Digital Realty and Facebook Announce Renewable Energy Virtual Power Purchase Agreement

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Digital Realty (NYSE: DLR), a leading global provider of data center, colocation and interconnection solutions, announced today the signing of a virtual power purchase agreement on behalf of Facebook, Inc., to support Facebook's renewable energy goals at data center facilities leased from Digital Realty.  Under the agreement, Digital Realty has executed a long-term renewable power purchase contract to secure approximately 80 megawatts of solar power capacity for Facebook.  Digital Realty contracted with SunEnergy1, which has developed and will own and operate the solar project, to be located within Virginia Electric and Power Company territory in North Carolina.  Under the terms of the agreement, all renewable energy certificates and environmental claims will be delivered to Facebook. 

This agreement marks the first back-to-back utility-scale renewable energy transaction between a data center provider landlord utilizing a virtual power purchase agreement to underpin the renewable energy supply dedicated to a customer.  Digital Realty worked in partnership with Facebook to structure the transaction to align with Facebook's quality standards for new renewable energy projects within the same power grid as the data center load.  

"Our scale and position as a leader in data center sustainability enabled us to execute this first of its kind agreement in support of Facebook's sustainability goals," said Digital Realty Chief Executive Officer A. William Stein.  "Many of our customers have specific renewable energy requirements, and we work diligently to provide cost-competitive solutions tailored to their needs.  We were able to take Facebook's quality standards and timeline into consideration and deliver this solution in a competitive marketplace and at a competitive price.  We are very pleased to be part of the solution enabling Facebook to achieve its renewable energy goals."  

"Facebook is committed to supporting all of its operations with 100% renewable energy and to improving overall access to renewable markets," said Bobby Hollis, Director of Global Energy and Site Selection at Facebook.  "We are thrilled Digital Realty has entered into this agreement and hope this will serve as a model for other colocation customers seeking to support their operations with high-quality, renewable energy projects."  

To-date, Digital Realty has contracted for approximately 745,000 megawatt-hours of renewable generation annually through long-term power purchase agreements, avoiding approximately 525,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year.  The environmental benefits from Digital Realty's renewable energy sourcing efforts will have an impact comparable to meeting the energy needs of 60,000 U.S. homes per year.  

About Digital Realty
Digital Realty supports the data center, colocation and interconnection strategies of more than 2,300 firms across its secure, network-rich portfolio of data centers located throughout North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia and Australia.  Digital Realty's clients include domestic and international companies of all sizes, ranging from cloud and information technology services, communications and social networking to financial services, manufacturing, energy, healthcare and consumer products.  
www.digitalrealty.com

For Additional Information
Andrew P. Power
Chief Financial Officer
Digital Realty
(415) 738-6500

Media Inquiries
John Christiansen / Scott Lindlaw / Lindsay Andrews
Sard Verbinnen & Co.
(415) 618-8750

Investor Relations
John J. Stewart / Maria S. Lukens
Digital Realty
(415) 738-6500
[email protected]

Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements which are based on current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially, including statements related to the virtual power purchase agreement executed on behalf of Facebook, Facebook renewable energy goals, the expected environmental benefits and timing of our power purchase agreements, SunEnergy1, and our sustainability program.  These risks and uncertainties include, among others, the following: reduced demand for data centers or decreases in information technology spending; decreased rental rates, increased operating costs or increased vacancy rates; increased competition or available supply of data center space; the suitability of our data centers and data center infrastructure, delays or disruptions in connectivity or availability of power, or failures or breaches of our physical and information security infrastructure or services; our dependence upon significant customers, bankruptcy or insolvency of a major customer or a significant number of smaller customers, or defaults on or non-renewal of leases by customers; breaches of our obligations or restrictions under our contracts with our customers; our inability to successfully develop and lease new properties and development space, and delays or unexpected costs in development of properties; the impact of current global and local economic, credit and market conditions; our inability to retain data center space that we lease or sublease from third parties; difficulty acquiring or operating properties in foreign jurisdictions; our failure to realize the intended benefits from, or disruptions to our plans and operations or unknown or contingent liabilities related to, our recent acquisitions; our failure to successfully integrate and operate acquired or developed properties or businesses; difficulties in identifying properties to acquire and completing acquisitions; risks related to joint venture investments, including as a result of our lack of control of such investments; risks associated with using debt to fund our business activities, including re-financing and interest rate risks, our failure to repay debt when due, adverse changes in our credit ratings or our breach of covenants or other terms contained in our loan facilities and agreements; our failure to obtain necessary debt and equity financing, and our dependence on external sources of capital; financial market fluctuations and changes in foreign currency exchange rates; adverse economic or real estate developments in our industry or the industry sectors that we sell to, including risks relating to decreasing real estate valuations and impairment charges and goodwill and other intangible asset impairment charges; our inability to manage our growth effectively; losses in excess of our insurance coverage; environmental liabilities and risks related to natural disasters; our inability to comply with rules and regulations applicable to our company; our failure to maintain our status as a REIT for federal income tax purposes; our operating partnership's failure to qualify as a partnership for federal income tax purposes; restrictions on our ability to engage in certain business activities; and changes in local, state, federal and international laws and regulations, including related to taxation, real estate and zoning laws, and increases in real property tax rates.  For a further list and description of such risks and uncertainties, see the reports and other filings by the company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017 and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2018, June 30, 2018 and September 30, 2018.  The company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. 

SOURCE Digital Realty

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http://www.digitalrealty.com