Nov. 2, 2007 Corporate datacenter manager Digital Realty Trust has earned the industry's first LEED Gold green building certification for a custom-designed facility in Chicago. The 20,000-square-foot datacenter, built for an undisclosed Fortune Global 500 company, can carry an IT load of 4,000 kW.

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system is a widely recognized benchmark for the design, construction, and operation of high-performance green buildings. There is currently no certification scheme specifically designed for datacenters, although a general rating can be applied to any commercial facility.

"LEED certification...is rapidly emerging as a competitive advantage in the datacenter market," says Jim Smith, vice president of engineering at Digital Realty Trust. "Customers are increasingly making green criteria a core element of their selection process for datacenter decisions. Our ability to offer LEED-certified facilities along with our proven track record of green initiatives makes us uniquely qualified to meet these customer requirements."

Smith adds, "This project shatters the myth that LEED certification can only be achieved within newer facilities. The initial phase of [this] facility was originally constructed in 1917 as the R.R. Donnelly printing plant."

Additional Digital Realty Trust datacenter facilities are currently undergoing LEED certification and are projected to receive gold or silver certifications, the company says.