That’s right! 130%! We’re not just neutralizing our environmental impact, we’re reversing it!TechHost’s hosting partner has purchased wind powered certified Renewable Energy Credits equivalent to 130% of the power consumed to operate and cool our servers.

1. Removing 444 cars from the road for a year, or
2. Powering 321 homes with clean energy for a year, or
3. Saving 5,654 barrels of oil, or
4. Protecting 551 acres of forest for a year

All of our hosting partner’s REC’s have been registered, verified, and retired from the market.

Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) allow any customer, anywhere in the country to support renewable energy generation. For every REC purchased, one megawatt-hour (MWh, or 1000 kilowatt-hours) of renewable electricity is generated and delivered to the power grid.

So, what is a REC?

• Since it’s virtually impossible to request only the “green” electrons be delivered to your home or business by your electricity provider, RECs provide a low-cost mechanism for individuals and businesses to capture the environmental benefits (zero emissions, etc) of the green power and claim it as their own.
• Each MWh of clean, renewable electricity reduces the need for one additional MWh of pollution-causing conventional power; therefore a REC represents the environmental benefits of this displacement.
• Green-e Energy Certified RECs are audited to ensure that only one customer claims credit for each MWh of renewable electricity

Here’s something you may not know: the IT sector has a huge climate impact. At present, between 3 and 4 percent of all electricity (and the associated carbon emissions) used in the world goes to running data centers. If you’re one of the four and a half million registered users of Second Life, consider this: the average Second Life avatar consumes 1,752 kWh of electricity per year, or about two thirds that of an actual person (globally averaged). One server alone has roughly the same climate impact as a 15mpg SUV! Climate change is real, it’s happening now, and we as a planet desperately need to reduce our IT emissions. And if we wait for the government to solve the problem, we’ll be waiting for a long, long, LONG time.

We’re thrilled to announce that TechHost has joined the ranks of many progressive companies including: Starbucks, IBM, and UPS to take action on addressing climate change right now. TechHost has gone green, and it’s gone green in a BIG way. We at TechHost are very proud to have worked with TechHouse to develop a sector-leading program. What makes TechHouse’s program so special? If you’re thinking about switching to green hosting, good for you! Green hosting is an important step in dealing with climate change. But be aware- once you start asking some questions you’ll find that not all of the green hosting options out there are nearly as green as they claim to be. TechHost’s hosting partner’s program stands out from the pack for a number of reasons . . .

1. TechHost’s hosting partner is using renewable energy to both power and cool their servers, whereas a number of green hosts only offset the electricity used to power their servers. That represents a big difference, because servers generate a lot of heat. For every watt of electricity that a server uses, 1-2 watts of electricity are typically required to cool it. What that means is that TechHouse is investing in about twice as much renewable energy, on a per server basis, as those green hosts only using renewable energy to power their servers.
2. TechHost’s hosting partner has invested in Green -e certified Renewable Energy Credits (RECs). That means that all of HostGator’s RECs are verified, tracked and monitored. Sure, there are cheaper carbon credits out there, but HostGator wanted to go green the right way. HostGator can’t very well build a windfarm in downtown Houston, so it’s doing the next best thing and greening its energy at the source with rock solid RECs.
3. TechHost’s hosting partner has purchased RECs for 130% of the electricity used to power and cool its shared and reseller servers. Good luck finding another green host that has gone this far. Believe me- if they had, they’d let you know it.
4. TechHost’s hosting partner has invested entirely in wind RECs generated in their home state of Texas. Even those green hosts that have opted for certified RECs are generally sourcing them from wherever is cheapest.Our hosting partner, on the other hand, is thinking globally and acting locally. By insisting on 100% Texas wind RECs our hosting partner had to pay more for their credits, but they (and you) can rest easy knowing that they’re doing their part for the environment and the local green economy.

So how did we develop and implement the greening program? First, we calculated the total amount of electricity used by TechHost’s hosting partner’s shared servers. Based on the total number of servers and the average amount of electricity used in a year to power and cool them, we estimated that TechHost’s hosting partner would need 4,009 MWh of electricity to offset 130% of the electricity used to power and cool all of TechHost’s hosting partner’s shared servers

Second, we looked at TechHost’s hosting partner’s carbon offsetting options. We considered RECs, Certified Emission Reductions and Verified Emission reductions, as well as a number of offset providers. Ultimately, HostGator chose to go with RECs, and to purchase them from one of the best REC providers around: 3Degrees.

Finally, I should emphasize that the purchase of Renewable Energy Credits only represents TechHost’s most recent step toward sustainability. Prior to the REC purchase, TechHost’s had already begun the process of reducing their environmental impact at the office (recycling, minimizing paper use, etc.), and recently switched to higher efficiency servers. What can you do to minimize your impact on the climate? Well, for one thing you can switch your hosting company to TechHost, if you’re not already a customer! You can choose from one of their great shared plans. Beyond that, there are myriad ways to go green in your personal life. Most of them are totally painless, for example turning off your computer at night, rather than leaving it in sleep mode. Many of them will save you money in the long run, for example using compact fluorescent bulbs instead of incandescents.

For a quick start, check out CarbonTracker.com’s list of 11 simple steps you can take to minimize your impact on the climate. For even more information, the Environmental Protection Agency has a ton of info on the subject:

(http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/wycd/index.html)