Data center receives solar panel facelift

I/O Data Centers announced plans to construct solar panels on the roof of their Phoenix ONE center-potentially generating 4.5 MW of power.

By Eli Kaberon June 23, 2009

I/O Data Centers has announced plans to turn the top of one of their buildings into a solar panel roof,

The project will transform the Arizona-based Phoenix ONE and its 528,000 sq ft roof into 4.5 MW of power, according to the Mother Nature Network . Construction will take place in five steps, with the first 5,000 panels (step one) scheduled to be in use by January 2010. The final four steps, which will allow the roof to generate its maximum power, should be completed by the end of 2010.

According to the Web Host Industry Review, installing the solar panels will make Phoenix ONE the largest solar power source connected to a working data center. The planned construction will output three times the megawatts of Googleplex-the corporate headquarters for Google which is located in Mountain View, Calif.