eColo, pronounced ECHO-low, is a program that allows colocation customers to choose to lower their impact on earth’s ecosystems, through the use of certified renewable energy, without compromising the reliability of their colocated servers.

It’s the same electricity, the same power distribution systems, and the same reliability that all USSHC colocation customers receive. However, by enrolling in eColo, a USSHC customer can know that the energy their servers consume, both directly by the servers, and indirectly due to power conditioning, cooling, and facility overhead, has been accounted for and directly offset by the purchase of an equivalent amount of certified renewable energy.

When a customer enrolls in the eColo program, USSHC in turn buys the equivalent amount of certified renewable energy -plus overhead- from their primary energy supplier, Alliant Energy. USSHC does this by participating in Alliant Energy’s Second Nature program. As customers choose to enrol in USSHC’s eColo program, USSHC adjusts their Second Nature participation levels accordingly.

Jerry Pasker, founder of United States Secure Hosting Center, sums it up this way, “It’s all about choice. If a USSHC customer wants to offset a portion, or all of their server’s energy use with renewable energy, we enroll them at the level of their choice and adjust our participation in Second Nature. If a USSHC customer wants to minimize their power costs, they can choose not to participate. And that’s OK. It’s the customer’s choice, and it’s all kept in strict confidence.”

The Second Nature program is a program that allows utility customers to pay a premium for a portion (up to 100%) of their electricity to ensure that that portion of their usage is derived from wind, solar, or landfill gas. Alliant Energy then purchases the equivalent amount of extra renewable energy above and beyond what they normally use in their energy portfolio. This ensures that the energy used by Second Nature participants is directly offset by additional purchases of renewable energy. This directly increases demand for additonal renewable energy, and reduces demand for non-renewable energy.

The Second Nature program is Green-e Energy certified. Green-e Energy was established by the non-profit Center for Resource Solutions to provide information and an objective standard for consumers to compare renewable energy options, and to verify that consumers get what they pay for.

For a list of Frequently asked Questions about Allaint’s Second Nature program, please see

http://www.alliantenergy.com/Environmental/SecondNature/index.htm