nLighten UK has announced the completion of a major solar power installation on the 4,500 square metres rooftop of its Milton Keynes Edge data centre. With over 1,000 solar panels, the CO2e emissions saved annually are predicted to be over 90 tonnes, equivalent to flying from London to New York over 80 times each year.
Believed to be one of the largest data centre rooftop installations in the UK, the vast solar array will provide a capacity of up to 478kW, making a meaningful impact to reducing the Milton Keynes-based facility’s carbon footprint and promoting renewable energy usage. Based on current load requirements, it is estimated that solar produced energy will be sufficient to meet the power requirements of the entire building during certain periods of the day in the summer months.
The addition of solar panels is the latest example of nLighten’s ongoing commitment to continuous improvement in sustainability and implementing innovative solutions across its growing portfolio of pan-European Edge data centres. In a pioneering move in 2023, the company launched an innovative programme to repurpose waste heat from its data centre in Eschborn, Germany. The recovered heat will warm several city buildings, contributing positively to the local energy infrastructure.
“At nLighten, the energy transition and assisting a sustainable digital economy is at the core of our DNA. We are proud to continue on our journey to create the next step for the data centre industry and align Edge data centres with the sustainable transition,” said John Hall, nLighten UK’s Managing Director. “We are working continuously to push the boundaries on the rapid delivery of secure, sustainable and energy efficient Edge data centre environments in key markets while also innovating high quality services for our growing roster of enterprise, cloud, CDN, gaming, IoT and Immersive Technology customers.
“Our solar power initiative at the Milton Keynes site in the UK will be welcomed by existing and new customers looking to meet environmental sustainability requirements. The solar installation will make a positive and notable contribution to their ESG targets,” Hall added.
nLighten’s Milton Keynes Edge data centre campus is equipped with dual connections to the National Grid, backup generators, batteries and Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS), providing unmatched resiliency and reliability. Maximum availability of power at the site is 3MW.
