Archive for August 24th, 2009
24th August 2009
Quantum leap
What industry needs lots of cheap land, plentiful access to water and cheap energy? No, not woollen mills, but one of the world’s highest tech industries: data storage. Remote areas in the United States have been offering big incentives to the likes of Google and Apple to locate massive server farms in remote rural locations. Apple for example have just confirmed what could develop into a $2 billion investment in a poor, rural county of North Carolina. Google has also got a smaller facility in the state. The need for a cheap source of electricity is obvious for these huge energy-guzzling data centres; the water is needed for the cooling systems; cheap, accessible land with easy planning and room for expansion is also key. Google has already patented the idea of a floating data centre generating its own tidal energy offshore, and the Scottish – who see an opportunity to leapfrog into pole position in these two key industries of data management and marine renewables – have come up with an interesting project which handily combines both elements.
But isn’t this a great opportunity for rural, coastal Wales, especially the North which has high fibre-optic bandwidth with spare capacity? The Scandinavians and the Balts are already on the case. Let’s not get left behind. Let’s get ahead of the wave.