Digital Realty Trust, Inc. Facility Earns First LEED Gold Certification in the U.S. Datacenter Industry

Digital Realty Trust's Chicago Facility Sets New Standard for Energy

Efficiency and Environmentally-Friendly Design among U.S. Datacenter

Facilities

    SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Digital Realty Trust,
 Inc. ( DLR), a leading owner and manager of corporate datacenters and
 Internet gateways, has earned the datacenter industry's first LEED Gold
 Certification. The project is a Build-to-Suit datacenter for a Fortune
 Global 500 company located in Digital Realty Trust's 350 East Cermak Road
 facility in Chicago. The recently LEED Gold certified datacenter features
 20,000 square feet of raised-floor space with 4,000 kW of available IT
 load.
     The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building
 Rating System(TM) is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design,
 construction, and operation of high performance green buildings. LEED gives
 building owners and operators the tools they need to have an immediate and
 measurable impact on their buildings' performance. LEED promotes a
 whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in
 five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site
 development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and
 indoor environmental quality.
     "This is an important milestone for Digital Realty Trust and for the
 entire datacenter industry. This facility establishes a new benchmark for
 energy efficient datacenters, and it reflects Digital Realty Trust's
 continued leadership in implementing green datacenter initiatives that make
 sense for our corporate customers' bottom line and for their commitment to
 the environment," said Michael F. Foust, CEO of Digital Realty Trust.
     "LEED certification is a widely respected standard for evaluating green
 design, construction and operations for facilities, and it is rapidly
 emerging as a competitive advantage in the datacenter market. Customers are
 increasingly making green criteria a core element of their selection
 process for datacenter decisions. Our ability to offer LEED-certified
 facilities along with our proven track record of green initiatives makes us
 uniquely qualified to meet these customer requirements," said Jim Smith,
 Vice President of Engineering at Digital Realty Trust. "We initiated this
 LEED certification more than 12 months ago -- well before other datacenter
 companies started their certification processes -- and our continued
 efforts in this area will keep us on the forefront of green datacenter
 initiatives in the industry."
     Smith added, "This project shatters the myth that LEED certification
 can only be achieved within newer facilities. The initial phase of the 350
 E. Cermak Road facility was originally constructed in 1917 as the R.R.
 Donnelly printing plant facility. Digital Realty Trust prides itself as a
 leader in these green datacenter initiatives, and this leadership is
 evidenced by our innovative approaches in both new and existing
 facilities."
     A number of additional Digital Realty Trust datacenter facilities are
 also currently undergoing LEED certification and are projected to receive
 Gold or Silver certifications, including:
     --  Turn-Key Datacenter(TM) in Chicago with 54,000 square feet of
         raised-floor space and 6,750 kW of IT load;
     --  Turn-Key Datacenter(TM) in Northern Virginia with 32,000 square feet
         of raised-floor space and 4,500 kW of IT load; and
     --  Turn-Key Datacenter(TM) in Santa Clara, California with 30,000 square
         feet of raised-floor space and 4,050 KW of IT load.
     "LEED guidelines incorporate so many proven best practices for building
 engineering and construction," Smith continued. "Following those best
 practices results in facilities that are very cost-effective from both a
 construction and operations point of view. Anything that makes datacenters
 more efficient is a good thing from a business point of view -- both for
 our Digital Realty Trust and for our customers. We look forward to rolling
 out more LEED certified facilities in the near future."
     For more information about LEED Gold Certification, visit
 http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CategoryID=19.
     About Digital Realty Trust, Inc.
     Digital Realty Trust, Inc. owns, acquires, repositions and manages
 technology-related real estate. The Company is focused on providing
 Turn-Key Datacenter(TM) and Powered Base Building(TM) datacenter solutions
 for domestic and international tenants across a variety of industry
 verticals ranging from information technology and internet enterprises, to
 manufacturing and financial services. Digital Realty Trust's 66 properties,
 excluding one property held as an investment in an unconsolidated joint
 venture, contain applications and operations critical to the day-to-day
 operations of technology industry tenants and corporate enterprise
 datacenter tenants. Comprising approximately 11.9 million rentable square
 feet, including 1.8 million square feet of space held for redevelopment,
 Digital Realty Trust's portfolio is located in 26 markets throughout North
 America and Europe. For additional information, please visit Digital Realty
 Trust's website at http://www.digitalrealtytrust.com.
     Safe Harbor Statement
     This press release contains forward-looking statements which are based
 on current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and
 uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ
 materially. Such forward looking statements include statements related to
 receiving LEED certification for future Turn-Key Datacenter(TM) project,
 including those currently under construction. These risks and uncertainties
 include adverse economic or real estate developments in the Company's
 markets or the technology industry; general economic conditions; defaults
 on or non- renewal of leases by tenants; increased interest rates and
 operating costs; inability to manage domestic and international growth
 effectively; failure to obtain necessary outside financing; decreased
 rental rates or increased vacancy rates; difficulties in identifying
 properties to acquire and completing acquisitions at acceptable return
 levels; failure to successfully operate acquired properties and operations;
 failure of acquired properties to perform as expected; failure to
 successfully redevelop properties acquired for such purposes or unexpected
 costs related thereto; failure to maintain the Company's status as a REIT;
 environmental uncertainties and risks related to natural disasters;
 financial market fluctuations; changes in foreign currency exchange rates;
 risks of operating in foreign markets; and changes in real estate and
 zoning laws and increases in real property tax rates. For a further list
 and description of such risks and uncertainties, see the reports and other
 filings by the Company with the United States Securities and Exchange
 Commission, including the Company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year
 ended December 31, 2006. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation
 to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of
 new information, future events or otherwise.
      For Additional Information:
 
      A. William Stein                        Pamela A. Matthews
      Chief Financial Officer and             Investor/Analyst Information
      Chief Investment Officer                Digital Realty Trust, Inc.
      Digital Realty Trust, Inc.              (214) 231-1350
      (415) 738-6500
 
      Chris Crosby
      Sales & Technical Operations
      Digital Realty Trust, Inc.
      (415) 738-6500
 
 

SOURCE Digital Realty Trust, Inc.