Dell banks $5.8 million using solar power and energy cuts

Dell has worked in the green space for a while now and it just announced a new initiative that will cut companywide use of electricity by 48 million kilowatt hours per year. That’s enough power to provide energy for over 4,000 American homes every year. Not only is that good for the environment, it also will save the company $5.8 million annually.

This is the type of move any company could take to become more sustainable without overtly affecting their core business. Some of the things Dell is changing are creating savings purely by making processes more efficient, but it’s also investing in solar power. 25% of the company’s energy needs are already met by renewable sources.

Some of the efficiency projects include automatically powering down PCs when not in use, more efficient light bulbs, HVAC improvements, heating and cooling buildings only when necessary, and consolidating/simplifying IT according to a company press release. These are the types of initiatives any company could benefit from. And while those are important efforts and noteworthy already, the most interesting piece is Dell’s effort to use solar power more.

In one of its covered parking lots in Round Rock, TX facility, Dell will be placing a layer of solar arrays on top. That is expected to produce 131,051 watts of power and while that isn’t a ton, it will provide enough energy to charge any vehicles that need an electric charge during the day. Talk about going green and taking care of employees all at once.

Beyond parking lots, Dell has also completed a solar water heater installation at one of its manufacturing sites in Brazil.

Investing in technology and business processes that use less energy just makes sense, and it’s good to see that Dell is making commitments to continue moving in that direction.