Solomon Duke knows it better than most—keeping the Internet running requires a lot of energy.
As Energy Project Engineer at Northshore, Solomon’s work in providing turnkey building solutions is critical to ensuring a more sustainable and energy-efficient Internet.
Picture a data center as a warehouse filled with servers stacked in neat rows, all hosting a variety of websites. Each server requires energy, much of which is converted into heat—essentially resulting in giant rows of heaters.
For those servers to work, the heat must be dissipated by air, water, or a refrigerant—each cooling method requiring its own energy source. That’s where Solomon comes in, making the process as efficient as possible.
“One afternoon of work can sometimes [save] over a million-kilowatt hours a year,” said Solomon. That’s enough to meet the annual electricity needs of about 10,000 US homes. “It’s very impactful. There is a lot of energy to be saved. And a lot of water to be saved.”
An Inspiring Path to Northshore
Solomon completed his B.S. in Energy Science and Technology at Western Washington University, where he worked to streamline communication between energy specialists and the public.
After graduating in 2022, Solomon traveled to Israel to focus on peace-building efforts.
Based in Ketura, Israel, Solomon interned at The Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, where participants include both Palestinians and Israelis. The institute uses environmental issues as a bridge for peacebuilding, and Solomon contributed through social innovations and advancing renewable energy in the region.
At Arava, Solomon’s work ranged from research and modeling of agrovoltaic solar systems (using land for both solar energy and agriculture) to maintaining an off-grid village that tests new technologies in the developing world.
Building a Sustainable Future
At Northshore, Solomon’s work continues to focus on energy issues, which he tackles through the engineering and management of sustainable energy consumption practices.
Inspired by Solomon’s journey? Join the team at Northshore, a San Francisco-based company committed to making the Internet more sustainable by reducing businesses’ carbon footprint.