365 Main Adopts USGBC Standards for Data Centers

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — When it unveiled plans to develop a new data center in Newark, 35 miles southeast of San Francisco, 365 Main also became the first data center operator to comply will U.S. Green Building Council standards for sustainable building practices.

365 Main, which leases customizable data center facilities ranging in size from 5,000 to 30,000 square feet, plans to create all its new facilities using the LEED standards for green buildings.

The Newark facility is already under construction, and when it is completed at the end of 2007, the 136,410 square foot facility will adopt a variety of LEED-specified measures, including recycled and locally sourced materials in its construction, energy-efficient Computer Room Air Handlers, air-handling units that bring in 100 percent outside air for cooling when the outside temperature permits, and a several other measures like lighting controls, water-efficient landscaping and encouraging alternative transportation.

The aggregate power consumption by servers and data centers in the United States has more than doubled since 2000 to about 45 billion kilowatt hours of electricity in 2005, accounting for about 1.2 percent of the country's electricity consumption, roughly equal to the power drawn by the nation's color televisions. According to a 2007 report by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory scientist Dr. Jonathan G. Koomey, the electricity costs for the servers and associated infrastructure reached $2.7 billion in 2005 and is increasing steadily.

LEED is the nation's largest and most recognized benchmark for designing and building energy-efficient facilities, and has become the standard of choice for federal agencies and state and local governments nationwide. It evaluates five areas of environmental and human health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.

"As a fast-growing leader in its industry, we applaud the extraordinary commitment 365 Main is making to the green movement," said Richard Fredrizzi, CEO of USGBC. "This level of socially responsible corporate behavior enables a healthy and prosperous environment that improves quality of life, and we hope one day it will become the norm rather than the exception."

The Newark data center will be 365 Main's sixth, joining its three other facilities in California, one in Chandler, Ariz., and another in Chantilly, Va. The company plans to open a seventh facility, in Vernon, Calif., in 2008.

"Today's announcement is a demonstration of the seriousness with which we take our commitment to energy efficiency," said Chris Dolan, Main 365's CEO. "Pledging to build only LEED-certified data centers is a significant undertaking, but we believe in the importance of green development, and we are extremely proud to be the first data center developer and operator to make this promise. We're also pleased to be opening another facility in the San Francisco Bay Area, which is a reflection of the tremendous momentum we're experiencing in this region and also shows the speed with which we're able to meet the growing data center needs of our customers."