A screen shot of the Data Centres in Europe Awards award nominations (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) –- The Green Grid ( www.thegreengrid.org ) announced on Tuesday it has given its endorsement to the Green Award for Sustainability in Data Centers, to be presented at the annual Data Centres in Europe Awards which takes place on June 2 in London ( www.datacentres.com/awards2011 ). The announcement comes a month after The Green Grid launched three new metrics at its annual Technical Forum. Now in its fourth year, the European awards will recognize panel the technical and commercial success of the data center industry in Europe

Hosting Reviews – FORT COLLINS, CO – HP (NYSE:HPQ) today announced the opening of a state-of-the-art research facility in Fort Collins, Colo., in which the company will advance sustainable data center technologies. The new facility will expand on HP’s Converged Infrastructure architecture by developing technologies to eliminate IT sprawl, increase energy efficiency and reduce power consumption to help clients minimize their carbon footprint and reinvest cost savings into business innovation. Built in collaboration with HP Labs, the company’s central research facility, the 50,000 square-foot site will enable HP to explore new strategies for reducing the environmental impact of next-generation data centers.

Hosting Reviews – COLUMBIA, MD – Fortress International Group (Other OTC: FIGI), a provider of consulting and engineering, construction management and 24/7/365 site services for mission-critical facilities, today announced that its subsidiary, Total Site Solutions (TSS) has been selected as part of a team for the planning, design and construction Administration for the State of Montana’s new Enterprise System Services Center sites in Helena and Miles City, Montana.

An ariel shot of Vantage’s data center campus (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Wholesale data center operator Vantage Data Centers ( www.vantagedatacenters.com ) announced on Wednesday it will be hosting the “Smart Data Center Revolution” at its Santa Clara data center campus on April 22 from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The event will celebrate the largest LEED platinum candidacy campus in the US, highlighting Vantage Data Center’s Santa Clara project as an example of how companies can work together.  Vantage launched as a company last June , following its acquisition of a 18-acre site on Walsh Avenue.

A video still from Greenpeace’s new TV ad asking Facebook to “unfriend coal” (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) – Environmental organization Greenpeace ( www.greenpeace.org ) released an ad urging social media firm Facebook ( www.facebook.com ) to “unfriend coal” power in its data centers by Earth Day on April 22. The ad will be broadcast in California Wednesday, where Greenpeace hopes to reach many of the company’s 2,000 employees in Silicon Valley, according to a blog post by the Guardian . Realistically, would be highly unlikely for Facebook to change its power source, let alone by the tight deadline set out by Greenpeace.

Website Hosting News – Redwood City, CA – Racktivity, a pioneer in the development of next-generation data center power distribution and energy management solutions, today announced the availability of its new next generation EnergySwitchTM ES1008 Power Distribution Unit (PDU) solution for energy and environmental management within data centers. Racktivity’s ES1008 gives data center professionals real-time, true RMS measurement capability, predictive analysis and individual power-port level switching capability, all at the industry’s lowest energy consumption available in a PDU device.

An artist rendering of Digital Realty’s new data center in Singapore’s International Business Park (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) – The Singapore government has commissioned a study to understand the energy consumption and environmental performance of data centers in the US, according to a report by ZDNet Asia. Commissioned by the National Environment Agency, the study will be conducted by HP and supported by local ICT regulator the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA). According to the report, the study will analyze energy usage patterns and operating conditions of data centers, evaluate current green data center metrics and identify areas of standardization

An artist rendering of Digital Realty’s new data center in Singapore’s International Business Park (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) – The Singapore government has commissioned a study to understand the energy consumption and environmental performance of data centers in the US, according to a report by ZDNet Asia. Commissioned by the National Environment Agency, the study will be conducted by HP and supported by local ICT regulator the Infocomm Development Authority (IDA). According to the report, the study will analyze energy usage patterns and operating conditions of data centers, evaluate current green data center metrics and identify areas of standardization

An image showing part of the Datapipe management interface, adapted for AWS (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Web hosting provider Datapipe ( www.datapipe.com ) announced on Wednesday that all of its US based data centers are now powered by 100 percent renewable energy. The move makes Datapipe the only IT company in New Jersey and one of 13 nationwide to be a member of the EPA’s Green Power Leadership Club. As part of the company’s sustainability strategy, the company has converted its data center in San Jose to running operations on renewably sourced electricity

A chart from a whitepaper about The Green Grid’s data center maturity model illustrates progress for different data centers (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) – The Green Grid ( www.thegreengrid.org ) launched three new metrics last week at its annual Technical Forum, according to a report Tuesday by Greenbiz.com .