Microsoft Corp. will buy 230 MW of renewable energy under a power purchase agreement with two Engie SA projects under development in Texas, the companies announced Sept. 24.
Under the deal, Microsoft will purchase the majority of the output from the 200-MW Las Lomas Wind Project being built in Starr and Zapata counties, Texas, and 85 MW from the planned 200-MW Anson Solar Center in Jones County, Texas. Both projects will be operated by Engie subsidiary Engie North America Inc. and are expected online in January 2021, the companies said in the news release.
Microsoft's renewable energy portfolio is expected to increase to more than 1,900 MW with the addition of the new wind and solar generation.
The PPA also includes an innovative volume firming agreement, which involves a contract with a third party that helps protect Microsoft from intermittent renewable energy supply and provides a fixed 24/7 power solution.
"Engie's ambition is to work with our customers and communities to lead the transition to a zero-carbon world," Engie North America President and CEO Gwenaëlle Avice-Huet said in the news release. "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."
Engie and Microsoft also announced the implementation of new energy software developed by Engie, which uses the Microsoft Azure cloud services to optimize performance of the global energy company's renewable assets worldwide.
"Engie's Darwin software, currently deployed on more than 15,000 MW of assets globally, enables real-time plant monitoring and control, reporting, forecasting, performance monitoring, and predictive maintenance, among many other benefits," the companies said in the news release.
Engie said this technology has helped to "increase plant availability and to enhance production performance" as it builds about 9,000 MW of new renewable energy projects globally over the next few years.
"Procuring more renewable energy helps to transform our operations, but when we pair that with Microsoft's leading cloud and [artificial intelligence] tools, we can transform the world," Brian Janous, general manager of energy and sustainability at Microsoft, said in the news release. "This agreement with Engie is an exciting step towards a low-carbon future, driven by capital investments and enabled by data."
