Hydrogenated vegetable oil-based biodiesel: Compass Datacenters partners with Foster Fuels

Compass Datacenters has announced that it has entered into a partnership with Foster Fuels, which will now serve as the data center company's "preferred green diesel provider," making it the first provider in the industry to use Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil-based biodiesel (HVO) to fuel its on-site generators.

The company has outlined that this new partnership is part of its "overall strategy" to reduce its Scope 1 & 2 GHG emissions and improve the sustainability of its generators. Adil Attlassy, Compass CTO, added: "Based on our results to date, using HVO blended fuels is reducing our generators' Scope 1 GHG emissions by approximately 85 percent versus traditional diesel. Additionally, we are significantly reducing particulates and sulfides as compared to fossil fuels, eliminating diesel's dirty smoke plume."

Watt R. Foster, Jr., Foster Fuels President & CEO, commented: "The initial rollout involves Compass' facilities in Northern Virginia, Arizona, and Texas. Our ultimate goal is to make HVO renewable diesel fuel available throughout the US."

Meanwhile, Nancy Novak, Compass Chief Innovation Officer, outlined that the company's decision to adopt HVO-based biodiesel for its generators aligns with its previous efforts, including CarbonCure concrete, which is also focused on GHG reduction. She continued: "A truly holistic approach to sustainability includes power sources, but also needs to include the facility's design, the materials used, water usage, the supply chain and much more." Novak said that backup power "needs to be part of the sustainability strategy."