Equinix Sources Renewable Energy in Australia

Equinix Australia, which is currently building a new AUD 80 million data facility in Perth, has moved to pool its electricity needs with several other corporates and access renewable energy.

Equinix has told Australian regulators that it is working with the Australian subsidiaries of Nike, H&M, and HSBC Bank to negotiate a good deal on access to renewable power.

“This will enable the applicants to create scale, thereby improving their prospects of securing cost-efficient bundled arrangements for electricity and green products,” said a statement from Australia’s competition regulator, the ACCC.

“The applicants propose to pool their electricity demand and place a single tender into the market calling for proposals for the terms on which a supplier (seller) will enter into a power purchasing agreement (PPA) with the applicants.”

Late last week, the arrangement was granted “interim” approval, pending further consultation.

Earlier this year, Equinix issued a EUR 1.1 billion green bond — its second — to use the funds to advance sustainability and reduce its environmental impact.

The company is looking to become climate neutral across its operations by 2030, with a goal of using 100% clean and renewable energy across its global portfolio.

Equinix will also require that 66% of its suppliers by emissions will have science-based targets by FY2025 to achieve a 50% absolute reduction in Scope 3 emissions from fuel and energy-related activities by 2030.

“We share the urgency of governments, the industry, and our customers that innovation and action are essential to ensure data centers are more sustainable and reduce carbon emissions quickly to address the impacts of global climate change,” says Equinix executive vice president for global operations Raouf Abdel.

“Our recent Global Tech Trends survey illustrated this with an increase in demand for greater transparency in IT infrastructure. We have seen this with the over 100% increase in requests for our Green Power Reports (GPRs), which empower customers to track progress against their own sustainability goals and reporting efforts.”

Source : cdotrends