Digital Realty Announces Expansion of Industry-Leading Renewable Energy and Sustainability Initiatives

NEW YORK, Dec. 5, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Digital Realty (NYSE: DLR), a leading global provider of data center, colocation and interconnection solutions, announced today it is expanding its renewable energy and sustainability initiatives with two long-term agreements to source approximately 324,000 additional megawatt-hours of renewable wind and solar power annually for the company's Chicago and Ashburn data center properties.  The output will supply Digital Realty's newly expanded Clean Start² Program, which makes the benefits of renewable energy available to customers interested in procuring net-new, locally produced renewable energy at competitive rates through their data center supplier. 

The first agreement, with Leeward Renewable Energy, will supply Digital Realty's Chicago data centers with an anticipated 276,000 megawatt-hours of renewable wind power annually.  The second agreement, with SunEnergy1, will supply Digital Realty's Ashburn data centers with 48,000 megawatt-hours of renewable solar power annually.  Both projects are expected to come online in 2018.  Digital Realty was assisted in the contracting process by advisory firm Schneider Electric-Renewable Choice Energy. 

The agreements will increase the quantity of renewable energy sourced for the company's owned and managed data centers in the U.S. by 80 percent.  Following the expansion, Digital Realty will have contracted for approximately 721,000 megawatt-hours of renewable generation annually through long-term contracts, avoiding approximately 515,000 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 55,000 U.S. homes per year. 

"We are committed to minimizing the impact of our operations on the environment, and to supplying our customers the sustainable solutions they want," said Digital Realty Chief Executive Officer A. William Stein.  "With these two new agreements, we have meaningfully expanded our renewable offerings to customers, further strengthening our ability to meet the rising demand for clean energy." 

Leeward Renewable Energy Chief Executive Officer Greg Wolf added, "We are happy to support Digital Realty's sustainability efforts through the long-term Power Purchase Agreement from our first-of-its-kind repowering project in Lee County.  We look forward to a long and healthy relationship with Digital Realty as we continue to serve clean energy customers in this growing market." 

Digital Realty Director of Sustainability Aaron Binkley remarked, "Digital Realty remains a leader in data center sustainability, from energy conservation to clean energy to the issuance of green bonds.  Through our Clean Start² Program, we are pleased to expand the options available to customers who want to use renewable energy at competitive rates from local and newly-built wind and solar facilities for their data center needs." 

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

https://www.digitalrealty.com/

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

Media Inquiries
Clive Over
Director, Public Relations
Digital Realty
(415) 848-9456
cover@digitalrealty.com

Wilson Craig
SVP/GM
Mindshare PR
(408) 516-6182
wilson@mindsharepr.com

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 expected timing and benefits of our agreements to procure additional wind and solar energy, our Clean Start2 Program, the expected environmental benefits from our combined renewable energy and sustainability initiatives, and  the quantity of renewable energy sourced.  These risks and uncertainties include, among others, the following: the impact of current global economic, credit and market conditions; current local economic conditions in the metropolitan areas in which we operate; decreases in information technology spending, including as a result of economic slowdowns or recession; 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); our dependence upon significant tenants; bankruptcy or insolvency of a major tenant or a significant number of smaller tenants; defaults on or non-renewal of leases by tenants; our failure to obtain necessary debt and equity financing; 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; financial market fluctuations; changes in foreign currency exchange rates; our inability to manage our growth effectively; difficulty acquiring or operating properties in foreign jurisdictions; our failure to successfully integrate and operate acquired or developed properties or businesses; the suitability of our properties and data center infrastructure, delays or disruptions in connectivity, failure of our physical and information security infrastructure or services or availability of power; risks related to joint venture investments, including as a result of our lack of control of such investments; delays or unexpected costs in development of properties; decreased rental rates, increased operating costs or increased vacancy rates; increased competition or available supply of data center space; our inability to successfully develop and lease new properties and development space; difficulties in identifying properties to acquire and completing acquisitions; our inability to acquire off-market properties; the impact of the United Kingdom's referendum on withdrawal from the European Union on global financial markets and our business; our inability to comply with the rules and regulations applicable to reporting companies; our failure to maintain our status as a REIT; possible adverse changes to tax laws; restrictions on our ability to engage in certain business activities; environmental uncertainties and risks related to natural disasters; losses in excess of our insurance coverage; changes in foreign laws and regulations, including those related to taxation and real estate ownership and operation; and changes in local, state and federal regulatory requirements, including changes in 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, 2016 and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2017, June 30, 2017 and September 30, 2017.  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. 

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SOURCE Digital Realty