CASE News

CASE Commercial (as the exclusive developer for the Mark Cuban Companies) and Synergy Renewables (an affiliated company of T Boone Pickens)  are developing the first data center in the US to use 100% green power based upon clean waste to energy technology and Texas wind generation.

The data centers will be at Wonderview located two miles from downtown Dallas.  These facilities will be very robust in nature, in that they are built to withstand F4 tornado direct hits, have extra thick concrete outer walls (meeting current DOD and Homeland Security requirements for blast tolerances), allow for on-site fuel storage  and make up water storage. 

The cogeneration plants will be operated by Synergy Renewables and will implement a proven waste-to-energy conversion process creating a renewable fuel for generating electricity. The process is clean, safe and is well below all  EPA emissions thresholds and produces a  net reduction of greenhouse gases.  The fuel sources will be sludge from a nearby water treatment plant, medical waste  and  city garbage diverted from landfill disposal.

Garbage diverted from landfills to the waste-to-energy facility will eliminate methane, a major greenhouse gas that forms when waste is landfilled. For every ton of garbage that is diverted from a landfill and used as fuel in the waste-to-energy facility, there will be an elimination  of approximately one ton of greenhouse gases (CO2e) that otherwise would be emitted into the atmosphere. Additionally, the clean power generated from the process potentially displaces power generated from  fossil fuel sources, further reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The only residue is an inert ash which can be used in construction materials.  The facility will reduce the negative impact garbage has on the environment, while also reducing  the carbon footprint of the community. 

The electric costs are expected to be only slightly higher than current wholesale rates but could be fixed over a 20 year period insulating any user from the uncertainties of the energy market.   Other green initiatives will include a grey water line to the waste treatment plant to allow data centers access to free water to their chillers and evaporative cooling systems.

Ken Walter, Sr. Managing Director is marketing the Wonderview project for the Mark Cuban Companies.

Data Center Knowledge Web Article - October 12, 2011
Press Release - October 9, 2011