Iron Mountain Signs 145 Megawatt PPA, Reaches 75% Renewables In 2018
US data company Iron Mountain Incorporated announced this week that it has signed another renewable energy Power Purchase Agreement, this time for 145 megawatts (MW) from the Pretty Prairie Wind Farm in Kansas, which is expected to boost the company’s renewable electricity usage in 2018 to 75% of its global operations.
Iron Mountain is one of the world’s leading storage and information management services and has set itself a target of sourcing 100% of its electricity usage from renewable energy sources by 2050. The company, which was founded in 1951, boasts a real estate network of over 85 million square feet across more than 1,400 facilities in over 50 countries, and is “trusted by more than 225,000 organisations around the world” to store “critical business information, highly sensitive data, and cultural and historical artifacts.”
Unsurprisingly, therefore, Iron Mountain has some serious electricity needs, and combined with the company’s renewable energy target, it is continuously signing new Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) to increase its share of renewable electricity.
On Wednesday, Iron Mountain revealed that it has signed another PPA, this time with an affiliate of NextEra Energy Resources for 145 MW of wind-generated electricity from the Pretty Prairie Wind Farm, located in Reno County, Kansas. NextEra Energy Resources will build, own, and operate the 220 MW Pretty Prairie Wind Farm, which is expected to create more than 250 jobs during construction, and between 15 and 20 full-time jobs over its 30 years in operation, as well as generating an estimated $50 million in payments to local landowners and millions in additional tax revenue to the local community.
“We are excited to partner with Iron Mountain to help the company achieve its next milestone along its renewable energy journey,” said John Di Donato, vice president of Development for NextEra Energy Resources. “The Pretty Prairie Wind project will not only help advance Iron Mountain’s renewable energy goals, it will help drive the local economy forward, creating good jobs, millions of dollars in landowner payments, and additional revenue for the community to enhance roads, schools, and other essential services.”
Iron Mountain has signed for 145 MW of the electricity generated by the wind farm — the equivalent renewable electricity enough to power 56,000 US homes, which will also reduce fossil fuel emissions equivalent to removing over 100,000 cars from the roads each year.
Further, Iron Mountain’s renewable electricity usage for 2018 — thanks in part to this new and other recent PPAs — will exceed 75% of its operations, and move the company even closer to its goal of 100% renewable electricity by 2050.
“Renewable energy has become a key strategic component in how we manage electricity usage throughout our global real estate portfolio,” explained Kevin Hagen, vice president of Environmental Social and Governance Strategy, Iron Mountain. “This agreement with NextEra Energy Resources is a critical next step towards achieving our goals for utilizing renewable energy for 100% of our global portfolio. What is especially exciting is that, with this agreement and the achievement of other milestones, 100% of our data center business now operates on renewable electricity. When you consider the sheer amount of electricity required to power our entire operational portfolio, it’s truly remarkable to hit these goals in a ‘business-positive’ manner that leverages renewable energy to help us reduce utility expenses, stabilize rates and reduce the business risks associated with fossil fuels.”
A PPA signed in early 2017 for electricity generated from the Ringer Hill Wind Farm in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, helped Iron Mountain increase its share of renewable electricity for its Data Center business to 100%. The company also recently announced that its operations in Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom have also reached the goal of 100% renewable electricity usage.
The company also joined the RE100 initiative earlier this year along with telecommunications giant Vodafone at the same time that it announced its intention to set a science-based target for lowering its greenhouse gas emissions levels, which it will do in coordination with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
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