CDW says its Madison datacenters will use only renewable energy

Madison, Wis. — CDW said on Thursday it will buy almost 12 million kilowatt-hours per year of electricity from renewable sources for its two Madison datacenters.

The energy comes from Madison Gas & Electric's Green Power Tomorrow program and makes CDW the largest private buyer from the program, the company said. The two datacenters, totaling 10,500 square feet and operated by the firm's Berbee (more articles) subsidiary, will now be powered entirely by renewable energy sources.

“This effort will provide an annual carbon offset of 12,649 tons – equal to the CO2 emission from electricity use by about 1,500 average Madison residential homes,” said Phil LaForge, director of hosting and managed services for CDW, in a release.

According to MG&E figures, the total carbon offset from their program is 150,000 tons. Energy is generated by two wind farms in Wisconsin and one in Iowa, with a small contribution from solar panels in the Madison area.