Energy Efficiency, Commercial, Solar, Sourcing Renewables, Wind  -  September 24, 2019

Microsoft announces 230 MW renewables purchase

Microsoft announced September 24 a 230 MW long-term solar and wind energy PPA and the implementation of Darwin, a new energy optimization software, both in partnership with ENGIE.

The tech company will purchase energy from two ENGIE projects in Texas: the 200 MW Las Lomas wind projects and the 200 MW Anson Solar Center project. Both are expected to come online by January 2020. The PPA will provide 24/7 supply to its U.S. operations.

The Darwin software was developed by ENGIE using the intelligent cloud services of Microsoft Azure to optimize the performance of ENGIE’s wind, solar and hybrid renewable energy assets worldwide. The software currently is deployed on more than 15,000 MW of assets globally, enabling real-time plant monitoring and control, reporting, forecasting, performance monitoring, and predictive maintenance, and has already enabled ENGIE to increase plant availability and to enhance production performance of up to a few percent on some of its assets.

The PPA between Microsoft and ENGIE also includes an innovative volume firming agreement (VFA) that will convert the intermittent renewable energy supply into a fixed 24/7 power solution aligned with Microsoft’s energy needs.

“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,” Brian Janous, general manager of energy and sustainability at Microsoft, said in a statement. “This agreement with ENGIE is an exciting step towards a low-carbon future, driven by capital investments and enabled by data.”

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