Mar 4 2010
Equinix, Inc. (Nasdaq:EQIX), a provider of global data center services, today announced that its SV2 International Business Exchange™ (IBX®) data center has earned the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). The latest accreditation extends Equinix’s global leadership in operating energy efficient data centers, and builds on the company’s history of innovative programs designed to help enterprises reduce their carbon footprint.
LEED is an internationally recognized green building certification system. It provides third-party verification that a building or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance across a range of metrics, including energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality and stewardship of resources.
The SV2 IBX data center received LEED certification under the existing building program following the expansion and green retrofit of the Equinix IBX, completed in mid-2009. The retrofit included the installation of air-side economizers, fans incorporating variable frequency drives (VFDs) and LED light fixtures and occupancy sensors, among other efficiency procedures. In total, the retrofit has resulted in more than four million kWh in energy savings annually, and will pay for itself in under four years. The success of the retrofit project also drew recognition from the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, which in June 2009 awarded the IBX a Silicon Valley Power Energy Innovator Award for its energy-saving design.
Other examples of Equinix’s energy efficient data center leadership around the world include:
- Being the first data center operator in Silicon Valley to be certified as a ‘green business’ by the County of Santa Clara’s Bay Area Green Business Program.
- Offering enterprise customers in Europe the ability to calculate their CO2 footprint and identify projects to offset data center energy consumption through its European Carbon Offset program.
- Receiving certification from Naturemade Star, the Swiss label for green power production and green electricity products, that its four IBX data centers in Switzerland operate using 100% green energy.
- Winning the inaugural Green Award at the 2008 Data Centers Europe conference for its efforts to advance energy efficiency.
- Participating in Singapore’s NEWater program, a joint initiative between Singapore’s Public Utilities Board (PUB) and the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources (MEWR) aimed at studying the suitability of using reclaimed water as a source of raw water to supplement Singapore's water supply.
- Achieving energy savings of up to 30% at the Equinix SG2 IBX data center located in Singapore through automatic control of high efficiency fans as dictated by standby operation, room cooling load or underfloor static pressure.
- Using air-side economizers to provide free cooling and partial free cooling during the winter months at the Equinix SY2 IBX data center in Sydney, Australia.
“Earning LEED certification is another example of our commitment to advancing energy efficient data center operations and further demonstrates the efficiency gains that can be achieved through innovative thinking and strategic upgrades to an existing facility,” said Dave Pickut, CTO, Equinix. “This commitment carries through to all new Equinix IBX data centers, as well, which are designed in accordance with our best-practice guidelines. We’re very proud of the fact that retrofit projects, such as SV2, and recently designed IBX data centers, such as those in New York and Sydney, have achieved industry-leading efficiency ratings.”
Source: http://investor.equinix.com/