Digital Realty Trust announced multiple renewable energy and sustainability initiatives.
This is part of the company’s commitment to drive sustainable energy consumption within its data centers.
The initiatives include a long-term agreement with E.ON Climate and Renewables North America to procure approximately 400,000 megawatt-hours of wind power annually.
This measure is expected to offset 100 percent of Digital Realty’s U.S. colocation and interconnection energy usage, reducing the company’s carbon footprint by approximately 275,000 metric tons per year.
“Now more than ever, the overwhelming demand for real-time data, enhanced agility and scalability for online applications is increasing demand for power consumption within the data center,” said A. William Stein, Digital Realty’s Chief Executive Officer.
“Digital Realty recognizes the importance of addressing our customers’ growing demand for renewably powered data centers, and this agreement serves as another example of our deep commitment to sustainable and environmentally responsible business practices.”
In 2015, Digital Realty procured 2.9 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity on behalf of its customers to power the company’s owned and managed data centers.
Of this total, 600 million kilowatt-hours were provided by renewable energy sources such as wind, solar and hydro.
Patrick Woodson, Chairman of E.ON North America, commented, “This collaboration with Digital Realty allows us to bring clean energy to power the very things making our lives digital. It is an early step in the path to powering our future, and we are excited to be a part of Digital Realty’s continuing efforts to maintain energy-efficient power delivery through sustainable means.”
Another initiative is its Green Bond Use-of-Proceeds Statement, which details the use of the approximately $493 million of net proceeds raised through the issuance of a Green Bond in June 2015.
