The operator of a newly opened 750,000 square foot data center in Wales has contracted with a renewable energy supplier to ensure that all of the energy that powers the new facility is generated from renewable energy sources.
The operator, Next Generation Data Ltd., has contracted with SmartestEnergy, which aggregates renewable energy on behalf of its customers, which include the likes of Marks & Spencer, Toyota, Hitachi and Eurostar. SmartestEnergy is using a wide variety of generation sources including biogas, landfill gas, wind and hydropower.
Next Generation says it doesn’t plan to charge its own customers, which include BT and Logica, anything extra for the renewable energy. But the sourcing relationship will help the environmental profile of those companies to opt for a data center that uses green energy.
The NGD Europe facility in Wales was built to handle the power-hungry requirements of cloud computing, supercomputing applications and grid computing. The Tier 3 facility can house up to 19,000 racks into self-contained data halls of different dimensions. The facility includes an on-site 180 MVA sub-station, which allows it to connect directly to the National Grid.
