Jun 13 2013
Internap Network Services Corporation, a provider of high-performance hosting services, today announced that its Los Angeles data center has been awarded LEED Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). LEED is one of the primary rating systems for the design, construction and operation of energy-efficient buildings.
A Gold certification is given for buildings that are designed and constructed with sustainable concepts and practices that substantially reduce the building’s impact on the environment as compared to other, similar facilities.
“The data center industry has a real opportunity to build sustainability by reducing energy-consumption and increasing efficiency,” said Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO and founding chair of the U.S. Green Building Council. “Internap has been at the forefront of this initiative, pursuing certification for a range of new facilities. We congratulate Internap for its leadership and for achieving LEED Gold certification at its Los Angeles data center.”
In addition to receiving LEED Gold certification, Internap’s Los Angeles facility achieved the Green Building Initiative’s Green Globe® certification shortly after it opened in September 2012. Featuring high-density, “upgrade in place” power that scales up to 18kW per rack – among the highest in the industry – the data center also incorporates advanced disaster preparedness and resiliency, including fully redundant systems and seismic reinforcement to a 1.5 importance factor, the highest level of structural reinforcement against potential building damage. Internap offers a range of IT Infrastructure services in its Los Angeles data center – including colocation, hosting and cloud, as well as its route-optimized, global Content Delivery Network (CDN) and Performance IP™ connectivity service. In addition to LEED and Green Globe certifications, Internap is tracking energy performance at its Los Angeles data center over a 12-month period to qualify for ENERGY STAR® certification.
Specific highlights that contributed to Internap’s LEED Gold certification at its Los Angeles facility include:
- Energy Efficiency – Internap established a 47% reduction in energy use, per Energy Star Target Finder, for the entire facility. The mechanical and electrical systems allowed the project to earn the maximum number of possible points for Optimized Energy Performance in the USGBC LEED Rating System. Among the features contributing to this level of performance are: high-efficiency lighting, automated lighting controls, air-side economizer cooling controls and high-efficiency equipment.
- Green Power – Internap chose to supplement the office area’s electrical load by purchasing 100% of its electricity from renewable sources. This purchase of more than 330,000 kWh of renewal energy credits is helping to avoid 361,585 pounds of carbon dioxide.
- Water Conservation – Internap reduced the use of potable water by over 41% with the use of high-efficiency lavatories.
- Reuse of Building Materials – To renovate the building, Internap reused more than 99% of the exterior structural components, avoiding diversion of its construction waste to landfills. Additionally, almost all the materials came from recycled content from pre- and post-consumer materials.
- Green Cleaning and Green Pest Control – Internap utilized a green cleaning program and green pest control policy that aims to reduce VOCs (volatile organic compounds), air contaminants and other harmful gases, promoting a healthier environment for building occupants.
- Transportation Options – This facility includes environmentally conscious transportation options, including carpool parking stalls to encourage commuters to rideshare and geographic proximity to public transportation.
“The LEED Gold and Green Globe certifications at our new Los Angeles data center highlight our efforts to utilize green best practices across all aspects of the facility, from design to operations and processes,” said Randy Ortiz, vice president of data center design and engineering at Internap. “Environmental efficiency and sustainability is increasingly a requirement expressed by our enterprise customers, and these certifications reflect our continued commitment to remain a leader in data center sustainability across our nationwide, company-owned footprint, wherever possible.”
Source: http://www.internap.com/