Microsoft will be supplied with a majority of power from the 200MW Las Lomas wind project in south Texas
Image: Microsoft signs PPA with Engie. Photo: Courtesy of Kenueone/Pixabay
French energy company Engie has signed a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) with tech-giant Microsoft for the supply of 230MW of renewable power.
Through the PPA, Microsoft will be supplied from two of Engie’s projects in Texas, which bring the total renewable energy purchase of Microsoft to nearly 2GW.
As per the PPA, which includes both wind and solar projects, Microsoft will be supplied with a majority of power from the 200MW Las Lomas wind project, located in Starr & Zapata Counties in south Texas.
The remaining power will come from Engie’s 200MW Anson Solar Center, from which Microsoft will be supplied with 85MW. Anson Solar Center will be located in Jones County in central Texas. The two projects are slated to come online in January of 2021.
ENGIE North America president and CEO Gwenaëlle Avice-Huet said: “ENGIE’s ambition is to work with our customers and communities to lead the transition to a zero-carbon world.
“We are proud to support Microsoft in its plan to increasingly meet its energy needs with renewable power, and to do so in a highly customized way to meet 24/7 demand over many years.”
Microsoft PPA includes a new volume firming agreement
The PPA includes a new volume firming agreement (VFA) which will convert the intermittent nature of renewable energy supply into a fixed 24/7 power solution aligned with Microsoft’s energy needs.
Microsoft energy and sustainability general manager Brian Janous said: “Procuring more renewable energy helps to transform our operations, but when we pair that with Microsoft’s leading cloud and AI tools, we can transform the world.
“This agreement with ENGIE is an exciting step towards a low-carbon future, driven by capital investments and enabled by data.”
Furthermore, Engie and Microsoft are moving ahead with the digital transformation of the renewable energy sector. Engie’s Darwin software, which is being deployed on more than 15GW of its assets globally, will enable real-time plant monitoring and control, reporting, forecasting, performance monitoring, and predictive maintenance and other benefits.
Darwin is being supported by Microsoft’s Azure cloud, artificial intelligence (AI) and internet of things (IoT) services.
Engie plans to build nearly 9GW of renewable energy projects from 2019-2021 globally, with 2.5GW planned for North America. It also has an additional 10GW of wind and solar projects in its broader development pipeline for the US and Canada.