EDP Renewables SA and Software giant Microsoft have closed on a 1.4GW renewable energy portfolio with a deal to buy wind power for Ohio homes.
The world’s biggest technology companies are using wind power alone and have made the most significant order for offshore wind turbines in 2017. Microsoft signed two power purchase agreements with operator EDPR for output from its Timber Road IV wind farm, which will enter service this year, helping the technology group to decarbonize its operations in the broader grid.
According to the agreed deal, the 125 MW Timber Road IV Farm is expected to produce enough clean energy that will suffice more than 36,000 Ohio homes. Apart from electricity, such an agreement will also be the reason for 200 employment opportunities during construction and around 7 full-time positions during operation.
Microsoft is all devoted to bringing new renewable energy sources online to power our data centers – Brian Janous, Microsoft’s general manager of energy
This isn’t the first attempt that tech companies have been trying to produce clean, usable energy. In 2018 several giants pledged to bring a 100 percent renewable energy goal. Having already invested in wind and solar power since 2010, Google wanted to be the first to make a deal to purchase all the electricity from a 114 MW wind farm in Iowa.
However, such a deal brings Microsoft’s directly-purchased renewables arsenal to almost 1.4GW, said the software group, which is among a clutch of technology giants that have led the way in signing deals with wind and solar projects, often to power datacentres.
Also, Microsoft has entered into a 15-year deal in which it will be the single off-taker of the renewable energy that is produced by Wilkinson Solar Energy Center. Such a facility is anticipated to generate local investment of $20 million and estimated to create approximately 500 jobs in the course of construction.
