In one more signal that Green IT will get a boost from the Obama administration, the newly appointed federal Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra has shown that he’s well aware of the importance of Green IT, and will likely have a focus on it during his tenure in the federal government.

Until his appointment, Chopra has been Virginia’s Secretary of Technology. He’s been widely recognized as an IT innovator in government, but not as well know is his recognition of the importance of Green IT. Nearly a year ago, Chopra was interviewed by Government Technology magazine in an article about how to cut data center energy consumption. He told the magazine:

“Data centers are the energy hogs of the 21st century, and if we all believe we need to have renewable energy and energy independence in this country, those of us in the IT community must step up and acknowledge that we are net consumers in a significant way.”

Later on in the article, he noted:  “We need to encourage our vendor community to build green-friendly data centers and server farms, so we can be proper stewards of our resources.”

That’s no idle talk; Chopra has been involved in government-private industry partnerships, so don’t be surprised to see such federal partnerships revolve around Green IT.

As one more piece of evidence of his interest in Green IT, his agency in Virginia was part of an inter-agency task force looking for ways to reduce Virginia’s greenhouse gas emissions by 30%.  The upshot? Expect to see Green IT initiatives out of his office in the next several years.

• April  20, 2009

Barack Obama will announce this morning that Aneesh Chopra, Virginia’s secretary of technology, will join his administration as the White House chief technology officer.

Obama, as part of his weekly address, also plans to announce that he will appoint Jeffrey Zients to the position of deputy director for Management of the Office of Management and Budget, with additional duties as the federal government’s first chief performance officer. Zients is the founder and managing partner of Portfolio Logic, an investment firm focused primarily on business and healthcare service companies. Zients previously served as chief executive officer and chairman of the Advisory Board Company in Washington.

Chopra leads Virginia’s strategy to leverage technology in government reform, to promote Virginia’s innovation agenda, and to foster technology-related economic development, the White House said. Previously, he worked with Zients as managing director with the Advisory Board Company, leading the firm’s Financial Leadership Council and the Working Council for Health Plan Executives.

Chopra earned with a masters in public policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government in 1997, and a B.A. degree from The Johns Hopkins University in 1994.

In his new role, the president in his prepared radio address said, “Aneesh will promote technological innovation to help achieve our most urgent priorities – from creating jobs and reducing health care costs to keeping our nation secure.”

The president’s prepared statement continued: “Aneesh and Jeffrey will work closely with our Chief Information Officer, Vivek Kundra, who is responsible for setting technology policy across the government, and using technology to improve security, ensure transparency, and lower costs. The goal is to give all Americans a voice in their government and ensure that they know exactly how we’re spending their money – and can hold us accountable for the results.”