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Paper reduction, data center optimization, thin desktops and LEED certifications are becoming mainstream among bank IT and real estate operations. For the most progressive institutions, the strategy hits the bottom line with commendable efficiency gains. This month, BTN offers an inside view of the most advanced "green" strategies.
April 1
Deutsche Bank today announced the completion of a solar energy project that could help it earn it a spot on Bank Technology News' upcoming ranking of America's Greenest Banks (in the April 2012 issue). The bank has installed a 122.4 kilowatt solar photovoltaic system at its Americas' headquarters in New York, at 60 Wall Street. The roof-mounted array will reduce the bank's electricity consumption from the grid and will decrease its carbon emissions by 100 metric tons per year.
The amount of power the panel will produce (122 kilowatts) is not that high, considering the consumption of a building this size — 50 stories, 745 feet tall. Power consumption rates vary based on many factors, but even a small building can consume 200 kilowatts or more.
More impressive is that this is Deutsche's third solar project in North America. The bank has installed a 1.267 megawatt solar photovoltaic system at its Piscataway, N.J., office and says this is now a net-zero electric building. A 1.5 megawatt system is underway at Deutsche Bank's Parsippany, N.J. facility with planned completion later this year.
Deutsche Bank has increased its use of clean electricity from seven percent to 65 percent globally over the last four years. In the U.S. and Canada, 100% of its purchased electricity is generated from wind power.
"We are firmly committed to being a leader in sustainability and innovation," said Seth Waugh, CEO of Deutsche Bank Americas, in a statement. "This project is one part of a comprehensive global program to reduce the bank's consumption of fossil fuels and shift to more renewable sources of energy. Our goal is to neutralize the bank's global CO2 emissions by 2013."
The building is occupied solely by Deutsche Bank. The photovoltaic system, which is located on the inclined South and East portions of the roof is the largest solar array in Manhattan and is currently the highest elevated solar photovoltaic flat panel array in the world, topping off at 737 feet above the ground.
