Iron Mountain flags hourly renewable energy matching for data centres

US data management company Iron Mountain Inc (NYSE:IRM) is taking a different approach to renewable energy procurement by matching the usage of some of its data centres with renewable power by the hour.

The company said it has entered into an agreement with RPD Energy and energy provider Direct Energy to source 100% renewable energy for matching the hourly usage of its facilities in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, among which are two data centres.

While conventional offerings only match a buyer's load on an annual or monthly basis, Iron Mountain's approach presents a future view of how companies can switch to carbon-free energy supply, the company said. According to Chris Pennington, global energy manager at Iron Mountain Data Centers, the product put together by RPD and Direct Energy is repeatable and can become a readily available retail product.

RPD Energy chief executive Eric Alam explained that RPD Energy's role was to identify the right generator and retail supplier. It worked with Axpo US to design a wholesale transaction that suited renewable developer EDP Renewables North America, and with Direct to create the retail product meeting Iron Mountain's requirements.

Iron Mountain will get a monthly report that documents the match of average hourly generation and its actual hourly consumption from the grid.

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