Energy Efficiency, Commercial, Sourcing Renewables, Wind  -  July 20, 2017

Web hosting site switches to 100% clean energy

Web hosting company Kualo is set to begin powering 100% of its U.S.-based operations with Green-e Energy certified clean energy, according to a July 17 news release.

The U.K.-based company has purchased renewable energy certificates from wind farms through Native Energy to cover the total amount of clean energy it will need for its U.S. operations, including data centers.

The Green-e certification of renewable energy is assessed by the Center for Resource Solutions and offers independent certification on a basis of sourcing from verified and new facilities, not being double-counted toward any state’s renewable energy goal and being retired on behalf of the purchaser.

“We’ve promoted efficiency measures that reduce our power usage, waste and travel requirements, and our U.K. operations have been powered by renewable energy since 2011,” Jo Stonehouse, Kualo’s managing director, said in a statement. “Our Green-e certification now aligns our U.S. operations with this same commitment to the environment. We’re proud to be the only hosting company that is Green-e certified, but we certainly hope that other companies in our industry also commit to using 100% certified clean energy in the very near future.”

The company’s U.K. data centers are also powered by 100% clean energy and are regulated by Ofgem, or the U.K.-based Office of Gas and Electricity Markets.

Part of the web company’s broader energy management program includes an emphasis on energy efficiency, including the use of high-efficiency power supplies, smart sensor controls for cooling systems and centralized storage on servers to make the most of the hardware used and reduce the number of servers required. In addition, data centers boast power usage effectiveness ratios as low as 1.2, according to Kualo’s green energy plan.

The company’s sustainability efforts also include an online campaign to raise awareness of the negative impact that Internet use has on the environment.

Kualo joins a host of other commercial and industrial companies that have utilized Green-e certified RECs. For example, Standard Meat Company in March announced an agreement that allowed the Dallas-based meat producer to better manage its electricity costs and offset 10% of its total electricity consumption with Green-e certified renewable energy credits.

Editor’s note: The Center for Resource Solutions is a Smart Energy Decisions content partner.

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