Equinix Purchases Clean Energy to Power All NA Data Centers

After two years of sustainability planning and identifying renewable energy opportunities, Schneider Electric worked closely with Equinix, Inc. in its recent procurement of three utility-scale Power Purchase Agreements that will provide 100 percent renewable energy coverage for all of Equinix’s data centers in North America. Schneider Electric played a key role on the procurement team, supporting stakeholder engagement, identifying new opportunities and facilitating deal closure. As a result, Equinix nearly tripled its global renewable energy procurement from 30 percent in 2014 to 82 percent by the end of 2016.

Earlier this year, Equinix announced its long-term goal of achieving 100 percent clean and renewable energy for its entire global footprint of 100+ data centers located in 33 markets. To achieve this goal, Schneider Electric played a central role in negotiating power purchase agreements (PPAs) that enable corporations like Equinix to deploy renewable energy via large utility scale projects. Through these PPAs, Equinix purchased 105 megawatts (MW) of new solar power to cover its facilities in California, as well as contracted with two wind farms (one in Oklahoma and one in Texas) and two separate suppliers to provide a combined 225 MW of wind capacity to cover the remainder of its North American load.

“Schneider Electric provided Equinix with valuable insight and guidance as we continue to push forward on our sustainability goals,” said Sam Kapoor, Chief Global Operations Office at Equinix. “In particular with respect to the new frontier of corporate utility-scale renewable energy procurement, they helped us both identify prospective opportunities and provided technical guidance to leverage our teams to build the case for these new deals. With their support we are solidifying Equinix as a leader in data center sustainability.”

Schneider Electric provides procurement, consulting, and sustainability services to Equinix. They assisted Equinix in developing an aggressive sustainability strategy that is propelling the global interconnection and data center company to the leading edge of corporate sustainability and innovation.

“Equinix understands the importance of operating an environmentally sustainable business, as does Schneider Electric, and this shared vision helps us better serve them in executing their sustainability strategy,” said Steve Wilhite, Senior Vice President of Energy and Sustainability Services at Schneider Electric. “These projects are major steps toward reaching Equinix’s goal of utilizing 100 percent renewable energy across their global footprint, and we are excited and ready to continue driving this success.”