The facility will be powered by a renewable energy sources from the UK's largest dedicated bio-mass energy plant, which is operated by Scottish and Southern Energy (scottish-southern.co.uk). The plant burns wood chips, waste paper and fiber fuel to create electricity, hot water and steam.

Converted from a former warehouse on the Slough Trading Estate, the facility will provide 55,000 square feet of net technical space. Equipment is being installed in the first data hall, while the first customers are set to go live in June.

Built to Rackspace specifications, the facility was designed to more effectively manage customer needs, says the company.

"This is a fantastic project which will harness bio-mass fuels to power the data center," says Doug Loewe, managing director of Rackspace. "We recognize that customers are increasingly looking for suppliers who can help them meet their own environment related goals. By investing in this facility we continue to strive to exceed the environmental expectations of our customers while delivering their hosting needs."

Rackspace was one of the UK's first web hosts to offer carbon neutral hosting. In 2006, the company planted trees through its relationship with tree planting charity, the International Tree Foundation.

The web host has planted more than 2,500 trees to date, offsetting the carbon emitted through running servers.