Data center operator Digital Realty is replacing diesel with hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO) at sites in the US in a bid to reduce carbon emissions following a successful trial in Europe.
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The global bit barn supplier said HVO will first be introduced at three of its facilities in California and Oregon as an alternative to diesel to power its backup generators. It expects this will help it avoid around 12,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions, compared to previous years.
Those three locations will be the PDX12 facility in Hillsboro, Oregon, SC1 in Santa Clara, California, and LAX12 in El Segundo, California, according to Digital Realty.
HVO, often called a renewable or fossil-free form of diesel, is a biofuel made from the processing of vegetable oils or other residual oils. Digital Realty said it already uses this in over 20 locations across Europe, and with this US deployment, it will use HVO in seven global markets, covering around 15 percent of its global portfolio of operations.
