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Microsoft announced Monday two new contracts for 237 megawatts of wind energy capacity to run its Wyoming data center entirely on wind power.
Microsoft’s data center in Cheyenne, Wyoming.Microsoft
With the latest deal, the company now purchases more than 500 megawatts of wind energy in the country. According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, the top 50 corporate buyers of solar and wind power in the U.S. will add more than 17 gigawatts by 2020, as the role of companies in combating climate change is expected to become even more important under a Trump administration.
“This investment in wind energy keeps us on pace to meet the energy goals we set last spring,” Brad Smith of Microsoft said in a blog post. “We announced earlier this year that roughly 44 percent of the electricity consumed by Microsoft’s datacenters comes from wind, solar and hydropower, and we committed to raising this to 50 percent by 2018 and to 60 percent by early in the next decade.
“Innovation and sustainability go hand in hand. We’re thinking differently about our datacenters and how we can build and operate them in a more sustainable way. And the innovations we’re piloting in this deal are not only good for business, but also good for local communities and the environment as well.”
Microsoft
For a deeper dive:
News: Fortune, Bloomberg, Huffington Post
Commentary: The Conversation, Joe Arvai op-ed
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