(The Hosting News)- HostGator.com has formally announced on Monday that it had renewed its commitment to providing its customers with sustainable and environmentally friendly web hosting services.

Last week, the company renewed its agreement with 3Degrees, one of the nation’s leading renewable energy sales, trading and advisory firms, to purchase Renewal Energy Certificates (RECs) for 130% of the electricity used to power and cool HostGator’s more than 1,800 shared and reseller servers.

“It takes a lot of electricity to keep servers online and working well. That results in a bigger environmental impact than we’d like to see. As a result, we’re going to continue doing what we can to reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions and help the environment,” said Brent Oxley, founder and CEO of HostGator.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, a REC represents the property rights to the environmental, social, and other nonpower qualities of renewable electricity generation.  A REC purchased by HostGator represents one megawatt hour (MWh) of renewable electricity generated and delivered to the power grid. This energy will displace the generation of conventional electricity throughout the power system and reduce emissions into the atmosphere. The certificates HostGator purchases are for wind farms in the state of Texas.

Through its purchase of RECs, HostGator prevented close to 3,600 tons of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere in 2009. This is equivalent to the CO2 emissions generated by burning 18 railcars full of coal, or the annual CO2 emissions of 650 passenger cars. Electricity production remains the leading cause of greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global climate change.

HostGator purchases credits for 130% of the electricity used to power and cool the company’s servers to work towards reversing, instead of simply neutralizing, its environmental impact. Through this effort, HostGator is actively working to lower pollution, mitigate climate change, and encourage the development of our national renewable energy resources.

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