Iron Mountain signs 24/7 PPA for hydropower in US

Iron Mountain has signed a 24/7 PPA agreement with Rye Development, a US hydropower developer, for 150 ME of power over the next ten years from a number of the developer's low-impact hydroelectric projects. Rye Development seeks to integrate power generation capabilities into existing dams with no capacity to generate electricity, and currently has more than a dozen projects in the pipeline.

There are currently more than 90,000 dams in the U.S. performing various functions, from flood control to irrigation, that have no capacity for energy generation, but by modernizing them through integrating power-generation capabilities, low-impact, clean energy sources are created.

According to Rye Development, run-of-river projects have some of the lowest lifecycle costs per kWh of energy generated; further, these hydropower projects are accredited by the Low Impact Hydropower Institute. This ensures that the projects don't bring risk to threatened or endangered species, allow movement of fish, and do not impact water quality, and ensure shoreline and watershed protection, amongst other criteria.

This deal is the first of its kind, and will contribute toward Iron Mountain's net zero goals.

"Our agreement paves the way for a new era of clean energy production in the Mid-Atlantic region," said Paul Jacob, chief executive officer of Rye Development, speaking about the deal. "By unlocking the potential of numerous low-impact hydro projects, we can work with Iron Mountain to meet their 100%, 24/7 renewable energy goals."

Mark Kidd, Iron Mountain's executive vice president and global general manager, data centers and asset lifecycle management, added: "We are committed to matching local electricity use with local carbon free power generation every hour, every day. In addition to buying power from existing clean energy projects, we're committing to long-term power purchase agreements that result in the development of new carbon-free projects that can directly support our data centers there."