ITS Data Center Consolidation Project

The Office of Energy & Sustainability worked with ITS to consolidate Weill Cornell Medicine’s three data centers, modernizing the data infrastructure and significantly reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions. Pre-consolidation, data centers were located in the D building (1300 York Avenue), Weill Greenberg Center (WGC), and Belfer Research Building (BRB). The data centers in the D building and WGC had aged and consumed substantial energy, while the data center in the BRB is newer, larger, and has a more efficient cooling system. The consolidation project consisted of migrating the servers and storage units from the D building and WGC to the BRB location while upgrading old equipment to more energy-efficient versions.

The project was initiated in 2021. By the end of 2023, the D building data center was fully decommissioned, and over 70 percent of the WGC data center had been migrated. The project’s estimated annual savings are 400,000 kWh of electricity and 7,000 therms of natural gas, equivalent to 100-150* metric tons of CO2 equivalents. This corresponds to saving greenhouse gas emissions from 16.3** homes’ energy use (or 29.8** gasoline-powered passenger vehicles driven for one year).

Through the ConEdison C&I program, Weill Cornell Medicine received incentives for this multi-million dollar project totaling $219,000, with further expected incentives of approximately $90,000 upon the full decommissioning of the WGC data center. Overall, the Data Center Consolidation Project stands as a testament to the organization's dedication to technological advancement, energy efficiency, and environmental responsibility, paving the way for a more resilient and sustainable data infrastructure in the years to come.

*CO2 equivalents were estimated based on the 2024-2029 grid electricity and natural gas emissions coefficients from New York City’s Local Law 97.

** Calculated through the EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator.