In June 2007, TechSpot reported that IBM planned an $86 million expansion of its Boulder, Colorado, facility, adding 80,000 square feet of data center space. The project was presented as part of IBM’s wider Project Big Green energy-efficiency initiative—not as a consumer product or a current construction plan. The expansion’s cost, size and schedule come from that contemporaneous report; IBM’s original announcement for the Boulder project is not available among the sources cited here.
What IBM planned for Boulder
TechSpot reported on June 22, 2007, that IBM had announced an $86 million expansion at its Boulder facility. The addition was expected to provide 80,000 square feet of data center space, with construction anticipated to finish before April 2008. The report said the expansion was intended to help IBM and its clients reduce energy costs and would use technologies associated with Project Big Green. TechSpot’s June 2007 report is the source for those project-specific details.
The report does not describe the building’s technical specifications or provide measured energy savings for the Boulder expansion. The $86 million figure is the reported project cost, not the amount IBM committed to its wider efficiency program.
How the expansion related to Project Big Green
IBM announced Project Big Green on May 10, 2007, describing a plan to redirect $1 billion per year across its businesses toward IT energy efficiency. That was a program-wide commitment, separate from the reported $86 million Boulder expansion. IBM framed the initiative around five steps:
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- Diagnose facilities: assess data centers and use thermal analysis to identify opportunities to improve efficiency.
- Build or update efficient facilities: apply energy-efficient design and consider modular data center offerings.
- Virtualize infrastructure: consolidate computing workloads so organizations can use their hardware more efficiently.
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- Improve cooling: use approaches such as stored cooling and rear-door heat exchangers; IBM also discussed liquid cooling.
These were the components of IBM’s announced framework, not verified features or performance results for the Boulder building. IBM’s announcement also named partner companies in connection with power and cooling services, including Anixter, APC-MGE, Eaton, Emerson Network Power/Liebert, GE Consumer & Industrial, and Schneider Electric. Those are historical references from 2007, not recommendations or confirmation of current products or business relationships. IBM’s May 10, 2007 announcement describes the program and its technologies.
IBM’s 2007 efficiency figures were program claims, not Boulder results
IBM’s launch announcement used several figures to illustrate the potential of its approach. They should not be read as measured outcomes at the Boulder facility:
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- IBM said an average 25,000-square-foot data center could save 42% in energy and, under the stated U.S. energy mix, avoid 7,439 tons of carbon emissions annually.
- The company said its global “green team” included more than 850 energy-efficiency architects.
- IBM described its data center estate at the time as exceeding 8 million square feet across six continents.
- IBM projected more than 5 billion kilowatt-hours in annual energy savings from doubling computing capacity without increasing power consumption or carbon footprint.
The announcement also cited an IDC estimate that powering and cooling IT systems cost $29 billion in 2006. IBM identified the underlying publication as IDC’s Worldwide Server Power and Cooling Expense 2006–2010 Forecast, document 203598, dated September 2006. Each of these figures belongs to its stated historical context; none establishes what the Boulder expansion ultimately saved.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How IBM’s current figures differ from the 2007 project
IBM’s current environmental reporting provides corporate-wide context, not a retrospective scorecard for Boulder. The company reports an estimated weighted-average data center PUE of 1.39 for 2025, describing it as a 28.0% improvement in cooling efficiency against its 2019 baseline. IBM also says 85% of electricity consumed in its data centers came from renewable sources in 2025. These figures cover IBM’s reported data center operations, not the specific 2007 expansion. IBM’s energy and emissions reporting explains the company’s current measures.
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IBM separately says 84.5% of its total electricity consumption came from renewable sources in 2025. Its accounting includes renewable generation from the same grid regions as consumption, contracted purchases and renewable power in the received grid mix. That total-electricity measure has a different scope from the 85% data-center figure.
On its energy and climate page, IBM says it met its 2025 operational greenhouse-gas reduction target in 2023 and reports operational emissions of 265,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2024. These are company-wide disclosures and do not establish the emissions performance of the Boulder facility.
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