Fortune Data Centers Receives Approval From PG&E for Direct Access to Competitive Energy Choices; Announces Expansion of San Jose Facility

SAN JOSE, Calif., Oct. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Fortune Data Centers, which provides premium wholesale data center space for corporate customers, announced today that the company has received approval from Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) to transfer to Direct Access (DA) power service, which allows eligible PG&E customers to competitively source electricity directly from energy suppliers other than PG&E.

Fortune Highlights Significance of Direct Access to Power

Fortune Data Centers' CEO, John Sheputis, says he believes the development means Fortune's San Jose facility is the first multi-tenant data center in California positioned to offer Direct Access and its benefits to tenants. Unlike many data center providers that mark up power costs, Fortune's tenants receive 100 percent of the benefit from better power prices and all of the savings that result from energy-efficiency.

"Giving businesses and consumers the freedom to choose their energy service providers can lead to better outcomes, such as lower power rates and greater use of renewable energy sources," said Sheputis. "Offering Direct Access is not only a benefit to our tenants – it's a win for Fortune as it further distinguishes our facility from competing data centers in Silicon Valley and California."

Fortune received approval for Direct Access by submitting applications to PG&E following a decision from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) that implements Senate Bill 695 (SB 695), a new law providing for limited reopening of Direct Access to non-residential customers. Under Direct Access, eligible utility customers can choose from multiple energy suppliers.

Businesses can choose energy providers based on many factors, including cost and carbon content.  Given the facility's current energy usage, Sheputis estimated Fortune's tenants could save hundreds of thousands of dollars per year on energy costs, or tenants could opt for renewable energy to further reduce carbon emissions by tens of millions of pounds annually.

Fortune Announces Phase 1 Expansion

Also today Fortune announced the expansion of Phase 1 development at 2001 Fortune Drive in San Jose, Calif., which will add 1.4 megawatts (MW) of critical IT load to the existing 8 MW, bringing to 9.4 MW the total capacity of the facility, one of the largest data centers in Silicon Valley. The additional capacity is expected to be fully commissioned by year end and available in Q1 2011.

Fortune's expansion positions the company to help meet increasing demand in Silicon Valley for multi-tenant data center space. According to Jason Schafer, Senior Datacenter Analyst for Tier1 Research, "Demand for multi-tenant data center space in Silicon Valley during 2010 is expected to grow by approximately 13 percent, while supply is anticipated to increase by approximately seven percent. Those providers that are able to expand, and in turn support their customer growth, will be well positioned to capture significant market share in the future."

Fortune's expansion continues the company's track record of achieving energy efficiency by using innovative methods in server cooling and in facility design. Fortune is already operating at an industry-leading Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) rating of 1.38, an energy-efficiency level far superior to the industry average data center PUE of 2.0.  

Sheputis added, "We continue to learn and improve.  The expansion capacity will be even more energy efficient."

About Fortune Data Centers

Fortune Data Centers (www.fortunedatacenters.com) was founded to create a class of industrial grade data centers for corporate clients seeking a cost-effective alternative to the prospect of in-house development and management of data center facilities. Fortune's facilities are designed to provide best in class reliability and total value for large-scale deployments of mission critical applications, and meet or exceed the toughest industry standards for data centers—in all operational categories of availability, security, connectivity, and physical resilience. Fortune is a privately held company, founded in 2006. Fortune's San Jose facility has received the prestigious Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Certification.

SOURCE Fortune Data Centers