Dell announced on their Direct2Dell blog the other day that they are now using 100% green energy to power their corporate HQ in Texas. The facility is 2.1 million square-foot and is home to more than 10,000 employees.
As a first step in this project Dell replaced lights and retrofitted air conditioning units throughout their central Texas facilities thereby reducing electrical demand significantly, saving more than $1.2 million and cutting CO2 emissions by nearly 8,200 tons.
Having reduced demand, Dell then sourced its remaining energy requirements from Green sources. It is purchasing all of the power generated from Waste Management’s Austin Community Landfill gas-to-energy plant, meeting 40 percent of Dell headquarters’ campus power needs. The remaining 60 percent comes from existing wind farms and is provided by TXU Energy.
Because Dell has committed to purchasing this power, it has negotiated a fixed price with its suppliers. This gives Dell price certainty on its operational costs for power, and the company expects that as energy prices rise, it will see cost benefits to using green power in the future.
This announcement brings Dell a considerable way towards its stated aim of becoming a fully carbon neutral company.
Dell also helps its customers achieve a lower carbon footprint by producing a number of low energy consuming computers. It’s green technology solutions include the OptiPlex 755 and Inspiron 531 desktops, Latitude D630 laptop, PowerEdge M-Series blades and PowerEdge Energy Smart servers. The company’s desktop systems alone have helped customers save more than $2.2 billion and avoid approximately 22.4 million tons of CO2.
This is a spectacular achievement on Dell’s part and it yet again shows that it is big industry who are leading the way in the battle to reduce CO2 emissions. Why that? Typically because being energy efficient means lowering your cost base thereby becoming green and more profitable at the same time. What’s not to love?