Level 3 Communications announced that its five German colocation data centers are now powered by 100 per cent renewable energy.

The five German facilities are located in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich. This enables Level 3 to reduce its CO² emissions for the five facilities – in 2012 alone – by approximately 29,400 tonnes, which is equivalent to the CO² absorption of some 245,000 trees.

Level 3’s contract with Germany’s CLENS (Clean Energy Sourcing), a clean energy provider certified by the TÜV international certification organisation, is the first agreement of its kind in the country.

The initiative represents Level 3’s ongoing drive to provide efficient and reliable data centre colocation services, and its commitment to the environment. Certifications confirming that Level 3’s five major data centres in Germany are powered solely by renewable energy are available and displayed in the reception area of each colocation facility.

“While many data centre service providers in Germany have made an effort to improve their carbon footprint, Level 3 has taken the initiative to run all of its colocation facilities on energy from renewable sources,” said James Heard, regional president of EMEA for Level 3. “It’s a well-known fact that data centres consume significant energy resources around the clock to ensure data security and availability as well as speed. With several European colocation facilities running solely on green energy, Level 3 is proving that an environmentally responsible approach can be combined with service reliability and cost-effectiveness.”

Last year the company named its Amsterdam and London collocation data centers as running on 100 per cent on green energy sources.