399 | How to Build a 100% Renewable Data Center with Tim Shaler

BIO: Tim Shaler is the CEO of 639 Solar & 639 Cloud.  His 30 year career has focused on client retention, ESG investing, valuation work and investing in electricity and gas companies to help manage a solar & battery -powered datacenter business.

This episode is sponsored by the coaching company of the host, Paul Zelizer. Consider a Strategy Session if you can use support growing your impact business.

Resources mentioned in this episode include:

Transcript of How to Build a 100% Renewable Data Center with Tim Shaler

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Key Takeaways in How to Build a 100% Renewable Data Center with Tim Shaler

Introduction and Guest Background

  • Introduction to Awarepreneurs podcast and host Paul Zelizer 00:02

  • Introduction of guest Tim Shaler and the episode topic: building a 100% renewable data center 00:20

  • Tim Shaler's professional background and focus on renewable energy solutions for data centers 00:31

Motivation and Genesis of the Idea

  • Paul Zelizer asks why Tim Shaler focused his career on 100% renewable data centers 01:35

  • Tim Shaler describes meeting the founders of 639Solar and his due diligence process before joining 01:41

  • Determining the highest and best use of their low-cost electricity solution led to data centers 02:17

The Problem with Data Centers and Energy

  • Exponential increase in power demand from data centers due to cloud computing, digital media, and government agencies 03:11

  • Challenges with managing loads and renewable energy intermittency in traditional power grids 04:28

  • Importance of reliability and continuous power for data centers 04:56

The Solution: 100% Renewable Data Centers

  • Overview of renewable solutions and focus on solar and batteries (addressing skepticism from large companies) 05:54

  • Engineering challenges at the chosen location, including handling shortest days, cloudy weather, and sizing the battery/solar system accordingly 06:33

  • Key differentiators: low-cost, large battery systems made possible by affordable rural land, and innovations leading to 60% greater efficiency in solar fields 07:41

Location-Specific Advantages and Battery Backup

  • Benefits of rural New Mexico: cheap land, larger batteries, more efficient solar due to local conditions 08:08

  • Planning for backup: Five days of storage with batteries and the use of recycled diesel generators for less than 1% of operational hours 10:06

Company History and Capital Raising

  • Timeline and operational details of 639Solar’s first and second data centers 11:20

  • Steps in raising capital: seed, friends and family, community investors, and ongoing investment strategies 12:07

Dual Business Structure: 639Solar and 639Cloud

  • Explanation of why two business arms exist and their relationship 13:34

    • 639Solar: builds and manages solar+battery systems

    • 639Cloud: owns and operates data centers, offering cloud services

  • Sizing and growth of each business segment, current strategy, and future plans 14:27

Environmental Concerns: Water Usage

  • Addressing water usage in data centers, especially in arid regions like New Mexico 15:52

  • Tim Shaler details minimal water usage strategies, use of humidity control, and plans to utilize brackish water 16:08

Economic and Environmental Costs

  • Comparison of costs for renewable vs. traditional power for data centers 20:22

  • Cost effectiveness from co-locating generation and data centers, and regional infrastructure advantages 22:17

  • Advantages of rural, high-altitude New Mexico for solar energy production 23:40

Community and Economic Impact

  • Concerns and conversations about data centers in host communities (water, power grid, job creation) 26:23

  • Economic benefits during construction and operation: job creation, upskilling, and local wage boosts 28:06

  • Tim Shaler provides job and wage data from their own data center construction 29:40

Scaling and Future Strategies

  • Strategies for scaling: expanding on current land, attracting third-party projects, leveraging existing infrastructure 32:17

  • Attractiveness of site: hard fiber connectivity, plentiful energy, potential for more water resources 33:20

639Cloud: Cloud Services Business Model

  • Offerings: virtual machines, dedicated VMs, bare metal rentals, and market positioning 34:56

  • Differentiators: dedicated resource allocation, environmental benefits of 100% renewable power 35:40

  • Current growth and plans for expanding cloud services 36:09

Vision for the Future

  • Projecting five years ahead: monetizing land, extending IP portfolio, building more nodes for cloud services 38:17

Reflections and Broader Industry Implications

  • Tim Shaler advocates for industry-wide adoption of their model and openness to licensing their intellectual property 39:53

  • Emphasis that the solution is as much about smart engineering as it is about environmental stewardship 40:22

Conclusion and Contact Information

  • Recap of key achievements (operational data center, cracked 100% renewables, patent portfolio) 41:01

  • Invitation for contact, with website and email shared for follow-up or partnership opportunities 42:45

  • Closing remarks from Paul Zelizer and encouragement to share the episode 43:19

Paul Zelizer