GHG Emissions, Commercial, Solar  -  February 11, 2025

Microsoft Adds Solar in Texas, Illinois

Tech company Microsoft added three solar projects in Illinois and Texas that will provide clean energy supporting the company’s sustainability and carbon reduction goals.

EDP, through EDP Renewables North America, announced that it had delivered three new utility-scale solar projects totaling 400 megawatts (MW), according to a statement. 

Microsoft agreed to purchase 389 MW of electricity and renewable energy credits (RECs) from the projects through long-term virtual power purchase agreements (VPPAs). The delivery of these projects brings the total operational portfolio between the two companies in the U.S. to five projects.

In southern Illinois, EDPR NA commissioned the 140-MW Wolf Run Solar Project (Wolf Run) near Jacksonville and the 110-MW Hickory Solar Project (Hickory) near Jerseyville in November last year. The 150-MW Cattlemen II Solar Project (Cattlemen II) located near Austin, Texas, came online in December. 

EDPR NA developed Hickory, and Microsoft agreed to purchase electricity and RECs from the project. Hickory uses an Environmental Justice PPA (EJ PPA) developed by Microsoft and Volt Energy Utility, LLC (Volt Energy Utility), a minority-owned renewable energy developer focused on making clean energy investments in rural and urban communities disproportionately impacted by pollution and vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. 

With the EJ PPA, Hickory will contribute funding to enable Sharing the Power Foundation to offer financial assistance to organizations and causes that ensure equal access to clean air, water, and renewable energy, as well as offer availability to energy assistance programs. 

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