Digital Realty and Facebook Announce Renewable Energy Virtual Power Purchase Agreement

San Francisco, Jan. 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Digital Realty (NYSE: DLR), a leading global provider of data center, colocation and interconnection solutions, announced today the signing of a virtual power purchase agreement on behalf of Facebook, Inc., to support Facebook's renewable energy goals at data center facilities leased from Digital Realty. Under the agreement, Digital Realty has executed a long-term renewable power purchase contract to secure approximately 80 megawatts of solar power capacity for Facebook. Digital Realty contracted with SunEnergy1, which has developed and will own and operate the solar project, to be located within Virginia Electric and Power Company territory in North Carolina. Under the terms of the agreement, all renewable energy certificates and environmental claims will be delivered to Facebook.

This agreement marks the first back-to-back utility-scale renewable energy transaction between a data center provider landlord utilizing a virtual power purchase agreement to underpin the renewable energy supply dedicated to a customer. Digital Realty worked in partnership with Facebook to structure the transaction to align with Facebook's quality standards for new renewable energy projects within the same power grid as the data center load.

"Our scale and position as a leader in data center sustainability enabled us to execute this first of its kind agreement in support of Facebook's sustainability goals," said Digital Realty Chief Executive Officer A. William Stein. "Many of our customers have specific renewable energy requirements, and we work diligently to provide cost-competitive solutions tailored to their needs.  We were able to take Facebook's quality standards and timeline into consideration and deliver this solution in a competitive marketplace and at a competitive price. We are very pleased to be part of the solution enabling Facebook to achieve its renewable energy goals."

"Facebook is committed to supporting all of its operations with 100% renewable energy and to improving overall access to renewable markets," said Bobby Hollis, Director of Global Energy and Site Selection at Facebook. "We are thrilled Digital Realty has entered into this agreement and hope this will serve as a model for other colocation customers seeking to support their operations with high-quality, renewable energy projects."

To-date, Digital Realty has contracted for approximately 745,000 megawatt-hours of renewable generation annually through long-term power purchase agreements, avoiding approximately 525,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. The environmental benefits from Digital Realty's renewable energy sourcing efforts will have an impact comparable to meeting the energy needs of 60,000 U.S. homes per year.

About Digital Realty

Digital Realty supports the data center, colocation and interconnection strategies of more than 2,300 firms across its secure, network-rich portfolio of data centers located throughout North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia and Australia. Digital Realty's clients include domestic and international companies of all sizes, ranging from cloud and information technology services, communications and social networking to financial services, manufacturing, energy, healthcare and consumer products.

www.digitalrealty.com

For Additional Information

Andrew P. Power

Chief Financial Officer

Digital Realty

(415) 738-6500

 

Media Inquiries

John Christiansen / Scott Lindlaw / Lindsay Andrews

Sard Verbinnen & Co.

(415) 618-8750

 

Investor Relations

John J. Stewart / Maria S. Lukens

Digital Realty

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Source Digital Realty

Web Site: http://www.digitalrealty.com

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