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Web hosting is not an inherently environmental practice. Even eco-conscious websites like EcoHearth require big, hot, electric computer servers. Unlike an iPod, you can’t recharge a server with a miniature solar panel. In 2005, computer servers around the world consumed the equivalent of 14 standard power plants—that’s enough energy for about 14 million homes. The figure has surely increased substantially since 2005. But you don’t have to use trainloads of coal to run your website. Several companies offer Web hosting services powered by renewable energy.

AISO
Affordable Internet Services Online has been 100% solar powered since 2001. “I am not sure the total amount in dollars it saves us monthly,” said AISO founder Phil Nail. “We look at it as an investment in the environment and our customers love us for that.”

He said his users are looking for true sustainability, so the solar panels are paying off in new contracts. “I would say at least 70% of our clients are eco friendly,” Nail observed. “I can certainly tell you they all hate the greenwashing some other hosting companies are doing.”

AISO also has a rainwater collection system for air conditioning and cooling its data center, and it is planting a green roof.

A testimonial on the AISO site argues businesses that use renewable energy to power their websites will show doubters that solar, wind and other alternative energies have a bright future.

“What made me chose AISO is solar power,” wrote a client identified as Franz. “I was working on solar-cell research for several years, and I am convinced that this technology has a future. The best way of convincing other people of its potential is to use it and to show its reliability.”

Canvas Dreams
Canvas Dreams has facilities in Oregon and Scotland. In Portland, the company plugs into power directly from local wind farms. David Anderson of Canvas Dreams said using onsite windmills would decrease efficiency: “From a sustainability perspective, if the infrastructure is already there, why reinvent the wheel and waste new resources? Beyond this, the sheer amount of electricity we use would make it impossible to build enough turbines or panels on our facility, which is in the heart of downtown Portland.”

Canvas Dreams also works to maximize energy performance. It uses efficient, lead-free, low-heat servers; has an aggressive recycling policy; and allows telecommuting and flexible working hours (which cuts the amount of gas wasted idling in rush-hour traffic). It also offers discounts for environmentally minded non-profits.

“Since advertising our commitments to sustainability, the vast majority of new customers we have added in the past two years have been part of the eco movement and/or place importance on sustainability. Overall, I'd say about half of our customers are in some way tied into the eco movement, but that number is increasing every day,” Anderson noted.

Other hosting companies buy renewable-energy offsets instead of (or in addition to) directly putting up solar panels or wind turbines.

EcoSky
EcoSky has a solar array on its administrative building, but also relies on backup power from the grid. It buys wind-power credits to offset the backup power.

Sustainable Websites
Sustainable Websites matches its electric usage with wind-power certificates.

Green ISP
In the UK, a great green mobile-broadband option is Green ISP. They claim that their employees take puplic transportation to their solar-powered offices and that they have “planted thousands of trees in partnership with Treesponsibility” to offset a large share of their CO₂ emissions “by ‘sequestration’ or 'carbon fix.’”

A website is not green just because it is paper-free and doesn’t drive across the country to deliver information. It uses power and plenty of it. But, as a website owner, you can lower your site’s carbon footprint by using a Web hosting company that relies on renewable energy.

[Disclosure: EcoHearth uses Canvas Dreams to host our site and we are a member of their affiliate program. - Ed.]

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