Dell Running on Green

A promising development -- go green power!

Dell says its headquarters runs on 100% green power (04/02/2008)

Sara Goodman, E&ENews PM reporter

Computer-manufacturing giant Dell Inc. announced today that it is using 100 percent "green energy" to power its Round Rock, Texas, headquarters campus, a workplace for more than 10,000 people.

A gas-to-energy plant at Waste Management's Austin landfill is providing 40 percent of Dell's power needs, with the rest being generated by TXU Energy's wind farms -- all part of a company-wide effort to go carbon-neutral this year.

Dell is also increasing the percentage of green power used at its Austin Parmer campus from 8 percent to 17 percent, while its Twin Falls, Idaho, facility uses 100 percent green power.

Paul Bell, president of Dell Americas, said in a teleconference that the company is working with "relevant local power companies to see how far we can push this, since location by location, power sourcing is highly variable."

Dell announced its move toward carbon neutrality last September. It plans to use a mix of energy-efficiency upgrades, renewable power purchases and carbon offsets to compensate for its greenhouse gas emissions.

So far, Dell has installed a company-wide power management system that turns off computers at night and has changed all light bulbs and air conditioning units. The effort already has saved the company nearly $2 million annually, Bell said, as well as cut emissions by nearly 12,000 tons a year.

Bell declined to share cost estimates for the project, but he said that while the company was paying a premium for its initiatives, it was counting on stable pricing in the long term, combined with greater energy efficiency, to lead to lower costs.

Dell will continue to work with its suppliers to get them to reduce their emissions as well, Bell said, continuing an effort announced last June to have suppliers identify and report their carbon dioxide emissions impacts. It also will continue to push for stronger government regulations that reward innovative, energy-efficient information technology.