German web host to go carbon neutral
Trusty old diesel engine at hand if renewable energy cocks up
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Web hosting firm Strato has pulled on its hemp-woven strides and made an ambitious proclamation that it will be completely carbon-free by January 2008.
The German-based company's CEO Damien Schmidt told The Register that while people may be more aware of reducing their individual carbon footprint, it was also important for tech firms to "look behind the screen" and consider the sizable, carbon-munching emissions spat out by IT equipment.
He said Strato had been doing its bit for the green brigade for some time now, and reckoned the firm had already significantly reduced CO2 emissions at its two data centres with a 30 per cent energy saving per customer in the past 18 months.
But to meet the magical 100 per cent mark, Schmidt said Strato planned to go much further by plumbing the depths of a famous German river to supply a single energy source to the web host firm.
He said: "We can afford to switch totally over to renewable energy and we are contracted for the next two years for 100 per cent hydro current energy from the Rhine River."
Asked how Strato can guarantee the electricity source supplied by NaturEnergie was totally CO2-free, Schimdt explained that German auditing board TUV had independently certified its renewable energy credentials.
The firm, which claims to have the second biggest web hosting service in Europe, added that it had also teamed up with AMD and Sun to help find ways of reducing energy consumption through new technology.
But what happens if Strato's renewable energy power supply fails?
A spokesman at the web host said: "We of course have a modern seven-diesel engine running starting at the very instance that the power fails... We have more than enough power in an emergency with diesel engines. Of course that's not carbon dioxide-free, but this is for emergency."
However, he claimed that in the past 10 years Strato had only been hit by one power outage. Offering reassurance to the firm's customers, he added: "We have enough diesel in the tank, it's not a problem." ®
COMMENTS
Solar Powered Web Hosting Is The Only Way To Go
What about having your web site powered by solar....AISO.Net (http://www.aiso.net) is 100% solar powered, both their servers and data center are powered by on-site solar panels not renewable energy credits like everyone else. And they also have a partnership with Co-Op America, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Green Building Council. Plus, they are doing more then just making sure their electricity is green. Their data center and office is green too by using environmentally friendly air conditioners, solar tubes to bring in natural light, a propane powered generator instead of diesel, VMWare virtualization to reduce their server electricity usage, 6 watt energy saving desktop computers for their employees, and soon to be LEED certified as a green data center, the only public one in North America. Plus AISO has been featured in Inc. Magazines’ Top 50 Green Companies along with the Wall Street Journal, Wired Magazine, ComputerWorld and Entrepreneur Magazine just to name a few, and they host www.liveearth.org
Pair Networks
Sounds to me like they're copying Pair Networks, a major US host with an outstanding reputation (Yes I am a customer, no I don't own shares in them)
http://www.pair.com/news/
i love the all the nay saying
every conversation about renewable energy or the environment goes like this:
story: someone did something to help the environment or help progress renewable energy
person 1: ha! did they use renewable energy to create renewable energy? if not then whatever they did was bullshit!
person 2: ha! what about the rest of the world? it's all still the same still so whatever they did was bullshit!
person 3: ha! what about the government? until they change whatever they did was bullshit!
person 4: ha! how much did it cost? if it's not free then whatever they did was bullshit!
renewable energy may not help global warming, but it certainly wont hurt either. it is ALWAYS cheaper to prevent pollution than it is to fix the effects later.
people and companies are making changes, even if it's just something small, and that should always be commended. making progress means making changes.
real change doesn't happen without making real changes.
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