Cloud Computing Is Not the Energy Hog That Had Been Feared

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https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/27/technology/cloud-computing-energy-usage.html

Source:  By Steve Lohr, The New York Times.

Excerpt: The computer engine rooms that power the digital economy have become surprisingly energy efficient. A new study of data centers globally found that while their computing output jumped sixfold from 2010 to 2018, their energy consumption rose only 6 percent. The scientists’ findings suggest concerns that the rise of mammoth data centers would generate a surge in electricity demand and pollution have been greatly overstated. The major force behind the improving efficiency is the shift to cloud computing. In the cloud model, businesses and individuals consume computing over the internet as services, from raw calculation and data storage to search and social networks. ...The study findings were published on Thursday in an article in the journal Science[https://science.sciencemag.org/content/367/6481/984]....

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