As part of its green initiatives, eBay has installed a 665 kilowatt (kW) solar panel array on the rooftop of its Topaz data center in Utah.
Designed and installed by SPG Solar, the system features 6,689 square meters of solar panels. The installation will produce approximately 924,013 kilowatt hours of clean electricity a year and offset 702 tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually.
Through various incentives and tax breaks, eBay estimates the installation will see full return on associated investment in just 4 years.
The Topaz data center itself has a strong focus on energy efficiency and was awarded LEED® Gold status by the US Green Building Council. It features rainwater harvesting, over 20% recycled materials in its construction and the use of cooler outside air temperatures to reduce electricity costs for server cooling – the most energy intensive aspect of running a data center.
The Topaz data center’s solar array adds to the company’s 650 kW PV system and 500 kW Bloom Box fuel cell installation at its San Jose headquarters; plus a 100 kW solar panel system at its Denver facility.
All up, eBay’s renewable energy capacity is now almost 2 megawatts; enough to power approximately 11% of its total US data center electricity demand.
eBay has also been successful in helping change legislation in Utah in order to bolster renewable energy uptake. Up until very recently in Utah, which gets 94% of its electricity from coal, the state has not permitted non-utility energy consumers to buy and transmit electricity directly from renewable energy developers.
As part of Data Center Pulse, an association including Adobe, Google, Oracle and Twitter; the company was involved in developing new renewables-friendly legislation, which was unanimously approved by the Utah State Senate and House of Representatives. In late March this year, Senate Bill 12 was signed into law by Utah’s governor Gary Herbert.
eBay intends on pursuing renewable energy options where it’s able to according to a statement from the company.
“Along the way, we hope our efforts – the successes and the challenges – will help other companies and organizations see their role in achieving a sustainable, clean energy future in a new and, hopefully, optimistic light.”
