cfx_september-2024 - 23

A GrEEn
ApproaCh
to US Signal's Expansion
By Cathy Applefeld Olson
Rapid expansion can sometimes come at
a cost to critical details. Not so at US Signal,
which is prioritizing sustainability and
green energy as it makes moves to broaden
its footprint nearly 4x this summer.
Headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan,
the digital infrastructure company
that provides cloud solutions, network
connectivity and data center services tops
our 2024 list for Energy & Sustainability not
only for its resolution to power all its Michigan
data centers with 100 percent sustainable
energy by 2027, but its commitment
to energy-saving evolutions as it retrofits
legacy facilities and constructs new datacenters
across the nine states it serves.
It's a mandate CEO Dan Watts says is a
literal hot topic both of conversation and
action, " especially as the power needs in
the industry are rapidly increasing. As we
contemplate new data centers and expansion
projects, sustainability and green energy
and things of those nature are on the
forefront of our lists of things we need to
pay attention to. "
In Michigan, US Signal is partnering
with Detroit-based energy company DTE
to provide a fully sustainable transmission
of power within the next two years, as it is
in parallel assessing options in bio power
and natural gas across its footprint.
" We're making significant investments
every year to put money into these programs
and these projects. It does cost
money to make a more efficient data
center, " says COO John White. " And we're
focusing not just on making sure we have
sustainable power but that we are as efficient
as possible with the hardware we are
buying as well as how we are operating
our facilities. "
The scale is grand, says White-who
notes each facility typically use 2 megawatts
of power-but every measure makes
a difference. " For every watt of power, you
have to cool that with another watt. Instead
of having it as a 1:1, we want it to be a half
or .4, " he says. " We have customers coming
and going and changing their work all
the time, so we need access to dynamic
data so that we can understand how we
can tune and tweak the elements that are
available to us. "
Among recent tech innovations is the
use of thermal imaging that shows areas
that are hot, cold and/or where air is not
flowing properly to ensure swift resolution
of any hot zones. Air conditioners inside
the centers can be immediately retuned,
and some facilities are also optimizing
" free cooling, " which in effect uses outside
air to help cool the fluid inside.
Other advances include assessing vent
functionality to determine whether opening
or closing them even just a few millimeters
would be more optimal, replacing
less efficient bulbs with LED lighting, and
employing light sensors that will power off
lights when no humans are in a given area.
" Computers don't need to see each other, "
White says.
The company is also gleaning new
learnings as it expands the US Signal family.
The newly acquired center in Bend, Oregon,
for example, has solar farms on-site,
US Signal CEO Dan Watts
" and we're looking into to how we can take
advantage of that [technology] in other
CablefaxTopOps.com
September 2024
Top Ops 23
US Signal will acquire
OneNeck IT Solutions
and OneNeck Data
Center Holdings in a deal
expected to close in Q3.
OneNeck operates data
centers in six Western
and Midwestern states.
The company finalized
upgrades to its third facility
in Indiana early this summer.
US Signal data centers
currently range in size
from 10,000 square feet
to 30,000 square feet.
US Signal COO John White
data centers, " he says. " These facilities
have big flat roofs so putting solar panels
on them is an option. "
Looking ahead, Watts emphasizes the
importance of staying agile and open to
opportunities that present themselves
across the industry and specifically at US
Signal.
The proliferation of AI, electric vehicles
and other " super-consumption requirements
are going to continue to rachet up
the power needs of the nation and right
now we don't have the energy infrastructure
built to provide all that, " Watts says.
" It's going to require some ingenuity
and optionality and new technology we
may not have deployed yet today. As we
grow and as technology evolves, there will
be options in the future we don't have today
we'll want to take advantage of. "
ENERGY AND SUSTAINABILITY
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cfx_september-2024

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