FIRST ZERO-WATER CONSUMPTION COMMERCIAL DATA CENTER

Floating data center developer Nautilus Data Technologies, has just opened its Stockton data center, following the completion of the commissioning oversight by Black & Veatch, a global data center engineering and construction company.

The Stockton facility is a 7MW data center built on the deck of a barge on the San Joaquin River at the Port of Stockton, California. Although the data center was completed last year, Nautilus retained Black & Veatch to conduct a third-party due diligence report and commissioning oversight at the facility.

“We commend Nautilus’ forethought and innovation to efficiently operate data centers with minimal environmental impact,” said Katie Schultz, Director of Data Center Services at Black & Veatch.

“In a time where water scarcity is an issue in many areas, and energy costs continue to rise, it was exciting to use our skills and experience to help launch this highly sustainable solution and continue to impact the growth of critical infrastructure.”

As described by Black & Veatch, Nautilus develops data centers that use its patented TRUE™ (Total Resource Usage Effectiveness) technology to use recirculated water from a nearby ocean, river or lake to cool the data center environment. Utilizing a body of water as a heat sink, the facility consumes no water, produces no wastewater, and requires no refrigerants or water treatment chemicals, cooling towers or computer room air handlers.

“Commissioning was the final step in bringing our vision of delivering an energy and cost-efficient data center to the market,” said Rob Pfleging, President of Nautilus Data Technologies.

“It was important for us to know our equipment functions as intended. Black & Veatch worked diligently and efficiently to give us the confidence we needed to move forward and begin accepting new tenants who value energy efficiency, sustainability and scalability.”

Black & Veatch further reports that during the commissioning of the first of four data halls, the IT equipment load was observed at 1.45MW. At this load, the room temperature remained consistent at 73 degrees. When power was switched to generator, the data room remained cool and power to IT was continuous.