Duke’s small-scale facility will employ industry-leading methods for power and water usage. Unlike hyperscale data centers that span hundreds of acres and require 100 megawatts or more of electricity to operate, Duke’s GPU Center will occupy less than one-third of an acre and use just 1.5 to 3 megawatts at peak load, about 2-3% of the university’s total annual energy consumption each year.
“Demand for computing power is accelerating rapidly in both applied and basic research,” said Tracy Futhey, vice president and chief information officer. “Providing the computing capacity our researchers need is a must-have for recruiting and retaining faculty talent. Our peers are already investing in these kinds of resources at the necessary scale and building these kinds of facilities on their campuses.”
“Duke’s Climate Commitment means that environmental responsibility and sustainability guide the planning and design of our Duke campus and buildings,” said Toddi Steelman, vice president and vice provost for climate and sustainability. “Duke’s need for infrastructure to meet computing demand on campus is no different, and we are designing this facility to reduce environmental impact. Our goal is to build an IT facility that can serve as a model for energy-efficient, sustainable infrastructure.”
The facility is also designed to minimize water consumption and noise from cooling the GPUs, a common concern about hyperscale data centers. It will sit adjacent to Duke’s newest chilled water plant on Anderson Drive and be part of the campus closed-loop chilled water system, which will minimize water use. Heat from the facility will be recovered and repurposed to heat and provide hot water to campus buildings, turning what is typically a waste product into a resource.
The facility’s emissions and impacts will be included in Duke’s annual accounting of greenhouse gases, which measures emissions across the university, and tracked in a new emissions dashboard that will be available to the public later this year.
“This facility is intended to be best in design for both research and climate and sustainability,” said Tom Morrison, vice president of Duke Facilities. “This center will help to advance critical research, while also be designed in a sustainable way for our campus and surrounding community.”
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