Digital Realty has joined two 24/7 energy matching programs in Sweden and France.
In Sweden, it has become the first global colo provider to join a 24/7 matching program spearheaded by state-owned utility Vattenfall.
The program will match Digital Realty's power demand across its six Stockholm data centers with an equivalent volume of carbon-free energy generated and injected into the grid at the same time. Energy consumption levels will be measured by smart meters to facilitate hourly matching, with Digital Realty able to control what source of renewable energy it uses.
“24/7 matching truly demonstrates how new digital solutions and technology can provide increased transparency. This solution enables us to offer our customers specific data with unique precision, supporting their environmental efforts and communication,” said Andreas Regnell, head of strategic development at Vattenfall.
In France, Digital has signed up for a similar initiative with an unnamed provider to cover energy consumption at its PAR1 data center, which hosts cloud service providers such as Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services, and Google Cloud.
"With 24/7 matching, we are innovating how we track and manage clean energy use to drive impact, ensuring that every step of our journey is clear and accountable. This is a significant step forward in our mission to create a more sustainable future," said Aaron Binkley, vice president of sustainability at Digital Realty.
According to the company, it has more than 150 data centers matched with 100 percent renewable energy.
In addition, the firm claims to have prioritized the procurement of renewable energy as a central tenant of its sustainability strategy.
Digital Realty has signed numerous Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) across its data center footprint. Last May, it signed five PPAs in Spain and France for 134MW of power. In France, the company signed two 15-year deals for wind energy. The projects, from developer Wpd, encompass small wind farms in the French regions of Bretagne and Hauts-de-France.
It has also signed deals in Australia, California, Germany, and Texas. In total, the company claims to have procured more than 1.5GW of wind and solar capacity.
