Inside BGMU’s Bowling Green data center as communities weigh future projects

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WNKY) – As communities across our region continue discussions about potential future data centers, officials with BGMU are offering a look at how one existing facility operates and answering questions surrounding electricity, water use and cooling.

The BGMU Data Center, formerly known as the Lost River Data Center, has operated in Bowling Green since 2012 as a partnership between BGMU and Western Kentucky University. The Tier Two facility was originally designed for services including data replication and disaster recovery, but it has evolved into a space where multiple telecommunications providers can connect.

BGMU General Services Manager Todd Crosby said the purpose of the facility is providing businesses and organizations with secure space, connectivity and access to multiple network providers.

“There’s many different functions that our data center provides,” Crosby said. “One of which is data replication. So we offer services where a company, if they have a location that’s offsite, they can replicate their data here at our data center for disaster recovery purposes.”

Crosby said the facility also acts as a meeting point for multiple carriers, allowing information to move more efficiently.

“We have multiple carriers here, which gives access to a greater number of access points to the internet,” Crosby said. “Which can decrease latency, increase speed, but also drive down bandwidth costs for the consumer as well.”

Data centers have become a growing topic of discussion across the country, especially as larger facilities supporting cloud computing and artificial intelligence are proposed.

BGMU General Manager Mark Iverson said one challenge in the conversation is that the term “data center” covers a wide range of facilities.

“Data centers can come in all shapes and sizes,” Iverson said. “Some are like ours, where there’s co-location facilities with clients and rentable rack space. Other data centers are like an Amazon warehouse where they own all the machinery and they rent serving time.”

One of the biggest concerns surrounding larger-scale data centers is electricity demand. Iverson said reliable power is critical because the equipment inside is designed to operate continuously.

“The servers don’t have any downtime,” Iverson said. “They run 24/7. And so you have to have constant power available to them.”

BGMU officials said preparing for larger customers requires planning, engineering and potential upgrades to the utility system.

Iverson said large power users are different from typical growth in the community.

“A large load request, whether it’s a data center, whether it’s an automotive plant, is a different type of, it’s not the average growth that comes from building subdivisions,” Iverson said.

Another major question surrounding data centers is cooling. Servers generate heat while operating, requiring systems designed to maintain temperatures.

Crosby said BGMU’s facility uses a closed-loop cooling system.

“We have a chilled water system,” Crosby said. “That chilled water system has a loop system in which water flows through, dissipates the heat utilizing the laws of thermodynamics.”

Iverson said the system works similarly to cooling systems used in commercial buildings.

“We capture the heat off of these server racks behind us through cooled water,” Iverson said. “The heat water then goes out to the cooling towers and that’s where the heat is dissipated.”

BGMU said the facility uses about 31,000 gallons of water each month through evaporation. Iverson compared that amount to household usage.

“You think about an average household uses slightly less than 5,000 gallons a month,” Iverson said. “So it’s approximately six households worth of water use at this facility.”

Officials said water use, electricity demand and noise levels can vary significantly depending on the size and design of a data center.

Crosby said one misconception is that every data center is loud.

“I think one misconception is noise is a misconception and is a deterrent,” Crosby said. “As you can see, we’re here in our data center right now and there is a level of noise. But if you go outside the facility you would not hear this noise.”

Iverson said understanding the role of data centers requires understanding how much of everyday life now relies on digital information.

“Every time we pick up our phone or our cell phone, every time we use our laptop, every time we interface with a website or a commercial enterprise that way, that’s digitized,” Iverson said.

As Bowling Green considers regulations for future data centers, officials say understanding how the facilities operate, and recognizing that not every data center is the same, will be an important part of the conversation.