GHG Emissions, Commercial, Solar  -  February 25, 2025

Microsoft to Deploy 100 MW Solar in Arkansas, Louisiana

Microsoft announced a new multi-year agreement  to deploy up to 100 megawatts of renewable energy projects over the next three years in historically underinvested communities in Louisiana and Arkansas.

The agreement was signed with Clearloop, the carbon solutions platform for Silicon Ranch that partners with companies of all sizes to help slash their carbon footprint and decarbonize the grid. 

This agreement accelerates decarbonization and drives capital investment in approximately 20 socioeconomically diverse American communities.

Working with environmental tech nonprofit WattTime, Clearloop was an early user of adopting  emissions factors to identify strategic points on the grid where new solar generation can displace as much carbon as possible. 

Based on the locations of the proposed projects, Clearloop expects the new solar portfolio will prevent more than 5 million metric tons of carbon from entering the atmosphere over the next four decades. These projects will help diversify the energy mix in Arkansas and Louisiana. 

In 2023, Clearloop and Microsoft collaborated on their first solar project together, a 6.6-MWAC facility in the Mississippi Delta. That project became operational in the summer of 2024 helped displace 200,000 tons of carbon.

Clearloop's approach to reducing carbon emissions gives organizations of all sizes the opportunity to meet their climate goals while helping decarbonize the broader economy. 

By matching customer electricity usage with new renewable energy generation, the newly announced solar portfolio supports Microsoft’s goal to become carbon negative by 2030. 

“Clearloop helps Microsoft achieve its carbon negative goals by supporting renewable energy projects in communities across the country that might otherwise miss out on the economic and environmental benefits of the energy transition,” said Danielle Decatur, Microsoft Director of Environmental Justice, in a statement. 

The first four solar projects in the multi-year agreement are set to break ground over the next few months and will be operational by the end of the year.

These will be among the first large-scale solar projects interconnecting and serving the local distribution grids in Poinsett County, Cross County, and Desha County in Arkansas, as well as Bienville Parish in Louisiana. 

The new solar portfolio will be developed, owned and operated by its parent Silicon Ranch for the lifetime of each project.

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