Whether you're a consumer who hoards old photos or a company that hangs onto unusable data, you're boosting data centers' energy costs.

By focusing on reducing hoarded--or "junk" data--and improving efficiency, data centers can slash power consumption by 40% to 60%, according to Simon Ninan, senior vice president, business strategy, Hitachi Vantara.

Ninan provides details about how data centers can achieve this kind of savings.

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Email host Lisa Cohn at Lisa@CleanEnergyWriters.com

Learn more about her at CleanEnergyWriters.com

Background reading:

Oregon Legislature Passes Power Act, Targeting Industrial Energy Users Like Data Centers

Energy Solutions for Data Centers Aren't Always Obvious. Take These Ideas

At the Sun Day event Sept. 21 in Portland, Ore.--a rally for clean energy--attendees shared their opinions about the Trump administration's policies targeting clean energy. They described the energy savings and resilience they're experiencing installling solar and storage at home.

One atttendee started to shed tears recalling her involvement in the first Earth Day and the clean-energy inroads that effort yielded. A representative from the Sunrise Movement explained why it's important for youth to be included in clean energy discussions. And two solar prosumers outlined the benefits they're experiencing from their solar and storage deployments.

A team of women sporting solar panel outfits marched around the park where the event was held.

The organizers of the event included Third Act and Indivisible.

Divest Oregon also partcipated in the event.

Visit CleanEnergyWriters to learn about host Lisa Cohn.

Email her at Lisa@CleanEnergyWriters.com

Plug-in solar systems can be installed on balconies, sheds, walls and any other areas exposed to solar. Users plug them into standard wall outlets and immediately begin producing electricity.

Bright Saver, a nonprofit organization that aims to make plug-in solar accessible to "everyone, everywhere," particularly to renters and those who can't access rooftop solar, seeks to overcome the legislative and regulatory barriers that prevent U.S. consumers from utilizing this technology, which is popular in Germany.

Working with the Vermont Public Interest Research Group (VPIRG), Bright Saver has drafted legislation that it plans to introduce in the Vermont Legislature in January and is talking to other states about adopting the legislation, which would remove legislative roadblocks to plug-in solar.

Bright Saver now offers a plug-in solar system for $400 and has a waitlist of 2,000 people. Paybacks can be as low as a few years, depending on the price of electricity, said Cora Stryker, co-founder of the nonprofit.

Guests:

Cora Stryker, co-founder, Bright Saver.

Ben Edgerly Walsh, climate and energy program director, VPIRG.

Background reading:

Why Can't Solar and Microgrids be Plugged in Just Like Hairdryers and Toasters?

Visit Clean Energy Writers to learn more about host Lisa Cohn

Email her at Lisa@CleanEnergyWriters.com