The Top 10 Data Center Stories for August 2022

Data center safety and innovation were the hot topics in August at Data Center Frontier. Our most widely-read piece featured a discussion of electrical risks faced by data center staff, and resources about arc flash hazards. On the innovation front, DCF reader favorites included coverage of hydrogen power generators, data centers in earth orbit, and the intersection of data centers end electric vehicle charging.

Here are the 10 most popular stories on Data Center Frontier in August 2022, in order of article views:

• Incident at Google Data Center Highlights Risks of Arc Flash: The importance of electrical safety in data centers has been reinforced by an incident at a Google data center in which three workers were injured. It’s a reminder that even the most professionally run data centers must stay vigilant about worker safety related to arc flash, a type of electrical explosion.
• Rethinking the Data Center: Hydrogen Backup is Latest Microsoft Moonshot: Microsoft has successfully tested a 3-megawatt generator using hydrogen fuel cells, proving that the technology can work at data center scale. It’s the latest in a series of Microsoft “moonshot” R&D projects designed to rethink the future of sustainable data centers.
• Water Restrictions in Southwest May Raise the Bar for Data Center Operators: Warning of a potential “catastrophic collapse” of the water supply in the Southwest, the U.S Interior Department is placing restrictions on Arizona’s water use from the Colorado Basin. The impact may be felt by the data center sector, whose water use is already under scrutiny in Phoenix.
• Ashburn Power Crunch May Cause Delays in Data Center Construction: Dominion Energy has begun telling data center companies that power for some new facilities in Ashburn, Virginia will be delayed, perhaps for years. That could slow or halt to development in Ashburn, the most active market for cloud computing infrastructure.
• Data Centers in Orbit? Space-Based Edge Computing Gets a Boost: A plan to operate small data centers in space got a boost this week, as satellite colocation company OrbitsEdge has a launch partner. OrbitsEdge is working with HPE to house a small rack of servers inside a satellite in low-earth orbit (LEO).
• Prince William County Weighs Proposals That Could Accelerate Data Center Growth: Prince William County in Northern Virginia could see an acceleration of data center construction, potentially shifting the center of gravity for cloud infrastructure growth. The opportunity is at stake as residents and officials debate how data centers fit in the county’s vision for its future.
• CloudHQ Breaks Ground on $2.5 Billion Chicago Data Center Campus: Developer CloudHQ has broken ground on a $2.5 billion data center campus in Mount Prospect, Illinois. The 1.5 million square foot campus marks CloudHQ’s entry into Suburban Chicago, which is seeing strong data center growth.
• As Data Center Space Grows Scarce, Enterprise Users Need to Plan Ahead: If you’re an enterprise IT user seeking to expand your data center infrastructure, you’d better be shopping ahead. Data center space is growing scarce due to a combination of historic demand from hyperscale customers and a slowdown in new construction.
• DigitalBridge: Buying Switch Helps Solve the California Capacity Crunch: Power constraints in Silicon Valley data center hubs are among the reasons DigitalBridge sees opportunity in its pending $11 billion acquisition of Switch, which has plenty of capacity at its massive campuses in Reno and Las Vegas.
• With Voltera, EdgeConneX Brings Powered Real Estate to EV Charging: EV charging specialist Voltera launches today as a spinoff from data center developer EdgeConneX, with a multibillion-dollar plan for a network of strategically-located charging facilities to enable electric vehicle fleet deployment at scale.

Education is part of our mission at Data Center Frontier. In our Voices of the Industry feature, we share the experience of data center executives on the front lines of innovation. Here’s a look at the most popular Voices columns for DCF readers last month:

• Digital Infrastructure’s OpEx Shift: The Case for Renting vs Buying (DartPoints) Scott Willis, president and CEO of DartPoints, discusses CapEx- and OpEx-based data storage solutions and provides insights on how to determine which is best for your organization.
• Equipment Longevity & Performance: Why the Bathtub Curve Is Inaccurate (Service Express): Chad Peters, Director of Infrastructure Solutions for Service Express, revisits the Bathtub Curve theory and explains how to track equipment reliability and performance for data-driven buying decisions.
• Building an Enduring World Begins with Accountability and Defining an Approach for Long-term Success (Vertiv): TJ Faze, Head of ESG Strategy and Engagement at Vertiv, outlines the company’s learnings around its recent ESG efforts.

Be sure to check out all of our Voices columns, including insights from Iron Mountain, Flexential, and Schneider Electric .

Keep pace with the fact-moving world of data centers and cloud computing by following us on Twitter and Facebook, connecting with Data Center Frontier editor Rich Miller on LinkedIn, and signing up for our weekly newspaper using the form below.