Yahoo!, HP among winners of energy efficiency grants

The Energy Department on Wednesday announced $47 million worth of grants for projects to develop technologies that make computer and telecommunications systems more energy efficient.

“These Recovery Act projects will improve the efficiency of a strong and growing sector of the American economy.  By reducing energy use and energy costs for the IT and telecommunications industries, this funding will help create jobs and ensure the sector remains competitive,” Energy Secretary Steven Chu said in a prepared statement.

The 14 projects – funded with money in the 2009 stimulus law – include almost $10 million for Yahoo!, Inc. to create a passive cooling design for a major data center.

Other grants include over $7 million for Hewlett-Packard Co. to develop a modular data center with “integrated alternating current, cooling and distributed energy systems” to curb power use.

The $47 million will be matched with over $70 million in private funds, according to the department.