Iron Mountain optimizes clean energy strategy with RPD Energy, now part of Arcadia

Iron Mountain optimizes clean energy strategy with RPD Energy, now part of Arcadia

Iron Mountain optimizes clean energy strategy with RPD Energy, now part of Arcadia

Use case

Through strategic energy procurements, Iron Mountain achieved its advanced environmental stewardship goal of matching its hourly electricity consumption with hourly generation from renewable sources.

Challenge

Developing a comprehensive green energy solution to meet an organization’s full energy needs can be complex. Traditional renewable energy approaches typically match a buyer’s energy consumption on an annual basis but do not guarantee that renewable power is available at the time of actual usage. While some organizations procure renewable energy through a traditional Virtual Power Purchase Agreement (VPPA), this approach often involves taking on risks that are not otherwise consistent with the company’s overarching business objectives.

Iron Mountain needed an effective energy procurement strategy that that met key criteria:

• Source physical renewable power designed to match hourly energy needs for 100 locations (data center and non-data center facilities) across three Independent System Operator (ISO) regions, nine states, and more than 250 metered accounts.
• Bundle Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) with the generator’s energy to ensure direct alignment between energy consumption and the renewable generation source, enforcing the credibility of the transaction's renewable effect.
• Provide an effective energy hedge that stabilizes costs, mitigates market volatility, and ensures long-term price certainty that would benefit Iron Mountain and its tenants.
• Deliver comprehensive energy and renewable credit tracking that supports sustainability reporting, ensuring transparency, compliance, and data-driven decision-making.

Solution

As an independent energy advisor, RPD Energy, now part of Arcadia, designed and implemented a comprehensive procurement strategy aligning Iron Mountain's objectives with market opportunities. Through extensive market analysis and supplier evaluation, RPD identified, negotiated, coordinated, and executed with multiple generators, wholesale intermediaries, and a retail supplier to provide energy and certified RECs to meet Iron Mountain’s hourly consumption. This solution delivered locally-sourced physical renewable power designed to match the hourly needs for both data center and non-data center facilities.

Benefits

RPD designed a structured agreement that forms an auditable contract and clear scheduling path for delivering renewable energy. This multi-faceted approach demonstrated RPD’s ability to orchestrate complex procurement strategies and partner relationships into streamlined solutions to secure clean, reliable energy in alignment with cost, sustainability, and risk management goals.

• 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy: Iron Mountain receives hourly load matching of physical renewable energy with usage across multiple grid regions and accounts utilizing a combination of wind and hydro generation sources.
• Operational Flexibility: Iron Mountain receives future flexibility through a four-year term, preserving their ability to support the construction of new and additional green energy sources as needed.
• Streamlined Procurement: Iron Mountain maintains their familiar retail contract structure while gaining access to wholesale renewable energy.
• Risk-Optimized Sustainability: Iron Mountain advances their sustainability goals while mitigating their price risk — without the long-term fixed commitments of traditional Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs).
• Verified Impact: Iron Mountain receives hourly tracking and reporting of the 24/7 Carbon-Free Energy solution to support corporate sustainability goals and performance.

In the first full year of energy flow from its renewable projects, Iron Mountain successfully maintained a high level of renewable energy coverage across its operational footprint. Using a simple average, the company achieved a coverage ratio exceeding 96% across all ISOs, demonstrating broad success in matching energy consumption with clean power. However, a weighted analysis, which accounts for energy demand, provides additional insight. PJM—the region where Iron Mountain has the highest energy consumption—recorded an average renewable energy coverage ratio of approximately 94%. This strong performance underscores Iron Mountain’s commitment to scaling renewable energy adoption while ensuring reliable and impactful clean energy integration across its operations.