Today, we became the first computer manufacturer to register two 80 PLUS Silver-certified power supplies, the latest milestone in our commitment to design the industry's most energy-efficient technology.

The 80 PLUS specification aligns to the power-supply requirements in the EPA's Energy Star 4.0 standard for computers and requires the use of 80 percent or more efficient power supplies. 80 PLUS Silver supplies are up to 8 percent more efficient than what's required to meet Energy Star 4.0 compliance and meet the July 2009 qualifications of the Climate Savers Computing Initiative more than a year ahead of schedule. By reaching this efficiency milestone, losses in the PSU have been reduced by about 67 percent in the last three years.

More than 42 percent of Dell laptops and 57 percent of desktops (consumer and client) introduced since July 20, 2007 offer configurations that meet or exceed Energy Star requirements.

Today's announcement is an exciting development for the entire Dell team. Energy efficiency isn't about meeting the minimum requirements defined by standards, but rather going beyond to help drive customer savings, avoid millions of tons of CO2 and help industries achieve a low-carbon economy.  Power supply efficiency directly translates into power consumed, and that means utility cost and carbon footprint.  And not just the cost of energy wasted by low-efficiency power supplies but the additional heat load in a home or business created by inefficiency.

More to come on the energy front soon, but in the meantime I'd like to challenge every computer company to join us in offering 80 PLUS Bronze and Silver power supplies. As our chairman and CEO mentioned on Earth Day, Green IT is key to helping businesses and industries go ‘green' and achieve a low-carbon economy.  Our customers - and shared environment - deserve no less.