AMD has launched Opteron processor models in both highly efficient (68 watt) and mainstream (95 watt) thermal envelopes. AMD has expanded the breadth of its low-power solutions with AMD Opteron processor Models 1218 HE, 2218 HE and 8218 HE. Designed to offer performance-per-watt at only 68-watt maximum thermal design power, these processors are targeted at customers looking to reduce power and cooling bills and to achieve greater density in the data centre.

Data Centres in the US consume 45 Billion kWh annually according to a new study conducted by Jonathan Koomey, a consulting professor at Stanford University and staff scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Labs, and commissioned by microprocessor vendor Advanced Micro Devices has revealed that power consumption by Data Centres in the US has doubled since 2000. In US data centres in 2000, there were approximately 5.6 million servers installed in total, including about 4.9 million low-end servers; 663,000 mid-range servers; and 23,000 high-end servers, according to Koomey's study.

The Green Grid, a non-profit consortium dedicated to advancing energy efficiency in data centres has announced the completion of its formation, membership structure, technical charter, and made available three new white papers. The consortium believes that energy efficiency is the key challenge facing data centres today, due to exponential increases in power and cooling costs over the past few years. Customer demand for concentrated computing is outpacing the availability of clean reliable power in many places around the world.