ADOPTING BIODIESEL TO POWER ITS DATA CENTERS

Compass Datacenters has today announced a new partnership with Foster Fuels to enable the use of Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil-based biodiesel (HVO) to fuel its on-site generators.

Based on the partnership, Foster Fuels will serve as Compass Datacenters’ preferred green diesel provider, bolstering both organizations’ commitment to Greenhouse Gas (GHG) reduction. The initial rollout involves supply to Compass’ facilities in Northern Virginia, Arizona and Texas. The company however plans to make HVO renewable diesel available throughout its U.S. data center facilities.

“The Foster Fuels partnership is part of our overall strategy to reduce our Scope 1 & 2 GHG emissions and will make our generators far more sustainable. Based on our results to date, using HVO blended fuels is reducing our generators’ Scope 1 GHG emissions by approximately 85% versus traditional diesel. Additionally, we are significantly reducing particulates and sulfides as compared to fossil fuels, eliminating diesel’s dirty smoke plume,” said Adil Attlassy, Chief Technology Officer of Compass.

“We’re very excited to help companies achieve their sustainability goals with alternative fuels like HVO. Foster Fuels has been a long-time Compass partner and this sustainability initiative is a result of close collaboration between our teams to address an important issue,” said Watt R. Foster, Jr., President and CEO of Foster Fuels.

“Our decision to adopt HVO-based biodiesel for generators is consistent with our previous efforts, such as CarbonCure concrete; both are focused on GHG reduction. A truly holistic approach to sustainability includes power sources, but also needs to include the facility’s design, the materials used, water usage, the supply chain and much more,” said Nancy Novak, Chief Innovation Officer of Compass.

Recently, Kao Data announced the opening of its new data center in Slough, West London, which is a 100% green facility with its backup power generators that will also use hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) as fuel.