Iron Mountain to Add Solar Panels atop Storage Facilities for First Time

Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE:IRM) announced plans today to install solar panels on the roofs of eight of its document storage facilities in Mass., Conn. and N.J. This is the information management company’s first solar panel installation, but not its last. With nearly 1,000 facilities around the world, the company has ample roof space for collecting solar energy, a strategy it sees for fixing long-term utility rates at these locations and meeting its goals for environmental sustainability.

Collectively, the solar systems located at these initial eight facilities will produce more than 5.2 million kilowatt-hours of energy in their first year of operation. That’s enough energy to power more than 450 U.S. homes for one year. Additionally, the company estimates the installations will offset nearly 7 million pounds of carbon dioxide annually, or the equivalent of removing 650 cars from the road every year.

To deploy the photovoltaic systems, Iron Mountain has entered into power purchase agreements with SunEdison. Through these agreements, the solar power services provider will finance, build and maintain the installations at each site, while Iron Mountain will purchase the energy generated from these systems at fixed rates for 20 years.

“This is a win-win for our company and the communities where we do business,” said Iron Mountain CEO and Chairman Richard Reese. “We’re able to lock-in energy rates over the long haul, while our facilities produce clean renewable energy for the communities where we do business. Given our sizeable real estate footprint and the economic model of solar energy, this was a no-brainer. We’re excited to install these solar panels, and we’ll look to identify additional locations.”

This multi-site deployment will involve two facilities in Windsor, Conn., one in Northborough, Mass., three in East Brunswick, N.J., and two in Freehold, N.J. Iron Mountain expects construction will begin this summer at its facilities in N.J. with all installations operational and producing solar energy sometime early next year.

Source:http://www.environmental-expert.com/news/iron-mountain-to-add-solar-panels-atop-storage-facilities-for-first-time-293098