GREEN OR ADAPTIVE DATA CENTER SYSTEM HAVING PRIMARY AND SECONDARY RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES

Abstract

A data center system is disclosed. The data center includes a housing heat producing compute IT equipment, a photovoltaic thermal hybrid solar collector as a first electrical power source, a bio-gas power generator system as second electrical power source, a bio-oil power generator system as a third electrical power source, and a heat transfer system having a circulating coolant, wherein the heat transfer system captures and transfers taste heat generated by the compute IT equipment and the photovoltaic thermal hybrid solar collector to the circulating coolant, and transfers heat from the heated coolant to at least one of the bio-gas power generator system as a primary electrical power source for the IT equipment and the bio-oil power generator system as a secondary power source for the IT equipment.

Description

RELATED APPLICATION

The application claims the benefit of 35 USC 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/684,232 filed 17 Aug. 2012 (17 Aug. 2012).

SCOPE OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a data center and more specifically to a data center system having primary and secondary renewable energy supply sources.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Data centers host business critical systems and are required to be available seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day, for each day of the year. It is among the highest energy consuming e n the information technology (“IT”) industry and is also the fastest growing,

Approximately 80% of data center operating costs are energy related and account for one of the largest “single” industry uses of power globally, Data centers are estimated to use 2% of all the power produced in the United States at a cost of about $200 billion (USD) of power usage annually (EPA, 2008). A data center provides the information technology sector with infrastructure, the size and expanse of which is growing at a rate of 40% annually (Gartner, 2010).

Data centers are also among the most inefficient systems when it comes to energy consumption. On average, data centers have a 45% efficiency rating, i.e. at best only 45% of the energy supplied to the data center is consumed by the IT equipment/servers, with the remaining 55% being used to cool the data center system equipment. The purpose of the cooling infrastructure is to create the optimal computing environment, ensuring operational longevity of the IT equipment, (i.e. networks, servers, data storage, monitoring and management systems) installed within and the vitality of the IT system they support.

The IT systems themselves also consume a lot of power. For example, a typical server may consume about 600 Watts per hour (Koomey et al, US Congress Report, 2008) with most data centers having in excess of 7,000 servers. Therefore the annual consumption of a typical data center could be as much as 37,000 Megawatt/year or $3.0 M of IT energy and another $3.0 M for cooling. In addition, the need for maximum availability introduces multiple redundant components at all levels. A typical enterprise data center is designed to uptime Institute Tier III specifications, where there is N+1 of all components and a Tier IV facility has dual redundancy (2N+1), where two redundant components are active at ail times with a redundant pair on standby for backup. This requirement for redundancy further exuberate the inefficiency and increased costs associated with operating a data center. Today, a typical data center has a Power Utilization Efficiency ratio of 2.4 (Gartner, Burton and McKenzie, 2010). This implies that 2.4 Matt is supplied to the data center for every 1 kWatt consumed at the server. A PUE of 2.8 to 3.1 is not uncommon in older data center structures.

In addition, because data centers host business critical systems, they require redundant power sources in the event of power failure, namely primary and secondary power sources. Traditionally, primary power sources include utility feed (power generated by nuclear plants or burning of fossil fuel) with secondary sources being provided by standby diesel generators. in both cases, neither is a renewable energy source and are major causes of adverse environmental impact, which when compounded by the additional impact of waste heat generated and exhausted to the environment by the data center, increases the impact and environmental harm caused by data center systems as a whole.

Undoubtedly, data centers system have a combined negative environmental impact due to the large energies consumed and additional waste heat product exhausted to the environment during cooling. Accordingly, there remains a need for an improved data center system which reduces energy consumption and improves and/or minimizes the environmental impact of data center system on the environment.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The present invention has been developed in view of the difficulties in the art noted and described above.

The data center system in accordance with the present invention incorporates renewable energy sources, whereby waste heat generated by the data center compute IT equipment is captured and transferred to the renewable energy sources for use in the production of electricity that may be supplied back to the data center compute IT equipment.

In a first aspect, the present invention provides a data center system comprising a data center housing heat producing compute IT equipment, a photovoltaic thermal hybrid solar collector s a primary electrical power source, a bio-gas power generator system as a secondary electrical power source, a bio-oil power generator system as a tertiary electrical power source and a heat transfer system having a circulating coolant, wherein the heat transfer system captures and transfers waste heat generated by the compute IT equipment and the photovoltaic: thermal hybrid solar collector to the circulating coolant, and transfers heat from the heated coolant to at least one of the bio-gas power generator system and the bio-oil power generator system.

In a further aspect, the data center comprises an equipment cabinet storing the compute IT equipment, and the heat transfer system comprises a cooling unit associated with the equipment cabinet, the cooling unit housing a heat exchanger for capturing and transferring the waste heat product produced by the compute IT equipment stored in the equipment cabinet to the circulating coolant of the heat transfer system passing through the cooling unit.

In a further aspect, the bio-gas power generator system comprises a bio-mass holding tank for storing bio-waste material, a biodigester for producing a bio-gas from the bio-waste material stored and transferred from he bio-mass holding tank, a bio-gas holding tank for storing the bio-gas produced and transferred from the biodigester, and a bio-gas generator for generating electrical power from the bio-gas stored and transferred from the bio-gas holding tank.

In a further aspect, the bio-oil power generator system comprises a hot water holding tank for storing heated water, an algae growth pond in fluid communication with the hot water holding tank for growing oil producing algae, an algae oil extractor for extracting bio-oil from the algae grown in the algae growth pond, a No-oil holding tank for storing the bio-oil extracted by the algae oil extractor, and a bio-oil generator for generating electrical power from the bio-oil stored and transferred from the bio-oil holding tank.

In a further aspect, the heat exchanger system comprises a first heat transfer unit for transferring heat from the circulating coolant to the bio-waste stored in the bio-mass holding tank, a second heat transfer unit for transferring heat from the circulating coolant to the biodigester, a third heat transfer unit for transferring heat from the circulating coolant to the water stored in the hot water holding tank, and a fourth heat transfer unit for transferring heat from the circulating coolant to the algae growth pond.

In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data center system comprising: a data center housing an equipment cabinet storing IT equipment; a bio-gas power generator system comprising a bio-mass holding tank for storing bio-waste material, a biodigester for producing a bio-gas from the bio-waste material stored in the bio-mass holding tank, a bio-gas holding tank for storing the bio-gas produced by the biodigester, and a bio-gas generator for generating electrical power from the bio-gas stored in the bio-gas holding tank; a bio-oil power generator system comprising a hot water holding tank for storing heated water, an algae growth pond operably connected to the hot water holding tank for growing oil producing algae, an algae oil extractor for extracting bio-oil from the algae grown in the algae growth pond, a bio-oil holding tank for storing the bio-oil extracted by the algae oil extractor, and a bio-oil generator for generating electrical power from the bio-oil stored in the bio-oil holding tank; and a heat exchanger system comprising a first heat exchanger unit being in fluid communication with an internal space of the cabinet, the first heat exchanger unit being operable to intake heated air generated by the IT equipment from the internal space of the cabinet and exhaust cooled air to the internal space of the cabinet by passing the heated air through the first heat exchanger unit where heat is transferred to a coolant circulated through the first heat exchanger unit, the first heat exchanger unit including a coolant outlet and coolant return, whereby in circulation the coolant outlet supplies the heated coolant to at least one second heat exchanger unit for transferring the heat from the coolant to at least one of the bio-mass holding tank, the biodigester, the hot water holding tank and the algae growth pond, wherein the cooled coolant is circulated back to the first heat exchanger unit via the coolant return; wherein the bio-mass holding tank uses the heat removed from the circulating coolant to preheat the bio-waste material, the bioreactor uses the heat removed from the circulating coolant to produce the bio-gas, the hot water holding tank uses the heat removed from the circulating coolant to preheat the heated water, and the algae growth pond uses the heat removed from the circulating coolant to heat the pond water.

In yet a further aspect, the coolant comprises water and/or water/glycol mixture.

In yet a further aspect, the biogas comprises methane gas.

Further aspects of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description and drawings, which illustrate exemplary embodiments of this invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Reference may now be had to the following detailed description taken together with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows a schematic overview of a data center system in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a front perspective view of a cooling unit of the data center system shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows an exploded front perspective view of a left side equipment/server cabinet, the cooling unit shown in FIG. 2, and a right side equipment/server cabinet of the data center system shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 shows a top plan view of the air flow through the cooling unit shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 shows a top plan view of the air flow through the left side equipment/server cabinet, the cooling unit and the right side equipment/server cabinet shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 6 shows a data center system in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 shows a data center system in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 shows a data center system in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 shows a data center system in accordance with a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 shows a front perspective view of a photovoltaic thermal hybrid solar collector of the data center system shown in FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference may now be made to FIG. 1 which illustrates a schematic overview of the components of a data center system 1000 in accordance with the present disclosure. The data center system 1000 includes a data center 100 housing IT compute equipment, a photovoltaic thermal hybrid solar collector 500, a bio-gas power generator system 200, a bio-oil power generator system 300, a cooling-tower 600 and a heat transfer system 400.

The data center 100 houses a plurality of cabinets/racks 12a, 12b. Each cabinet 12a, 12b includes a box-like frame having top, bottom, right side and left side panels defining an interior space. Each cabinet 12a, 12b also includes front and rear doors providing access to the interior space of the cabinet 12a, 12b. The front door and/or rear doors may be made of any suitable material, but preferably are made from a transparent material such as a glass or polymer based material. In a closed position, each of the front and rear doors provide an air tight seal with respect the frame so the interior space of each cabinet 12a, 12b is sealed from an exterior environment of the cabinet 12a, 12b.

Within the interior space of each cabinet 12a, 12b there is provided at least one horizontal shelve for supporting IT equipment 10, such as servers. The shelves divide the interior space of the cabinets 12a, 12b into separated horizontal compartments, respectively, and may be arranged such that each compartment is sealed or isolated from one another.

The heat transfer system 400 includes a plurality of in-line cooling units 70, with each unit being associated with a respective cabinet 12a, 12b of the data center 100. Each in-line cooling unit 70 includes a box-like frame 71 having a top panel 72, a bottom panel 73, a right side panel 74 (shop as being removed in FIG. 2) and a left side panel 75. Adjustable leveling pads 76 are provided on a bottom portion of the frame 71, with front 78 and rear 79 doors being hinge mounted to the frame 71. The front door 78 and rear door 79 are of a solid construction and provide an air tight seal with respect to the frame 71 when in a closed position so that an space of the cooling unit 70 is sealed from its surrounding environment,

Within the interior space of the cooling unit 70 there is provided in parallel relation a first heat exchanger unit 81 and a second heat exchanger unit 82, The heat exchanger units 81 and 82 are arranged centrally within the cooling unit 70 and are disposed across a width of the cooling unit 70. In a preferred aspect, to maximize the area of heat transfer between the flowing air and the heat exchangers, each heat exchanger 81 and 82 is provided with a convex surface bowing outwardly towards the rear door 76 of the cooling unit 70. The in-line cooling unit 70 is provided with a coolant supply line to supply a cooled coolant, preferably water at <15 degree Celsius, to the first and second heat exchanger units 81 and 82 where heat transfer takes place and a coolant exhaust line to remove the heated water, preferably at >25 degree C., which has passed through the first and second heat exchangers 81, 82. Each of the coolant supply line and the coolant exhaust line nay be provided with feed pumps, filters and/or shut off valves, as required to control the flow of coolant through the in-line cooling unit 70.

As more fully detailed in FIGS. 2 and 3, towards a rear section of the cooling unit 70 six directional rearward fans 83 are arranged height-wise from top to bottom. The fans 83 are arranged to suck in air through rear air inlets 85 provided in the right side panel 74 and left side panel 75 of the cooling unit 70. Similarly, towards the front section of the cooling unit 70 six directional forward tans 84 are arranged height-wise from top to bottom, similar to the rearward fans 83. The forward fans 84 are arranged to blow air outwardly through front air outlets 86 provided in the right side panel 74 and left side panel 75 of the cooling unit 70.

Each cabinet 12a, 12b is provided with a plurality of corresponding openings 66a-66f in either the right side panel 38 and/or left side panel 42 so that the interior space of the cabinets 12a, 12b are in air flow communication with an associated in-line cooling unit 70. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, in use, each of the rear air inlets 85 of the in-line cooling unit 70 are in fluid communication with respective openings 66a, 66c and 66e in the right side panel 38 of an associated adjacent cabinet 12a of the data center 100 and the left side panel 42 of an associated adjacent cabinet 12b. Similarly, each of the front air outlets 86 are in fluid communication with respective opening 66b, 66d and 66f in the right side panel 38 of cabinet 12a and the left side panel 42 of cabinet 12b.

FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate the flow of air through the cooling unit 70 and adjacent cabinets 12a, 12b in an operational state. As shown with the directional arrows, hot air is sucked into the cooling unit 70 from adjacent equipment cabinets 12a, 12b through the rear air inlets 85 by means of the fans 83. The hot air is blown through the first and second heat exchangers 81 and 82, respectively, where water cooled fins remove and transfer the heat from the air stream into the coolant circulating through the heat exchanger units 81 and 82. The cooled air is then blown out of the cooling unit 70 with the fans 84 through the air outlets 86 to the adjacent left side cabinet 12a and right side cabinet 12b of the data center 100. Accordingly, air flow through the cooling unit 70 is from back to front. The fans 83 draw in the warm air exhausted from the IT equipment 10 located in the adjacent cabinets 12a, 12b into the rear of the cooling unit 70. The heated air is then directed through the air/water heat exchangers 81, 82 where the heat is transferred into the coolant flowing through the heat exchangers 81, 82. The resultant cooled air is then directionally blown to the front side of the adjacent cabinets 12a, 12b with the assistance of the directional fans 84. Preferably, the heat exchanger is double headed, where two separated air/water heat exchanger micro tubes packs are located in the chambers. Preferably each unit 81 and 82 are independent and have independent water supply and exhaust lines to add redundancy and capacity to the system. Condensate (if any) is collected in a collecting tray positioned below the heat exchanger units 81 and 82, which drains into a waste line.

The in-line cooling unit 70 is constructed to create a cyclonic air movement profile within the IT equipment cabinets 12a, 12b to cool the equipment 10 stored therein. The temperature control of the cold air into the IT equipment takes place through set point validation, with appropriately positioned sensors and controls. When the set pour is exceeded, a control valve of the cold water is opened and/or the fan speed of the fans 83, 84 are adjusted accordingly. Preferably, by default only one of the heat exchange units 81 and 82 is active. If however the outlet temperature cannot reach the set point or a failure in one heat exchanger occurs, another valve will open and the second heat exchanger is activated. Also, the fans 83 and 84 speed may be varied which will accelerate or slow down the air flow through the cabinets 12a, 12b, depending on the delta in temperate between the hot and cold side of the cabinets.

Reference may now be made to FIG. 6 which exemplifies an embodiment 2000 of the present disclosure where the heated coolant from the in-line cooling unit 70 of the data center 100 is circulated between the data center 100, a bio-gas power generator system 200 and a bio oil power generator system 300.

The bio-gas power generator system 200 includes a bio-mass holding tank 220 for storing bio-waste material, a biodigester 240 for producing a bio-gas from the bio-waste material stored and transferred from the bio-mass holding tank 220, a bio-gas holding tank 260 for storing the bio-gas produced and transferred from the biodigester 240, and a bio-gas generator 280 for generating electrical power from the bio-gas stored and transferred from the bio-gas holding tank 260.

The biodigester 240 includes biodigesters, as for example mesophililc or thermophilic digesters, and the bio-waste material transferred from the bio-mass holding tank 220 preferably includes cow manure, hay, water and mixtures thereof. Preferably, the bio-waste material includes 92% organic solid such as cow waste (manure); straw and corn husk extract and 8% water. In a preferred aspect, advantageously a portion of the water stored in the bio-mass holding tank 220 may be supplied directly from the heated coolant circulating through the heat transfer system 400 when the coolant used is water.

The biodigester 240 produces a bio-gas, as for example methane gas. The bio-gas is transferred to the bio-gas holding tank 260 fir storage. The stored bio-gas may then be transferred to the electrical generator 280 through a supply line valve where electricity is produced through combustion of the bio-gas. The electricity generated by the generator 280 is supplied back to the IT equipment via power feed lines at the appropriate power requirements as a primary source of power for the data center 100.

The bio-oil power generator system 300 includes a hot water holding tank 310 for storing heated water, an algae growth pond 320 in fluid communication with the hot water holding tank 310 for growing oil producing algae, an algae oil extractor 330 for extracting oil from the algae grown and transferred from the algae growth pond 320, a bio-oil holding tank 340 for storing the oil extracted and transferred from the algae oil extractor 330, and a bio-oil generator 350 for generating electrical power from the bio-oil stored and transferred from the bio-oil holding tank 340.

The hot water holding tank 310 stores water at about 20 to 40 degree Celsius, more preferably 25 to 30 degree Celsius, and supplies the water o the algae growth pond 320 where oil producing algae is grown. Preferably, the temperature of the pond 320 is maintained between 25 to 37 degree Celsius for optimum algae growth conditions. The algae is then transferred to the algae oil extractor 330 which extracts the bio-oil from the oil producing algae grown and transferred from the algae growth pond 320. The extracted bio-oil is then transferred for storage to the bio-oil holding tank 340 for later use by the bio-oil generator 350 to produce electricity through combustion of the bio-oil. The electricity generated by the generator 350 is supplied back to the IT equipment via power feed lines at the appropriate power requirements as a secondary source of power for the data center 100.

The heat transfer system 400 circulates/supplies the heated coolant (i.e. water) from the cooling units 70 of the data center 100 between the bio-mass holding tank 220, the biodigester 240, the hot water holding tank 310 and algae growth pond 320 where heat transfer from the heated coolant (water) to at least one of the bio-mass holding tank 220, the biodigester 240, the hot water holding tank 310 and algae growth pond 320 takes place through a number of associated heat transfer units 410, 420, 430, 440, respectively, Each heat transfer unit 410, 420, 430, 440 includes associated control/by-pass valve 410a, 420a, 430a, 440a which control the flow of water through the respective heat transfer unit 410, 420, 430, 440 to thereby control the heat transfer from the circulating coolant (water) as desired, and based on set point temperatures. Preferably, the control system selects the most efficient use of heat input to the bio-gas system 200 and bio-oil system 300 based on set point temperatures. For example, the heat in the circulating coolant (water) may be transferred to pre-heat the bio-waste material stored in the bio-mass holding tank 220 or the water stored in the holding tank 310, and to provide direct heat to the biodigester 240 or the algae growth pond 320. Like the data center 100 which requires electricity to function, the biodigester 240 of the bio-gas power generator system 200 requires the bio-waste material to be heated to about 40 to 55 degree Celsius to efficiently produce the bio-gas. By pre-heating the bio-waste material, the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of the bio-waste to bio-gas production conditions is significantly reduced and/or the bio-waste may be maintained at elevated temperatures for extended periods of time, thereby reducing production times. Similarly, the bio-oil power generator system 300 requires temperatures of about 25 to 37 degree Celsius of the pond 320 to efficiently grow the oil producing algae.

After the removal of heat from the circulating coolant (water) by at least one of the bio-gas power generator system 200 and the bio-oil power generator system 300, the subsequently cooled coolant is then returned to the in-line cooling units 70 of the data center 100 to absorb heat generated by the IT equipment 10 of the data center 100 as was detailed above.

With the data center system embodiment 2000, the closed loop circulation of the coolant (water) allows for the waste heat generated by the IT equipment to be utilized in the production of renewable green energy which is supplied back to the IT equipment, thereby reducing the carbon footprint and environmental impact of the data center system 2000. Furthermore, the renewable green energy source additionally uses waste-by-products, such as animal manure, as an input in the generation of electricity which also further reduces the overall environmental impact of the data center system 2000 in accordance with the present disclosure.

Reference may now be made to FIG. 7 which exemplifies a further embodiment 3000 in accordance the present disclosure. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, the coolant circulating through the heat transfer system 400 is water. The water, which has been heated by passing through the cooling unit 70 of the data center 100 is supplied directly to the pond 320 as heated pond water. Cooler pond water is then directly supplied to the cooling unit 70 of the data center from the pond 320 through an algae filter 325 which separates the algae from the water. In accordance with this embodiment 3000, advantageously the heated water is used directly as the pond water to grow the algae. Cooler pond water, as for example from the bottom portion of the pond water, is supplied back directly to the cooling unit 70.

Reference may now be made to FIG. 8 which exemplifies a further embodiment 4000 in accordance the present disclosure. The embodiment 4000 shown in FIG. 8 is similar to that shown in FIG. 7, except that the pond water extracted from the pond 320 through the filter 325 is passed through a cooling tower 600 to reduce the temperature of the circulating water before being supplied back directly to the cooling unit 70 of the data center 100. In accordance with this embodiment 4000, advantageously the circulating water heated by the cooling unit 70 of the data center 100 is used directly as the pond water to grow the algae, and cooler water draw from the pond 320 is further cooled by the cooling tower 600 prior to being supplied back to the cooling unit 70.

Reference may now be made to FIGS. 9 and 10 which exemplify a further embodiment 5000 in accordance the present disclosure. The embodiment 5000 includes the data center 100, bio-gas power generator system 200, bio-oil power generator system 300 and cooling tower 600 as previously described. The embodiment 5000 additionally includes at least one fluid cooled photovoltaic thermal hybrid solar collector 500 (hereafter “PVT”) arranged along the coolant circulation path of the heat transfer system 400.

The PVT 500 includes a photovoltaic cell (PV cell) 510, which converts electromagnetic radiation into electricity. The electricity generated by the PV cell 510 is supplied back to the IT equipment via power feed lines at the appropriate power requirements as a primary source of power for the data center 100. Conductive-metal piping or a plate chiller 520 is attached to the back of the PV cell 510 and the coolant circulating through the heat exchanger system 400 flows through the piping or plate chiller 520 to remove waste heat from the PV cell 510. Preferably, insulation 530 is provided to reduce heat losses from the piping/chiller 520 to the ambient air. The heat generated in the PV cell 510 is conducted through the metal piping/chiller and absorbed by the coolant circulating through the metal piping/chiller to cool the PV cell 510. The circulating fluid being further heated by the PV cell 510 then flows to the system 200 or 300 as a further heated coolant for use as detailed above. The PVT 500 may be arranged at any location along the heat exchanger system 400 path. In accordance with this embodiment 5000, advantageously use electricity can be generated while the circulating coolant is further heated, improving the driving efficiencies of the system 5000 as a whole. Preferably the outlet temperature of the coolant passing through the PVT is about 30 to 55 degree Celsius.

To the extent that a patentee may act as its own lexicographer under applicable law, it is hereby further directed that all words appearing in the claims section, except for the above defined words, shall take on their ordinary, plain and accustomed meanings (as generally evidenced, inter alia, by dictionaries and/or technical lexicons), and shall not be considered to be specially defined in this specification. Notwithstanding this limitation on the inference of “special definitions”, the specification may be used to evidence the appropriate, ordinary, plain and accustomed meanings (as generally evidenced, inter alia, by dictionaries and/or technical lexicons), in the situation where a word or term used in the claims has more than one pre-established meaning and the specification is helpful in choosing between the alternatives.

Although this disclosure has described and illustrated certain preferred embodiments of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not restricted to these particular embodiments. Rather, the invention includes all embodiments, which are functional, electrical or mechanical equivalents of the specific embodiments and features that have been described and illustrated herein.

It is to be further understood that the various features and embodiments of the invention disclosed may be combined or used in conjunction with other features and embodiments of the invention as described and illustrated herein.

Claims

1. A data center system comprising:

a data center housing heat producing compute IT equipment;

a photovoltaic thermal hybrid solar collector as a first electrical power source;

a bio-gas power generator system as a second electrical power source;

a bio-oil power generator system as a third electrical power source; and

a heat transfer system haying a circulating coolant, wherein the heat transfer system captures and transfers waste heat generated by the compute IT equipment and the photovoltaic thermal hybrid solar collector to the circulating coolant, and transfers heat from the heated coolant to at least one of the bio-gas power generator system and the bio-oil power generator system, wherein the bio-gas power generator system functions as a primary electrical power source for the compute IT equipment and the bio-oil power generator system functions as a secondary electrical power source for the compute IT equipment.

2. The data center system in accordance with claim 1, wherein the data center comprises an equipment cabinet storing the IT equipment, and the heat transfer system comprises a cooling unit associated with the equipment cabinet, the cooling unit housing a heat exchanger for capturing and transferring the waste heat product produced by the IT equipment to the circulating coolant of the heat transfer system.

3. The data center system in accordance with claim 2, wherein the bio-gas power generator system comprises a bio-mass holding tank for storing bio-waste material, a biodigester for producing a bio-gas from the bio-waste material stored and transferred from the bio-mass holding tank, a bio-gas holding tank for storing the bio-gas produced and transferred from the biodigester, and a bio-gas generator for generating electrical power from the bio-gas stored and transferred from the bio-gas holding tank.

4. The data center system in accordance with claim 3, wherein the bio-oil power generator system comprises a hot water holding tank for storing heated water, an algae growth pond in fluid communication with the hot water holding tank for growing oil producing algae, an algae oil extractor for extracting bio-oil from the algae grown in the algae growth pond, a bio-oil holding tank for storing the bio-oil extracted by the algae oil extractor, and a bio-oil generator for generating electrical power from the bio-oil stored and transferred from the bio-oil holding tank.

5. The data center system in accordance with claim 4, wherein the heat exchanger system comprises a first heat transfer unit for transferring heat from the circulating coolant to the bio-waste stored in the bio-mass holding tank, a second heat transfer unit for transferring heat from the circulating coolant to the biodigester, a third heat transfer unit for transferring heat from the circulating coolant to the water stored in the hot water holding tank, and a fourth heat transfer unit for transferring heat from the circulating coolant to the algae growth pond.

6. The data center system in accordance with claim 5, wherein the coolant comprises one of water and a water/glycol mixture.

7. The data center system in accordance with claim 6, wherein the biogas comprises methane gas.

8. A data center system comprising:

a data center housing an equipment cabinet storing IT equipment;

a bio-gas power generator system comprising a bio-mass holding tank for storing bio-waste material, a biodigester for producing a bio-gas from the bio-waste material stored in the bio-mass holding tank, a bio-gas holding tank for storing the bio-gas produced by the biodigester, and a bio-gas generator for generating electrical power from the bio-gas stored in the bio-gas holding tank;

a bio-oil power generator comprising a hot water holding tank for storing heated water, an algae growth pond operably connected to the hot water holding tank for growing oil producing algae, an algae oil extractor for extracting bio-oil from the algae grown in the algae growth pond, a bio-oil holding tank for storing the bio-oil extracted by the algae oil actor, and a bio-oil generator for generating electrical power from the bio-oil stored in the bio-oil holding tank; and

a heat exchanger system comprising a first heat exchanger unit being in fluid communication with an internal space of the cabinet, the first heat exchanger unit being operable to intake heated air generated by the IT equipment from the internal space of the cabinet and exhaust cooled air to the internal space of the cabinet by passing the heated air through the first heat exchanger unit where heat is transferred to a coolant circulated through the first heat exchanger unit, the first heat exchanger unit including a coolant outlet and a coolant return, whereby in circulation the coolant outlet supplies the heated coolant to at least one second heat exchanger unit for transferring the heat from the coolant to at least one of the bio-mass holding tank, the biodigester, the hot water holding tank and the algae growth pond, wherein the coolant is circulated back to the first heat exchanger unit via the coolant return; wherein the biomass holding tank uses the heat removed from the circulating coolant to preheat the bio-waste material, the bioreactor uses the heat removed from the circulating coolant to produce the bio-gas, the hot water holding tank uses the heat removed from the circulating coolant to preheat the heated water, and the algae growth pond uses the heat removed from the circulating coolant to heat the pond water.

9. The data center system in accordance with claim 8, further comprising at least one photovoltaic thermal hybrid solar collector for generating electrical power, wherein the circulating coolant flows through the at least one photovoltaic thermal hybrid solar collector where heat is transferred from the at east one (photovoltaic thermal hybrid solar collector to the coolant.

10. The data center system in accordance with claim 9, wherein the coolant comprises one of water and a water/glycol mixture.

11. The data center system in accordance with claim 10, wherein the biogas comprises methane gas.