New ICT facilities inplementing the latest in Green ICT technologies and practices garner much publicity, yet a lot is being done with existing ones. This is the first in a series of posts that examines what is in existing ICT facilities around the world.

Computerworld reports that NBC Universal has implemented a variety of tactics in refurbishing its West Coast data center. The company "virtualized 60% of the physical servers and shut down 2,000 physical machines [and]uses cold containment aisles and a fiber topology that replaced 300,000 feet of copper cable and moved the cable plant overhead, rather than under raised floors. NBC also implemented smart power distribution units and rack-level environmental and power metering sensors, increasing rack densities by as much as 200%…The setup makes it easier to scale the data center efficiently by adding a row at a time…In total, the company retired and recycled 47 tons of hardware and cut power consumption by 11%."

The IT team also "sold the business on a multisite telepresence system that cuts staff travel costs and carbon emissions." Green ICT has its rewards in California: "the six-figure rebate check that arrived one day from utility company PG&E as a reward for increasing efficiency and reducing power consumption in the new data center."

Related: NBC O&O KNTV powers its main studio by wind and is the only US broadcaster recognized by EPA's Green Power Partnership as a 100% Green Power Purchaser.