The data centre, in Slough, Berkshire, will draw power from a local combined heat and power plant that uses wood chips, waste paper and fibre fuel to generate electricity, hot water and steam.
A key figure in the development of the new facility is the data centre's South African manager, Hans Huberland. Originally from Johannesburg, he became one of Rackspace's first employees in the UK when he joined the company in 2001 as a Linux system administrator.
Rackspace has converted a former warehouse on the Slough Trading Estate, to provide about 5 100m2 of net technical space. Construction has been completed and equipment is being installed in the first data hall. The first customers are scheduled to go live in June. The date centre layout has been built to Rackspace specifications, which were designed to better manage customer needs.
Doug Loewe, managing director of Rackspace, said: "This is a fantastic project which will harness bio-mass fuels to power the data centre. Rackspace is committed to being energy-efficient and making a real and positive difference to the environment. We also recognise that customers are increasingly looking for suppliers who can help them meet their own environment related goals. By investing in this facility, we continue to strive to exceed the environmental expectations of our customers while delivering their hosting needs."
Huberland said he moved to the UK to gain further experience in the computer industry and when he joined Rackspace he was one of only four employees in the UK. "The new Data Centre was a great opportunity for me. It is a fantastic facility and will have a staff of 30 people," added Huberland.
Power for the data centre comes from a large dedicated bio-mass energy plant, which is operated by Scottish and Southern Energy.
Rackspace was one of the UK's first hosting companies to offer carbon neutral hosting in 2006 by planting trees through its relationship with the International Tree Foundation, the world's longest standing tree planting charity. The company has already planted more than 2 500 trees to offset the carbon emitted through running servers.
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