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Energy from wind and landfill gas sources now completely
powers Dell Inc.'s 2.1 million square foot headquarters in
Austin, Texas, the computer maker recently announced.
Dell's announcement of a deal with Waste Management and
TXU Energy Wind Power is part of its bid to achieve
carbon neutrality at its owned and leased facilities this
year.
Waste Management's Austin Community Landfill gas-to-energy
facility will supply about 40 percent of the power needs at
Dell’s headquarters, with the remainder coming from existing
wind farms in the state through TXU Energy.
Dell’s Austin Parmer Campus also is seeing an increase in
green power, from 8 percent to 17 percent, through Austin
Energy. The company’s Twin Falls, Idaho, facility is also
powered completely by wind and solar power.
In a recent conference call, the company said the contract
is for a little more than 80 million kilowatt hours per year.
Dell declined to say how much the contract was worth, but
predicted that green power - which now sells for a slight
premium compared to conventional power - could one day sell
more cheaply.
Retrofit projects across Dell facilities - such as deploying
power management systems and replacing inefficient lighting
and air conditioners - save the company $2 million a year.
The news comes just days after the company said it would
close a desktop PC manufacturing plant in Austin and lay-off
as many as 8,800 workers as part of a massive restructuring
plan designed to save the company $3 billion during the next
three years.
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