UK data center operator Iomart has deployed solar panels on the roof of a data center in Berkshire, UK.

The company this month announced it has installed 560 solar panels on its flagship data center in Maidenhead, which will contribute to the aim of self-sustaining energy during the summer to power the site. The solar panels will generate around 250,000kWh of energy annually.

The installation, which is being delivered by solar energy company 3ti, was completed earlier in May.

The 2,800 sqm data center in Maidenhead is the largest of Iomart’s 13 data centers in the UK. It’s also the cloud hosting provider’s main self-managed infrastructure facility, powering more than 12,000 servers.

David Gammie, CTO at Iomart, said: “We have a large portfolio of data centers across the UK, and making sure they’re as sustainable as possible is one of our biggest focuses at Iomart. We’ve already committed to powering all our data centers with 100 percent renewable energy.

"This installation at Maidenhead takes that commitment one step further – generating our own energy onsite, and in addition the potential to export energy back into the grid network in the future.”

Named Spectrum House, the purpose-built data center was launched by Rapidswitch in 2007. Iomart acquired the company and took over the data center in 2009. Spectrum House is made up of nine data halls.

“The project not only exemplifies the successful integration of renewable energy into a high-demand environment, but also sets a benchmark for future sustainable energy initiatives in the data center industry,” 3ti said in its own announcement.

“It has been fantastic to work with Iomart and highlight the importance of innovative energy solutions to help manage operational costs and enhance sustainability.”