PG&E dangles cash as virtualization incentive

I know: It sounds like one of those late-night pitches you see in between re-runs of “Mama’s Family” at 2:00 in the morning (“It’s a salad spinner! It’s an appetite suppressant! It’s a powerful adhesive, and a stool loosener — plus it brings you inner-peace!”). But this the real deal: If you consolidate your datacenter server hardware through virtualization, PG&E will pay you cash for each server you end up removing. (You have to be a PG&E customer to participate, though other utilities are offering similar deals.)

InfoWorld has, of course, been beating the virtualization drum for a while now, but perhaps those compelling rhythms haven’t reached your ears, despite the datacenter power crises organizations are facing. The idea behind virtualization is, you create virtual machines on a few servers so that they can do the work of multiple servers — thus rendering the latter unnecessary. Pretty simple, in theory, though if you want to dig down into the all-important hows and how-tos, check out our previous coverage.

Management advantages and cool factor aside, the energy savings — and resulting cash savings and environmental benefits — of virtualization are quite alluring. In fact, I’d say that virtualization has to be one of the most important sustainable technologies of our time in that it simultaneously addresses critical and intertwined business and environmental needs.

Participation in PG&E’s Virtualization/Server Consolidation Projects Incentive program is pretty straightforward:

1. Develop a virtualization plan. Whichever virtualization company you decide to go with (VMware, VirtualIron, etc.) should be able to assist you with that.

2. Download, fill out, and submit your application to PG&E, which should include an inventory of what servers currently have running and what will remain once you’ve virtualized. A member of PG&E’s HTEE (High Tech Energy Efficiency) team can assist you in the process.

3. Let PG&E perform calculations and determine what kind of cash incentive it will offer. You can expect between $150 and $300 for each server you unplug, according to PG&E HTEE Program Manager Mark Bramfitt.

4. Implement the plan (and be sure to recycle your hardware. Plenty of companies, including IBM, Sun, and HP, have notable hardware recycling and reuse programs that could reap you cash or credit toward other purchases.)

5. Let PG&E come by to ensure you’ve done what you said you’d do.

6. Receive incentive check.

7. Enjoy significantly lower energy bills and increased rack space while taking satisfaction in knowing that your company is producing fewer greenhouse gas emissions.

Frankly, the incentive is really just the tip of the savings iceberg, compared to the decrease you’ll see in your energy bills. Each server you remove represents between $600 and $1,200 in energy saved on electricity and cooling, according to Bramfitt.

Bramfitt said that companies of all sizes have already participated. The United States Postal Service in the Bay Area is in the process of cutting away more than 5,000 of its 6,000 server through virtualization. Smaller companies, such as AutoDesk, went from 230 to 13. Even companies with as few as 30 servers have gotten on board, he said.

The incentive program launched late last year, a result of fruitful conversations with VMware. But it won’t going to be around forever, Bramfitt noted. “Once we get to 50 or 60% adoption, will get out of this incentive program. It will become standard practice, and companies won’t need an incentive to move forward.”

For more information about PG&E’s Virtualization/Server Consolidation Projects Incentive, as well as an application, go to www.pge.com/biz/rebates/hightech/htee_incentives.html. (While you’re there, check out some of the other resources on the site. The utlity offers a host of best practices and incentive and rebate programs for saving electricity.)

If you’re not in PG&E’s jurisdiction, contact your local utility anyway and see if they have any similar programs. And if they don’t, ask why the heck not?