Microsoft has added another 389 megawatts of renewable power to its portfolio as the tech giant scrambles to meet the power demands required to match its AI ambitions.
The additional renewable power spans three solar projects developed by EDP Renewables North America — two in southern Illinois and one outside Austin, Texas. Microsoft is buying a mix of electricity to feed its nearby operations and renewable energy credits to cover demand elsewhere.
Microsoft contracts nearly 20 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity, according to the company’s 2024 sustainability report. This latest purchase adds around 2% to the tally.
The tech giant has been procuring power at a rapid clip to feed its cloud and AI operations. Like many of its peers, Microsoft has embraced renewable power, in part because wind and solar can be deployed quickly and cheaply.
Solar is especially speedy. While new gas power plants take years to build and commission, a new solar farm can start producing power in as few as 18 months. Developers have been planning projects that can be commissioned in phases, allowing them to provide data centers with electricity as quickly as possible.
To enable power 24 hours a day, seven days a week, some renewable developers are turning to so-called hybrid installations. Solar and wind are connected to one or more types of batteries, which are charged when renewable power flows and discharged when it ebbs. Last week, Amazon signed a contract with one such development in Portugal.
Renewable energy purchases allow Microsoft to power its core operations without producing pollution. It may also help Microsoft meet its pledge to become carbon negative by 2030. To hit the target, Microsoft will have to sequester and store more carbon that its operations produce.
To reach negative emissions, Microsoft has also invested in various forms of carbon removal, including direct air capture, enhanced rock weathering, and reforestation. Last month, Microsoft announced a deal with Chestnut Carbon to buy more than 7 million tons of carbon credits, enough to cover about half the tech company’s emissions in 2023.
