As part of the deal, Yahoo will establish "an advanced corporate data center" in Digital Realty Trust's turn-key data center facility and the two companies will target the project towards achieving LEED Gold certification status as a "green" data center.

"Yahoo! is committed to being an environmentally responsible business," says Kevin Timmons, VP of operations at Yahoo. "We build our data centers based on a rigorous analysis of key components such as geographical location, climates, building materials, cost performance, and use of alternative-energy systems."

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System is a nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. Digital Realty Trust says it was the first company in the data center industry to achieve LEED Gold certification for its Chicago facility in 2007.

Although the two companies didn't announce the exact location of the new facility, reports on Data Center Knowledge point to California as a likely spot.

Digital Realty recently purchased 50 percent ownership of a Santa Clara data center that is intended to qualify for LEED status, says Data Center Knowledge. The data center operator also has turn-key space available in carrier hotels it owns in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

"We are very pleased to further our relationship with Yahoo! with this new turn-key data center agreement," says Chris Crosby, senior VP of Digital Realty Trust. "Yahoo! understands the value of green data centers both in terms of the impact on the bottom line and its importance for corporate responsibility. It is great to work with a company that is taking such a forward-looking approach to its datacenter strategy."

Earlier this month, Digital Realty Trust released a study that suggests we are entering a period of widespread expansion in the data center space.