On March 21, Utah passed Senate Bill 12 into law, allowing companies to buy their renewable energy directly from the renewable company.
EBay (NASDAQ: EBAY), along with roughly 1,000 other companies, lobbied for this law, which would allow more flexibility with energy prices and make it easier for them to participate in clean energy growth.
And the new law spurred immediate expansion into clean energy. In a blog post, Richard Brewer-Hay of eBay announced the company had installed its largest renewable project yet.
It’s Topaz data center, located in South Jordan, Utah, now has a 665-kilowatt solar system powering the center.
The system was designed and installed by SPG Solar, and it expands 72,000 square feet. It will produce a total of 924,013 kWh of solar electricity each year.
According to the blog, that’s the equivalent of eliminating 702 tons of carbon emissions. Brewer-Hay said:
“In addition to the environmental benefits, we anticipate the installation will pay for itself in just four years.”
This will come from the lower prices of buying directly from the company, as well as federal subsidies and tax incentives.
EBay now has a total of 2MW of renewable energy on all its data centers, or 11% of total energy demand.
Included in this is the 100 kW solar project on its Denver, Colorado data center, and its 650 kW array and 500 kW Bloom fuel cell at its San Jose location.
EBay’s Topaz center is LEED Gold-certified by the U.S. Green Building Council.
That’s all for now,
Brianna
