Vantage Data Centers has announced that its V3 building, a 6MW, 60,000-sq-ft facility in Santa Clara, CA, has been awarded LEED Platinum, established by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and verified by the Green Building Certification Institute.

In addition to the LEED Platinum Certified project, V3, the campus also contains two LEED Registered projects, V1 and V2. Upon successful certification of all buildings, the Vantage site would become the largest LEED Platinum data center campus in the US. The site has more than 300,000 sq ft of space supported by a 50 MW dedicated substation.

“Data center energy efficiency has become a significant business issue for enterprises and is a key driver in lowering total cost of ownership,” said Jim Trout, Vantage Data Centers’ CEO. “Vantage is setting a new efficiency standard for the wholesale data center industry.”

Energy efficiency directly impacts a customer’s ongoing data center operating costs. Today, most data centers have Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) ratings of 2.0 or higher, implying more than 50 percent of the power intended for IT loads has been lost in transmission. Vantage’s V3, however, recorded a 1.29 PUE, as measured during commissioning. For a 6MW data center in Santa Clara, that reduction in PUE levels translates into approximately $3 million per year in saved operating expense.

“Vantage Data Centers’ LEED certification demonstrates tremendous green building leadership,” said Rick Fedrizzi, president, CEO & founding chair, U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). “The urgency of USGBC’s mission has challenged the industry to move faster and reach further than ever before, and Vantage serves as a prime example of what we hope to accomplish.”

Vantage Data Centers will carry its commitment to sustainable design and greenhouse gas emissions reduction across all future data center campus projects.

Background on LEED Certification at Vantage
The LEED certification of Vantage Data Centers’ V3 building was based on a number of green design and construction features that positively impact both the project itself and the broader community. As part of the LEED certification effort, the project incorporated responsible site development practices, water-saving strategies, energy-saving design measures, efficient material selection and low-toxic building materials.

The LEED Platinum rating was awarded, in part, due to V3’s energy efficiency. The lighting design is a forty-one percent improvement over the minimum standard of the Title 24 Energy Code; furthermore, advanced lighting controls earned points in the Energy & Atmosphere category. In addition, the HVAC design for the building is based on the New Building Institutes Core Performance Guide. Compliance with this guideline and use of Energy Star equipment and appliances within the building earned the project further points.

In addition, Vantage was able to divert 91 percent of the construction waste and use 20 percent recycled content (post-consumer and one-half pre-consumer) in the construction project.

The V3 data center also earned credits for complying with ASHRAE 55 and for addressing regional environmental concerns. A water-efficient landscape design has reduced the demand on the local water supply for irrigation, and the parking lot features preferred parking for both carpools and hybrid cars to encourage alternative means of transportation to and from the data center.

Vantage created a replicable template for integrated, cross-discipline design and project management in order to achieve aggressive energy efficiency and environmental performance goals. This template served as an integration platform for key partners, each of which delivered best-in-class results. For example, Dowler Gromer Architects assisted in the building design. Two other design-build teams, Rosendin Electric and Therma Corporation, performed the electrical and mechanical work, respectively. Civil engineers, Kier & Wright, worked with the landscape architect, Paul Reed & Associates, on the V3 site and master campus plan. Architectural Energy Corporation managed the sustainable design process and LEED certification coordination.