Microsoft is trying the fix the internet's dirtiest secret with a radical new plan — here's how it will work

All of the information you use, transfer, and share on the internet doesn't just materialize out of thin air.

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Every link that you click, picture you post, video you play, and email you send has to be stored somewhere.

Data centers, where everything is saved and served, are the internet's magic engines — and its dirtiest secret.

Data servers use an astounding amount of energy, and demand is only going to increase over time.

Lulea data center 5 - Facebook data center
Facebook

Here's how Microsoft hopes to tackle the problem at the bottom of the ocean.

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The demand for data storage exploded in the last two decades, but the efficiency and sustainability of data centers is just starting to catch up.

Internet use 2014
Percentage of internet users over time. Wikimedia Commons

In the US alone, data centers consumed 91 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity in 2013. That's enough to power over 8 million homes for a year.

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Servers for data storage at Advania's Thor Data Center in Hafnarfjordur, Iceland on August 7, 2015. Stringer/Reuters

Sources: NRDC, EIA

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Much of that power is spent cooling data centers so they don't overheat. Experts recommend keeping temperatures between 64 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit.

google data centers
These pipes at one of Google's data centers send and receive water for cooling the facility. Google

Many data centers also take up a ton of space. And they'll likely have to keep growing as internet use continues to rise.

google data centers
One of Google's sprawling data centers in Pryor, Oklahoma. Google
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Companies with more data centers than anyone else — like Google, Facebook, and Microsoft — are trying to make them more sustainable.

Google Data Center
Inside the campus network room, you can see routers and switches at one of Google's data centers in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Google

Sources: Google, Cisco

One radical effort to clean up the web is Microsoft's newly announced Project Natick. It could soon become the most environmentally friendly approach yet.

Microsoft Project Natick
Microsoft's Project Natick Microsoft
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The company designed a 10-foot-by-7-foot data center to fit inside a steel shell that lives at the bottom of the ocean.

natick Assembly
Project Natick Microsoft

The ocean water can keep Natick cool, reducing energy use. And Microsoft says the vessel can be closer to users, increasing download and use speeds.

microsoft project natick
Microsoft Research
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After all, most of the worldwide web travels under the sea — more than 550,000 miles of fiber optic submarine cables can be found in the ocean.

Source: Tech Insider

In initial tests, this mini data center only consumed about 27 kilowatts of power. That's only about 6% of the raw power a semi-truck engine can generate.

measuring natick
Microsoft engineers measure Project Natick's energy consumption. Microsoft Research/YouTube
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Microsoft plans to feed renewable energy to the centers, and use recycled — and fully recyclable — materials to build them.

project natick microsoft
Microsoft Research/YouTube

The company studied the environmental effects in a pilot study off the California coast and will continue to do as as they deploy more vessels. So far, Microsoft says, the effects seem minimal.

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Microsoft http://news.microsoft.com/features/microsoft-research-project-puts-cloud-in-ocean-for-the-first-time/

Source: Microsoft

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The vessels run pretty quiet, too. The hum of the system can't be heard over the clicking of shrimp, the New York Times reported.

Window_and_Microsoft_s_underwater_datacenter__Project_Natick_ _YouTube
Microsoft/YouTube

Source: The New York Times

“This is speculative technology, in the sense that if it turns out to be a good idea, it will instantly change the economics of this business,” Norm Whitaker, who heads special projects for Microsoft Research NExT, said in a press release.

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The project team poses with a Project Natick vessel. Microsoft

Source: Microsoft

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