Reuters –
(Reuters) – U.S. computer software company Microsoft Corp said on Monday it signed a 20-year power purchase agreement for wind energy in Texas.
The company said in a blog the agreement was part of its commitment last year to become carbon neutral.
Microsoft said it will buy all of the energy from RES Americas’ 110-megawatt Keechi wind project, which is under development near Jacksboro, about 70 miles (113 km) northwest of Fort Worth. RES Americas is a unit of privately held, UK-based renewable energy developer RES Ltd.
Microsoft said the wind farm is on the same electric grid that powers its San Antonio data center.
RES will begin construction of Keechi in early 2014 and will begin delivering power in 2015. The wind farm will include 55 wind turbines manufactured mostly in Colorado by a unit of Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas Wind Systems A/S.
Microsoft said in the blog, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recognized the company as the second largest purchaser of green power in the United States.
The company said the Keechi wind power purchase “will certainly not be our last.”
Microsoft is not alone among technology companies buying renewable power. Google Inc, Apple Inc, Facebook Inc, Rackspace Hosting Inc and Salesforce.com Inc have all committed to powering their data centers with more renewable power.
(Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by Nick Zieminski)
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