Cascade Grain Products, a new $113.4 million gallon ethanol plant in Clatskanie, Oregon, was in need of an IT infrastructure that matched its green business mission. The IT management team chose to equip the new plant with an expandable and energy-efficient server and storage infrastructure consisting of an all-in-one blade server and storage solution. Read this case study to learn how Cascade Grain Products achieved a planet- and bottom line-friendly six-figure cost avoidance on power, cooling and construction costs and $50,000 annual saving in onsite administration costs.
HP customer case study: Cascade Grain Products, LLCIndustry: Energy (Ethanol Plant)
Renewable Energy Startup Goes Lean and
Green With ShortyCascade Grain Products, a start-up Ethanol plant, turns a closet into a server roomand saves six figures with HP BladeSystem c3000 solution
"What makes HP a fabulous business partner is that not only do they provide enterprise solutions for enterprise customers, but they also built the all-in-one BladeSystem c3000 specifically for smaller businesses that are limited on space, power, cooling and IT resources."-Valerie Reamer, Owner/President, Gekkotek, Inc.
The money's greenObjective: A cultural shift is taking place in mainstream Equip new plant with an expandable and attitudes about renewable fuels. It's possibly driven energy-efficient server and storage infrastructure. as much by soaring oil prices as by conscience and the desire to leave a better world for future genera-Approach: tions. Whatever the motivation, the market for Install HP BladeSystem c3000 enclosure plus alternative fuels is likely to be a lucrative one for server and storage blade for an all-in-one IT companies that get into the game early.solution. The northwest United States is an ideal strategic location for manufacturers of renewable fuels such Business benefits: as ethanol, both because the cost of power in the . Six-figure cost avoidance on power, cooling r e gion is comparatively inexpensive, and because and construction costs commodities used in producing the fuel-specifically corn-are exported from the West Coast.. $50,000 annual savings in on-site administration costs "Ethanol is a clean-burning fuel that uses renewable crops," says Charles Carlson, president and CEO of IT benefits: Cascade Grain Products, a new $113.4 million gallon ethanol plant in Clatskanie, Oregon, set to . High scalability through virtualization and begin operations in the first quarter of 2008. capacity to add more physical servers "We're living on a globe that only has so much . Small footprint accommodates tight space crude oil in it. There is tremendous economic requirements opportunity in alternative fuels.". No special power or cooling necessary. Ability to quickly add storage as needed When it came time to equip the new plant with an information technology (IT) solution to monitor its . Enhanced support for remote management by infrastructure, automate plant operations, and HP partner support its commodity grain trading and accounting . Self-contained, lockable enclosure ensures software, Cascade Grain turned to a local HP physical security partner Gekkotek. Their advice? Go with Shorty, the HP BladeSystem c3000 stocked with HP ProLiant BL460c server blades and one HP StorageWorks storage blade.The little black box on the floor Ensuring security, saving six figuresGekkotek, which designed and performed the Because the enclosure is lockable and all server implementation and provides on- and off-site administration can be done remotely through tools maintenance services, recognized the new BladeSys- such as the HP Integrated Lights-Out 2 (iLO 2) tem for small sites as a means to provide Cascade Select Pack, part of the HP Insight Control Environ-Grain with the enterprise-level features and expand- ment for BladeSystems, security is easy to main-ability it needed without breaking the bank or tain. This is an important consideration, since knocking out walls. Cascade Grain must meet security requirements set by the Port of St. Helens, Coast Guard maritime security and the Department of Homeland Security.Says Valerie Reamer, owner of Gekkotek, "What makes HP a fabulous business partner is that not only do they provide enterprise solutions for enter- "With iLO remote management, there's no reason prise customers, but they also built the all-in-one to go see the box, unless you want to put your BladeSystem c3000 specifically for smaller busi- hand on it and say 'This is cool, in more ways than nesses that are limited on space, power, cooling one!'" says Jerry Adamowicz, director of profes-and IT resources." sional services at Gekkotek. "That's important because the factory is an hour and a half drive from anywhere. For all intents and purposes, it's a The HP BladeSystem fit nicely into Cascade Grain's little black box on the floor in a locked closet that limited data center space, while ensuring scalability nobody needs to touch. That translates into for futu... [download for more]
