The digital infrastructure company equinix He has signed five new power purchase agreements long-term with many other solar parks in Spain The agreements add up to a total of 225 Megawatts. They will be operational by 2025, and by then the projects are expected to generate enough power to match the consumption of the company’s IBX data centers in Madrid, Barcelona and Seville. These agreements, along with those already signed, will increase Equinix’s contracted power capacity globally to 595 Megawatts.
Given that Spain offers levels of solar radiation higher than those of other parts of Europe, the new projects will be located in different parts of its geography. In particular, in areas with a higher average value of solar radiation. Ignis will be the company in charge of project management. It is a company based in Madrid and that is integrated into the renewable energy sector, and involved in all stages and phases of the value chain.
Ignis has so far participated in the development of various renewable energy projects of more than 20 Gigawatts in Europe, the United States, Asia and Latin America. It currently manages more than 4 Gigawatts generated through different technologies. To choose the projects and negotiate power purchase contracts, Equinix has relied on the energy contracting consultancy Schneider Electric.
Within the data center industry, Equinix was the first to commit to achieving climate neutrality. In addition, he is one of the founders of the EU Climate Neutral Data Center Operators Pact. This pact seeks to promote and direct the development of sustainability requirements for the EU data center sector to be climate neutral by 2030.
Equinix began its renewable energy purchase program in 2015, signing power purchases for two 225 Megawatt wind projects in Texas and Oklahoma, both operating since 2016. Later, between late 2021 and early 2022, the company signed three power purchase contracts in Finland with the providers Neoen and Prokon.
In total, the three added 144 Megawatts of wind power generation. The three wind power projects participating in the project were built in Bjorkliden, Lumivaara and Storbotet. Currently, Equinix is evaluating the start-up of new projects in America, Asia and Europe.
Among Equinix’s current priorities is the transition from certified to renewable energy in as many markets as possible. Aside from its renewable energy strategy, the company continues to evaluate the opportunities offered by solar power and on-site fuel cell power generation, among other sustainable and low-carbon energies that fit with its strategy.
Juan Romero, Director of operations for Iberia of Equinixhas stressed that «Power purchase agreements are important to further advance the development of sustainable power generation, which otherwise would not occur. These types of agreements help us sustain the growing demand for interconnection while maintaining the use of renewable energy in our data centers in Spain.«.
For his part, Raouf Abdel, Equinix Vice President of Global Operationshas highlighted that «equinix is committed to enabling the digital infrastructure that enriches our daily lives, while minimizing environmental impact. We continue to pursue opportunities like these new solar PPAs and other innovations to support renewable power generation globally.«.
