Improving a company’s energy efficiency can be achieved in many different ways. In the case of FedEx, it was all about location, location, location when the time came to power up a new data center and creating a structure that saves both money and resources. The site chosen for this key component in the provision of shipping assurance was in salubrious Colorado Springs, Colorado.

This area, while not exactly San Diego, nevertheless has mild winters and equally mild summers. In addition, the lack of humidity in the atmosphere is very kind to electronic devices. As a result, FedEx obtains a large bonus of “free” heating and cooling simply by locating their operations in an area where extensive HVAC costs are not needed.

Another factor was the relative geological and environmental stability of the city. Large events such as floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, and tornadoes are not likely events in a semi-arid continental location nestled up against the majestic Rocky Mountains. This reduces potential outage events to the more prosaic possibilities of ordinary power interruptions.

Here again, Colorado Springs generates its own electricity and has ample excess capacity to prevent brown-outs. Hooking onto the grid from two separate power substations provides backup in the event of failure on one node. Additional redundancy is provided by a phalanx of nearly 2000 batteries to provide backup power in the event of full grid failure, which ensures uninterrupted service until the data center’s onsite diesel generators can power up and carry the load.

Universal package tracking can thus continue throughout any anticipated event and at a substantial cost savings over providing the same services in a different locale. In this regard, FedEx is merely replicating the wise planning of the US government, which long ago located the critical eyes-and-ears of its military warning systems in Cheyenne Mountain on the south side of town. Expedited shipments from FedEx depend on the same stable infrastructure, and the company’s worldwide operations proceed with the same assurance of uninterrupted service.