Mar 24 2008
United States Secure Hosting Center (USSHC) announced today a new program designed to reduce the environmental impact associated with colocated equipment.
eColo (pronounced ECHO-low) is a program that allows USSHC colocation customers to choose to lower their impact on the environment without compromising the reliability of their colocated servers through the use of certified renewable energy.
It's the same electricity, the same power distribution systems, and the same reliability that all USSHC colocation customers receive. However, by enrolling in eColo, a USSHC customer will know that the energy their servers consume, both directly and indirectly due to power conditioning, cooling, and facility overhead has been accounted for and directly offset by the purchase of an equivalent amount of certified renewable energy.
When a customer enrolls in the eColo program, USSHC in turn buys the equivalent amount of certified renewable energy, plus overhead, from their primary energy supplier, Alliant Energy, through USSHC's participation in Alliant Energy's Second Nature program. As customers choose to participate in USSHC's eColo program, USSHC adjusts their Second Nature participation levels accordingly.
Second Nature is a program that allows utility residential and non-residential customers to pay a premium for a portion (up to 100 percent) of their electricity to ensure that that portion of their usage is derived from wind, solar, or landfill gas. Alliant Energy purchases the equivalent amount of renewable energy above and beyond what they normally use in their energy portfolio. This ensures that the energy used by Second Nature participants is directly offset by additional purchases of renewable energy. This directly increases demand for additional renewable energy and reduces demand for non-renewable energy.
"We are pleased to partner with USSHC and commend their commitment to furthering our service area's renewable energy growth," says Tom Aller, president of Interstate Power and Light. "By participating in The Second Nature Program, our customers are making an investment in their energy future. We look forward to working with USSHC in the future as our company pursues environmentally friendly alternative sources of energy."
"Alliant Energy's Second Nature program allows us to be a catalyst for change in the data center colocation industry," said Isaac Helgens, Project Director for USSHC. "No other program allows us to make an impact so quickly without making major changes to processes in place. We are able to able to reduce our ecological footprint and in doing so give our customers a more efficient alternative. USSHC hopes to set an example in our industry by promoting renewable energy sources as a viable replacement for standard energy."
The Second Nature program is Green-e Energy certified. Green-e Energy was established by the non-profit Center for Resource Solutions to provide information and an objective standard for consumers to compare renewable energy options, and to verify that consumers get what they pay for.
What is Renewable Energy?
Renewable energy is referred to as energy which occurs naturally and frequently in the environment. As the name renewable energy suggests, renewable energy will not run out unlike energy, for example, from fossil fuels. The types of renewable energy include wind, the sun, from waves and from the ground (geothermal). Plant sources such as crops or woods specifically grown as a fuel are also considered as renewable energies.