FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Jan 26th, 2010 Contact: John Ford, Sabey Data Centers, Sabey Corporation (206) 281-8700

Seattle, Washington -- The Pacific Northwest, long known for its clean air and sustainable hydro-power has a new green credential to add to its credits:  Sabey Data Center Properties’ (Sabey) Intergate.Columbia (IGC) may well be home to the first multi-tenant purpose-built gold and platinum LEED certified data center in the country.

Sabey has obtained a Gold LEED certification for the shell and core for Building B, a 188,000 square foot/22 Megawatt facility. VMware, a major tenant in Building B, has recently received a Platinum LEED certification for the tenant improvements supporting the critical infrastructure within the data center. Sabey Construction was the general contractor for both VMware’s tenant improvements and for the core and shell.

LEED certification was designed primarily for office buildings and presents a challenge to energy-consuming data centers. Most data centers that achieve a LEED certification have a high ratio of office to data center floor, allowing a “dilution” of the impact of the data floor’s energy requirement, an important LEED criterion. However, VMware’s premises are only 15% office space with 85% of the balance dedicated to data center space, indicating a much higher level of energy efficiency throughout the facility.

Construction of the shell, core and critical infrastructure – from grading to commissioning - is all the more remarkable for the fact that all was completed in record time - approximately 9 months. Despite tight time constraints as well as the overall painstaking LEED process, prudent planning by the team and smart incorporation of the region’s natural resources overcame this obstacle.

A natural advantage

Each Sabey data center is designed to take full advantage of the area’s natural climate, thereby achieving significant energy savings. North Central Washington’s moderate, dry air is a major advantage in developing energy-efficient data centers. “The climate enables evaporative economizer cooling for most of the year, said John Ford, Director of Technology Real Estate for Sabey. “That alone accounts for 50 – 70% energy savings.”

Sabey was an early adopter of “hot aisle encapsulation” which dramatically reduces the use of mechanical cooling and results in lower energy use and costs. In addition, the overhead cooling design drives improved use of floor space by removing the raised floor and its space-wasting ramps, which frequently consume as much as 10% of the server area. Eliminating CRAC or CRAH units on the server floor also reclaims a significant amount of square footage that can be redirected for servers. Overhead cooling not only increases the amount of server floor, it eliminates risks caused by mechanical technicians hauling heavy tools and replacement parts through the server aisles.

Green by Design

Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE) is an important metric developed by The Green Grid that measures the additional power required to cool servers beyond what is required to power them. With a design PUE ratio of 1.2, Sabey’s current data center designs are among the most energy efficient in the world.

The air cooling units (ACUs) use an evaporative air-side economizer which allows for outside air, or “free” cooling of the data center floor 95% of the year during favorable weather thereby avoiding energy-intensive refrigeration. In the event that refrigeration is necessary, each unit’s refrigeration systems include multiple compressors and multiple-circuit DX refrigerant coils for additional redundancy so that in the event of a single compressor failure, a portion of the ACU’s capacity is still available for use until repair work can be scheduled. In the event of poor outdoor air quality, air dampers can be utilized to prevent its infiltration.

Other Highlights

IGC was designed to maximize the natural advantages of its location in the Pacific Northwest. In addition to evaporative economizer cooling, the data center augments its primary energy source, the Columbia River, with other sustainable methods such as wind-generated electricity. The company is looking at ways to incorporate solar power as well.

The light colored roofs deflect heat thereby reducing internal heat load. Waste heat from the data center warms offices during the winter months. Other LEED related features make the data center appealing to its occupants – 90% of office area has windows or relights – unusual in a data center - to bring in light and the stunning beauty of the area. Specially designed sun shades block the direct summer sun while allowing the winter light in.

The aesthetic is further enhanced by painting the buildings to complement the natural setting but also with landscaping that is native to the area. This not only creates a pleasing harmony between environment and structure, but saves approximately 790,000 gallons of water annually.

Other water conservation measures are the use of HVAC waste water to flush toilets and for other non-potable uses. An additional 77.4% reduction of potable water (approximately 233,000 gallons annually) is achieved through water –saving fixtures.

The integration of the data center with the community is also an important LEED consideration. Sabey made hiring local residents a high priority. In the course of the fast-track construction, a close partnership was created with the local county government. Sabey and its tenants are also strong supporters of key local institutions including the High School (the football field now has a new speaker system!) as well as the Greater Wenatchee Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Wenatchee Area Technology Alliance (GWATA). Recently, Sabey was honored with the Chamber’s Business of the Year Award and IGCreceived the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (WA Chapter) first Technology Development of the Year Award.

Other Intergate.Columbia LEED metrics:

• 17.5% energy cost saving when compared to a baseline building per ASHRAE 90.1-2004.


• 37% energy cost saving when compared to a baseline building per ASHRAE 90.1-2004 (This calculation is pending approval by the USGBC)


• Breathing zone outdoor air ventilation rates have been designed to exceed the minimum rates required by ASHRAE 62.1-2004 by 30%


• 22.9% local material value as a percentage of total material cost


• 100% FSC Certified wood as a percentage of total new wood based cost


• 44% combined recycled content value as a percentage of total material cost

More information about Intergate.Columbia

The balance of 80,000 sf of the data center is compartmentalized into separate modules, each consisting of approximately 17,500 square feet of data center space with the balance in support spaces. A module is a compartment with dedicated mechanical and electrical infrastructure allowing it to operate independently of all other modules.  The facility accommodates five modules in addition to office, storage, and utility space. At this writing, two modules are in shell condition pending their lease.

For more information about leasing at Intergate.Columbia, please contact John Ford at 206 281 8700 or johnf@sabey.com and see our leasing page and main data center page.

About Sabey Data Center Properties

With a portfolio of more than two million square feet of mission critical space, Sabey Data Center Properties is the largest and oldest privately owned multi-tenant data center developer and manager on the West Coast. Sabey specializes in scalable, custom built solutions for the full range of data center requirements from wholesale enterprises to retail colocation facilities. Our thirty year history in constructing and managing technology properties brings speed and efficiency to build to suit construction and deep cost-savings during operations. Sabey designed facilities incorporate LEED and other energy saving components to achieve high energy efficiencies at an optimal cost. Sabey’s award-winning staff receives recognition for sustained uptime, providing worry-free management of the critical environment and allowing our clients to focus on their core business.

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