Choosing ethical locations

 

This a reply to the WHT Thread: Choosing ethical VPS locations by Phil McKerracher here.

 

Direct clean 100% renewable energy web hosting exists where the locality grid is 100% renewable, and generation does not have side effects detrimental to human health.
The locality may be a country as in Norway , or a state or province as in Quebec and British Columbia, Canada. For verification purposes then any datacenter asserting 100% renewable energy status in that locality may be considered valid.
Possible providers in Oslo, Norway are Host1 and EstNOC.
Possible providers in Montreal, Quebec are OVH and ServaRICA.
A possible provider in Vancouver, BC is GTHost.

Iceland has direct 100% renewable energy, but is not clean due to the ~25% geothermal generation causing rotten egg gas release into the atmosphere. The rotten egg smell is caused by the extremely poisonous gas hydrogen sulphide which obviously is a health hazard in Reykjavík.

Indirect clean 100% renewable energy web hosting exists where the locality grid is not 100% renewable and the datacenter buys its metered electricity from a 100% renewable, clean energy generator who supplies that amount of electricity into the grid.
For verification purposes then any datacenter asserting 100% renewable energy status in that locality would require certificates from the generator to be considered valid.
A possible provider in Germany and Finland is Hetzner Online with their renewable energy qualifications provided here.

A possible provider closer to home for the "Ethical Society" organization is Clouvider in London or Amsterdam. Personally though I think that only having the statement "100% RENEWABLE RESOURCES" or "100% GREEN ENERGY" on a website is not sufficient validation of 100% renewable energy status.