panelists to be available after the session to answer questions.

Really looking forward to supporting this event, and if you have facilities in New York City, you should think about attending!

Speaking At: Electric League of PacNorthWest Data Center EE Summit

I'm looking forward to a full-day training session in Bellevue WA on April 11th, where the Electric League of the Pacific Northwest is hosting a Data Center Energy Efficiency Summit.

The bulk of the day will be spent describing energy efficiency opportunities in data centers, though as always I'll provide an industry review at the beginning, and close the day with a call to action for the data center operators who attend.

Thanks also to four local utilities in the area, who are marketing the program to their customers. We also expect to make time for three or four customer case studies during the day, which always brings the training material to life.

I've always been impressed with the commitment to energy efficiency in the Pacific Northwest, evidenced by truly superior utility programs, and am excited to be a part of a renewed focus on the data center market there.

Moderating: Panel at Technology Convergence Conference

I'll be moderating a panel again this year at the Teladata Technology Convergence Conference on Thursday February 2nd at the Santa Clara Convention Center.

Our topic this year is Server Rooms and Closets: The New Frontier for Energy Efficiency Engagements, and I'll be joined by two close colleagues, Mary Medieros McEnroe from Silicon Valley Power and Bill Dunckel from Pacific Gas and Electric, and a new acquaintance, Dr. Munther Salim, who works on energy efficiency and sustainability at HP.

If you haven't attended the Teladata events in the past, I highly recommend going given the focus on sustainability and energy efficiency, as well as the caliber of the presentations.

 

Speaking At: E Source Forum September 21st

I'm partnering with Geoff Overland from the Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corporation to develop and deliver a presentation at the 24th Annual E Source Forum in Denver Colorado in September, focusing on energy efficiency program design and delivery for the data center and information technology segments.

We'll likely focus on some of the distinct challenges that utilities face in targeting this market - I'll take on the description of the challenges, and Geoff will descxribe how he addressed them on the ground in Wisconsin when WECC administered the Wisconsin Focus on Energy program. (WECC is no longer the administrator of WFoE; the Shaw Group has been awarded the contract for the next program cycle.)

Looking forward to visiting downtown Denver for the first time - when I last spoke at the Forum it was held in nearby Boulder.

Speaking At: Flash Memory Summit 2011 in Santa Clara 9/10

I'll be speaking at the Green Flash session on the afternoon of Wednesday August 10th at the Flash Memory Summit in Santa Clara, along with colleagues from the EPA Energy Star Program, Nimbus Data Systems, and NTI.

Here's my abstract:Download Flash Memory Summit Abstract 2011.  it's a short speaking slot (and in the dreaded end-of day time slot!), so I intend to get right to the point by challenging the data storage industry at large and the solid state technology sector in particular to "get in the game" with regard to data center and IT energy efficiency.

As a teaser, I intend to describe the three compelling advantages for flash memory use in on-board storage: the obvious energy efficiency advantage compared to disk drives, the high i/o rates that could facilitate much higher server utilization, and a third one which I only recently recognized...  It may in fact be industry-changing.

Will post the presentation and the answer to my riddle after the appearance!

Speaking At: Data Center Dynamics San Francisco June 30th

Look for me at the Data Center Dynamics conference at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis (the "Jukebox Marriott" to us locals) on Thursday June 30th.

I'll be speaking during the 9:55/10:40 time slot, relating the results of the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory container and modular data center guide that I co-authored with Henry Coles.

If you'd like to chat about the report or anything else, catch me at the event.  As always, it's the action in the hallways that counts!

Appeared At: WFOE Green Bay Data Center Class

The first leg of a brutal 64-hour road trip took me from SFO through Minneapolis to Green Bay Wisconsin early Sunday morning...

Wisconsin Focus On Energy held their third data center and IT energy efficiency training course in Green Bay last week, and I was pleased to deliver the program along with Geoff Overland of WFOE.

We held the class at the Brett Favre Steakhouse in the shadow of Lambeau Field, drawing a solid crowd of thirty facility operations and IT management staff. Our material covered the basic energy efficiency measures in the cooling, power conditioning and delivery, data center It and desktop IT categories, focussing on the high-return retrofit possibilities.

Wisconsin has chosen a new administrator for the statewide energy efficiency programs, so it is highly uncertain that these sessions will be held again, or if the new administrator (The Shaw Group) will continue to focus on the data center/IT market.

Went to a restaurant for dinner Monday night that not only let you select your own steaks, but expected you to stand at a grill and cook it! Paid the $2 extra to have it done by a professional...

 

Appeared At: Critical Facilities Roundtable Meeting 4/15

Sorry for the delay...

I spoke at the last Critical Facilities Roundtable meeting in Santa Clara a week ago to promote the white paper that Henry Coles of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and I wrote describing selection criteria for modular and container data centers.

I'd give myself a low grade for the twenty minute presentation, in part because I didn't inspire a single question from the audience. It's hard to get fired up for a barnstormer when the message was so very simple: download the paper if you're thinking about buying container or modular units.

In any event, here is the brief slide deck: Download CFRT Modular 4 15 11; and more importantly, here's where to get the paper.

Thanks as always to CFRT for having me on the program.

SMUD Forum A Smash

Thanks to the Sacramento Municipal Utility District for hosting Mark Hydeman and myself for another annual energy efficiency class covering data centers and IT infrastructure on Tuesday.

Despite the weather, we had a fully booked class as well as about two-dozen vendors on hand to discuss their solutions to energy challenges in data centers.

Mark and I finished the program a bit earlier than we scheduled, perhaps because of the Peets coffee Mark brewed for the journey up from San Francisco. We realize we probably have three days worth of material to choose from for these classes, and look forward to changing up the content for each new session.

Our next class is sponsored by Pacific Gas and Electric, held at the Pacific Energy Center on April 6th. We'll be tailoring the program to specifically address the challenges and opportunities for data center operators who seek high density solutions, but as always, we'll cover a lot of energy efficiency measures and technologies.

Moderating: Utility Incentive Panel at Technology Convergence Conference

A plug for the panel session that I'm moderating at Teledata's Technology Convergence Conference in Santa Clara on February 23rd...

I'll have a great set of panelists on the dais, including Lee Cooper from Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Mary Medeiros McEnroe from Silicon Valley Power, and Derek Schwartz from the Green Data Center Alliance. (Derek is also moderating a panel later in the day.)

We'll be taking a swing at a couple of subject areas, including the marketing and outreach difficulties that utility programs have to overcome to have a successful energy efficiency program for data centers and IT infrastructure.

I expect we'll tease out some truisms about the utility market; here's one - municipal utilities like Silicon Valley Power may have more leeway to offer creative programs than investor-owned utilities subject to regulatory oversight (like PG&E).