Rye Development signs deal to power data centers with hydro
Hydropower

Rye Development signs deal to power data centers with hydro

Rye Development has signed an agreement with Iron Mountain that provides the company with up to 150 MW of power over the next 10 years from several of Rye Development’s low-impact hydroelectric projects in the PJM wholesale electricity market.

Rye Development seeks to integrate power generation capabilities into existing dams that don’t generate electricity. This strategy allows for the creation of low-impact, clean energy sources without the need for additional disruption or the ecological impacts of new dam construction. Rye Development said it is pioneering a new type of renewable energy agreement that supports 24/7/365 carbon-free power for a data center operator.

The agreement with Iron Mountain — a storage, data center infrastructure, asset lifecycle management and information management services company – differs from a typical power purchase agreement under which a buyer agrees to purchase energy from a single renewable energy project for a set period of time, Rye Development said. Instead, Iron Mountain will purchase up to 150 MW of power over the next 10 years from several of Rye Development’s low-impact hydroelectric projects in the PJM market.

“Our agreement paves the way for a new era of clean energy production in the Mid-Atlantic region,” says Paul Jacob, chief executive officer of Rye Development. “By unlocking the potential of numerous low-impact hydro projects, we can work with Iron Mountain to meet their 100%, 24/7 renewable energy goals.”

Rye Development has more than a dozen projects in the pipeline. This offtake agreement significantly shortens the time required to execute a clean energy PPA while providing the buyer and seller the certainty they need to meet their business and climate goals, Rye Development said.

“We are committed to matching local electricity use with local carbon free power generation every hour, every day,” says Mark Kidd, Iron Mountain’s executive vice president and global general manager, data centers and asset lifecycle management. “In addition to buying power from existing clean energy projects, we’re committing to long-term power purchase agreements that result in the development of new carbon-free projects that can directly support our data centers there.”

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Rye Development has a pipeline of more than 25 projects in 10 states. The company develops and commercializes run-of-river and pumped storage projects that produce clean, renewable energy.

Originally published by Hydro Review