Blacknight, Ireland’s largest webhost and domain registrar, has reiterated its commitment to green energy by installing a large array of solar panels on its Carlow headquarters roof. The energy generated by the panels will provide most of the office’s energy usage.
The new panels will generate the equivalent power used by 12 typical Irish households in a year. It will largely power most of Blacknight’s office electricity needs - lights, kettles, coffee machines, computers, phones, etc. It will also charge the electric cars driven by several Blacknight staff.
“Blacknight is committed to our operations being more sustainable,” said Paul Kelly, Blacknight CTO and green energy enthusiast. “We monitor all our energy usage and make sure we’re using as little as possible. Our large roof means that we’re well placed to make the most of south-east Ireland’s golden sunlight and generate our office’s energy needs.”
This will help Blacknight reduce its overall carbon footprint and save on energy costs, reiterating its commitment to sustainability and renewable energy. This is just the latest action in Blacknight’s quest to help reduce its carbon footprint. Blacknight are signatories to the Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact, a European-focused organisation seeking to reduce the overall carbon footprints of data centres and their back offices. Blacknight will be playing its part in making Europe carbon neutral by 2050.
“We've always been conscious of our energy usage, and this is another way for us to play our part in making Europe carbon neutral,” said Blacknight CEO Michele Neylon. “Being greener isn’t just great for the planet, it just makes economic sense. These panels will pay for themselves in no time and reduce our overall carbon footprint.”
Power generation will vary throughout the year, as the amount of sunlight Ireland receives varies (especially in the winter months). The peak output they’ve seen so far was around 45kW. As it’s winter, the highest peak on a clear day is around 23kW. Blacknight estimate the new panels will generate around 55-60k kWh on average a year, most of which will be from March to September.
The addition of the new solar panels is on top of changes made to Blacknight HQ during its renovations that took place during COVID-19 closures when they installed state of the art motion activated LED lighting as well as a super-efficient heating, ventilation, and cooling system that keeps the office comfortable year-round. In Ireland overall, the use of solar panels has increased in recent years as the country works towards its goal of generating 70% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030.
About Blacknight
Blacknight (http://www.blacknight.com/) are an Irish based, ICANN accredited domain registrar and hosting company. Recipients of several awards for their revolutionary use of social media, Blacknight are one of Europe’s most cutting edge Internet companies. Blacknight constantly seek to lead the way by introducing innovative solutions for its client base and provide dedicated servers and co-location as well as a comprehensive range of Microsoft Windows and Linux based hosting services and domain name registration services to business globally. IP transit services and other solutions for more demanding business and academic customers are offered a la carte. Fibre broadband services for both business and domestic users are also available throughout most of Ireland.