US data center operator Lifeline Data Centers is installing a utility-grade 4MW solar power array at its Eastgate data center campus in Indianapolis, Indiana.

It said it plans to replace its traditional utility power consumption using the new solar arrays, which will be functional by April 2014.

It said it should provide enough power for the data center over the next 25 years.

“Lifeline Data Centers has maintained an on-going interest in solar power and has investigated several options for installing a large array of solar panels,” the company said in a blog post.

It is installing the array with help from Indianapolis Power & Light and New Generation Power of Chicago, on the roof of the data center and in the campus’s parking lot.

Lifeline Data Centers co-owner Alex Caroll said he believes the company is one of the first large independent data center facilities in the US to use solar in such an extreme way.

Apple, eBay, Facebook and Cisco have already made plans to use of the source of renewable energy for their data centers.

Lifeline offers wholesale colocation through two data centers in Indianapolis, with customers largely covering healthcare, utilities, life sciences, cloud computing, government and software verticals.

The company said it hopes to eventually have its facilities LEED certified