These data centers cost technology companies a lot of money when their electricity bills come, and researchers at the Texas Advanced Computer Center on the university's campus will test out energy efficient equipment, reports the Texas Tribune.
With $4 million more in computing capacity, the university will be able to see whether a 250-kilowatt solar farm can power the computers, and the Japanese government will learn some things that may help them deal with energy-sucking equipment in the homeland.
But what's different about this solar farm is that is that it would directly power the computers on a different current, which means the university won't have to convert the current when it comes out of the solar panels. While that may seem like a small change, it could have a big payoff in energy efficiency.