Greentech Lead America: Iron Mountain is planning to
install solar panels on the roofs of eight of its document storage facilities
in Mass., Conn. and N.J.
Iron Mountain claims that it has 1,000 facilities around
the world that can offer roof space for collecting solar energy, a strategy it
sees for fixing long-term utility rates at these locations and meeting its
goals for environmental sustainability.
The solar systems at eight facilities will produce more
than 5.2 million kilowatt-hours of energy in their first year of operation.
That’s enough energy to power more than 450 U.S. homes for one year.
Iron Mountain estimates the installations will offset
nearly 7 million pounds of carbon dioxide annually, or the equivalent of
removing 650 cars from the road every year.
To deploy the photovoltaic systems, Iron Mountain has
entered into power purchase agreements with SunEdison. The solar power services
provider will finance, build and maintain the installations at each site, while
Iron Mountain will purchase the energy generated from these systems at fixed
rates for 20 years.
“We’re able to lock-in energy rates over the long
haul, while our facilities produce clean renewable energy for the communities
where we do business. Given our sizeable real estate footprint and the economic
model of solar energy, this was a no-brainer. We’re excited to install these
solar panels, and we’ll look to identify additional locations,” said Iron
Mountain CEO and Chairman Richard Reese.
This multi-site deployment will involve two facilities in
Windsor, Conn., one in Northborough, Mass., three in East Brunswick, N.J., and
two in Freehold, N.J. Iron Mountain expects construction will begin this summer
at its facilities in N.J. with all installations operational and producing
solar energy sometime early next year.
Iron Mountain said the company’s solutions enable
customers to protect and better use their information so they can optimize
their business and ensure proper recovery, compliance and discovery.