Switch Receives EPA Excellence in Green Power Leadership Award

LAS VEGAS, Sept. 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Switch (NYSE: SWCH), the global technology infrastructure corporation that develops hyperscale data center ecosystems for enterprise colocation, differentiated multi-cloud, and industry-leading telecommunications solutions today announced that it has received a 2019 Green Power Leadership Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The annual awards recognize America's leading green power users for their commitment and contribution to helping advance the development of the nation's voluntary green power market. EPA presented Switch with an Excellence in Green Power Use Award at the 2019 Renewable Energy Markets Conference in San Diego, CA on September 5, 2019.

Switch was one of only seven organizations nationwide to receive an Excellence in Green Power Use Award. The program recognizes EPA Green Power Partners who distinguish themselves by demonstrating leadership in procuring green power from a utility green power product, a power purchase agreement, or a renewable energy certificate (REC) product. Switch is currently purchasing almost 587 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power annually, which is enough green power to meet 100 percent of the organization's electricity use. 

"As a leader in sustainability, Switch is proud to receive this prestigious recognition from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency," said Switch EVP of Strategy Adam Kramer. "Switch's data centers have been powered by 100% clean energy since January 2016, utilizing the practice of using local, new resources for its renewable energy needs, which is smart for our business and smart for our environment."

In addition, Switch ranks as No. 21 on EPA's National Top 100 Partners list and No. 9 on the Top 30 Tech and Telecom Partner list. Each list highlights EPA Green Power Partners using the most renewable energy annually as of July 2019. EPA updates its Top Partner Rankings quarterly at www.epa.gov/greenpower/green-power-partnership-top-partner-rankings-0.

Green power is electricity that is generated from environmentally-preferable renewable resources, such as wind, solar, geothermal, biogas, eligible biomass, and low-impact hydro. Using green power helps accelerate the development of those sources in the United States and advances the American green power market. According to the EPA, Switch's current green power use of over 587 million kWh is equivalent to the electricity use of about 55,000 average American homes annually.

Switch worked with local energy providers to create new green tariffs to allow businesses to purchase new green power through the utilities. These tariffs ensured the full commissioning of Switch Station 1 and Switch Station 2 solar power plants, with a combined generation capacity of 179 MW in Nevada in 2017 and the operation of Cross Winds Energy Park II, which generates 44 MW of green power in Michigan. 

Switch Founder and CEO Rob Roy was the creator of one of the largest solar project portfolios in the world announced by Capital Dynamics, Tenaska Power Services Co. and Switch in February 2018. Rob Roy's Gigawatt Nevada through its first project Gigawatt 1, aims to generate the lowest priced solar power in Nevada and generate enough clean energy to power nearly one million homes. In July 2019, Switch and Capital Dynamics announced the Townsite Solar Project, the first acquisition of 180 MW of solar in the Gigawatt 1 portfolio. 

Switch's commitment to sustainability extends beyond energy use to the precious resource of water. Switch successfully helped develop proprietary technology that increased its water efficiency by over 400%. Additionally, they are leading a project that will use 100% effluent/recycled water at Switch's Citadel Campus in Northern Nevada.

Switch was the first multi-tenant colocation operator in the world to receive all A grades in sustainability from Greenpeace. Switch also received the Smart Energy Decisions 2019 Innovation Award for Energy Efficiency, is part of The World Resources Institutes' Renewable Energy Buyers' Principles, and is an early adopter of the American Business Act for Climate Pledge. Data runs the planet and Switch wants to ensure it doesn't ruin the planet.

About Switch
Switch (NYSE: SWCH), the technology infrastructure corporation headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada is built on the intelligent and sustainable growth of the Internet. Switch Founder and CEO Rob Roy has developed more than 500 issued and pending patent claims covering data center designs that have manifested into the company's world-renowned data centers and technology solutions.

The Switch PRIMES, located in Las Vegas and Tahoe Reno, Nevada; Grand Rapids, Michigan; and Atlanta, Georgia (opening in Q4 2019) are the world's most powerful hyperscale data center campus ecosystems with low latency to major U.S. markets. Visit switch.com for more information.

About EPA's Green Power Partnership
The Green Power Partnership is a voluntary program that helps increase green power use among U.S. organizations to advance the American market for green power and development of those sources as a way to reduce air pollution and other environmental impacts associated with electricity use. The Partnership currently has more than 1,500 Partners voluntarily using more than 60 billion kilowatt-hours of green power annually. Partners include a wide variety of leading organizations such as Fortune 500® companies; small and medium sized businesses; local, state, and federal governments; and colleges and universities. For additional information, please visit http://www.epa.gov/greenpower. 

About the Green Power Leadership Awards
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) co-sponsors the annual Green Power Leadership Awards with the Center for Resource Solutions. EPA recognizes winners in the following awards categories: Green Power Partner of the Year; Sustained Excellence in Green Power; Direct Project Engagement; Excellence in Green Power Use; and Green Power Community of the Year. This program recognizes the exceptional achievement among EPA Green Power Partners who distinguish themselves through green power procurement, market leadership, overall green power strategy, and overall impact on the green power market. The ceremony takes place at the Renewable Energy Markets Conference. This year's 17 recipients are using more than 27.8 billion kWh of green power?enough to power nearly 2.6 million average American homes for a year. For additional information please visit www.epa.gov/greenpower/green-power-leadership-awards.

SOURCE Switch