BEND, Ore. – June 23, 2011 – By definition, vaults are dark, secure places where nothing gets out and the sun never gets in. But the newly opened BendBroadband Vault, a 30,000 square foot secure data center, is vibrant with its commitment to the environment.
The facility’s many green features include a solar paneled rooftop for power generation, Kyoto cooling, and the support of renewable energy through Blue Sky. Located in Bend, Oregon, The Vault is a Tier III LEED Gold and Energy Star Certified facility offering co-location, disaster recovery, dedicated managed services, and cloud computing.
“From conception of the project, BendBroadband’s intent has been to design the Vault to be as energy efficient and environmentally friendly as possible. Features including solar photovoltaic power generation, pervious pavement, xeriscape landscaping, LED lighting, and air-to-air heat exchange for cooling capacity, all were included towards this goal. Supporting100 percent renewable power through Pacific Power’s Blue Sky program reinforces our commitment to the ideals applied in the design,” said Leonard Weitman, vice president technical operations, BendBroadband.
BendBroadband Vault leverages the high desert climate to create an energy-efficient data center facility where cool nights yield inexpensive facility cooling and sunny days provide solar energy. In addition to the favorable climate, Bend is geologically appealing due to the relatively low threat of natural disasters.
BendBroadband Vault’s commitment brings real environmental benefits. The company, a subsidiary of BendBroadband, is supporting renewable energy equal to 100 percent of the facility’s energy use through the Blue Sky Block program, making it a Blue Sky Visionary level partner. Over the course of a year, the 4.3 million kilowatt hours of renewable energy being supported offsets 5.7 million pounds of carbon emissions, equal to taking 449 cars off the road.
Blue Sky provides Pacific Power customers a way to support regional wind-powered generation and other renewable energy sources such as solar, low-emissions biomass and geothermal. Supporting renewable energy through a voluntary program like Blue Sky helps stimulate even more investment in new renewable generation facilities.
“Leading by example is the best possible way to encourage support for renewable energy,” said Pat Egan, Pacific Power vice president of customer and community affairs. “Blue Sky provides an easy, accessible way for customers to make a difference. We also think Blue Sky is good for business, because customers are starting to request or choose to spend their dollars with businesses that are using sustainable practices, and particularly renewable energy, like Blue Sky.”
Enrollment in Blue Sky is voluntary and customers can increase their participation or withdraw at any time. Customers can sign up for Blue Sky renewable power by calling Pacific Power at 800-769-3717 or by visiting www.pacificpower.net/bluesky.
About BendBroadband Vault and BendBroadband:
BendBroadband Vault is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BendBroadband. The Vault is a Tier III enterprise-class green data center located in Bend, Oregon, offering collocation, disaster recovery, dedicated managed services, and cloud computing. The facility is LEED Gold (pending) and Energy Star certified. Visit www.bendbroadbandvault.com for more information. BendBroadband is a family-owned, Oregon-based company serving Central Oregon since 1955. A leader in the cable and broadband sectors, the company offers an extensive range of broadband, cable and telephone services for commercial and residential customers.
About Blue Sky
Strong customer support has enabled the Blue Sky program to be instrumental in the creation of more federally recognized Green Power Communities than any other program in the nation. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has ranked Blue Sky fifth or better in the nation for the eighth consecutive year in the number of customers buying renewable power and for renewable power sales volume. The program is Green-e Energy Certified, which means the renewable energy supported meets the rigorous national environmental and consumer-protection standards established by the nonprofit Center for Resource Solutions. For more information on Green-e Energy, visit www.green-e.org/energy. More than 39,000 customers in the Northwest are part of Blue Sky.
About Pacific Power
Pacific Power provides electric service to almost 730,000 customers in Oregon, Washington and California. Our goal is to provide our customers with value for their energy dollar, and safe, reliable electricity. Pacific Power is part of PacifiCorp, one of the lowest-cost electricity producers in the United States, with 1.7 million customers in six western states. For more information, visit www.pacificpower.net.
