Microsoft Corporation announced its largest purchase of wind energy to date with the signing of two agreements, according to the company's announcement on Monday.
The combined two agreements represent 237 megawatts of wind capacity, which brings Microsoft’s total wind energy investments in the U.S. to over 500 megawatts.
Microsoft has made a long-term contract with Black Hills Corp., a subsidiary of Black Hills Energy -- a utility company in Rapid City, South Dakota, which generates wholesale electricity and produces natural gas, oil and coal -- to purchase 59 megawatts of renewable energy from the Happy Jack and Silver Sage wind projects.
Additionally, the company has contracted with risk management company, Allianz Risk Transfer (ART) to fix long-term energy costs from the new 178-megawatt Bloom Wind project in Kansas.
Previously, the company signed two agreements -- the 175-megawatt Pilot Hill wind project in Illinois and the 110-megawatt Keechi wind project in Texas.
Brad Smith, president and chief legal officer at Microsoft said in the statement that these agreements represent progress toward the goal of improving the energy mix at their datacenters in the U.S.
"Our commitment extends beyond greening our own operations because these projects help create a greener, more reliable grid in the communities in which we operate," he added.
In addition, Microsoft and Black Hills Energy worked together to create a new tariff, available to all eligible customers, that allows the utility to tap the local datacenter’s backup generators, thereby eliminating the need for Black Hills Energy to construct a new power plant.
Black Hills Energy serves 1.2 million natural gas and electric utility customers in eight states in the U.S.
The tariff received approval from the Wyoming Public Service Commission in July.
In March, Microsoft also signed an agreement with the Commonwealth of Virginia and Dominion Energy Inc. to bring 20 megawatts of solar energy onto the grid in Virginia.
These projects are in addition to the renewable and carbon-free energy Microsoft purchases from the grid mix in the markets in which it operates.
(Anadolu Agency)
