San Francisco Data Center Turns In Big Power Savings

We write a lot about ways to save electrical power in the data center and help the environment, but it’s always nice to see real results.

Congratulations, 365 Main of San Francisco! The big colocation service provider—which has been in an expansion mode for months—announced today that it decreased energy use and saved a whopping $54,000 in utility costs during 2007 by participating in Pacific Gas & Electric’s CPP (Critical Peak Pricing) program.

This was recorded as the largest CPP savings among all data center companies in PG&E’s coverage area, which encompasses Northern California and parts of Nevada. In total, 365 Main saved 7,477 kWh during the CPP events in 2007 when the company was able to curtail power usage below its energy consumption baseline.

PG&E’s voluntary CPP program is designed to curtail energy load during the summer to offset the possibility of an energy emergency. The utility offers seasonal discounts to single-building customers that reduce or shift their energy usage away from peak periods.

365 Main, a full city block in size and located near the base of the San Francisco Bay Bridge, is the home data center for Craigslist, RedEnvelope, Charles Schwab, CNET, a portion of Sun Microsystems’ grid system and a number of other high visibility customers. The company also has locations in Arizona, Southern California and in Oakland.