Madrid-based EDP Renewables (EDPR), one of the world's leading actors in the renewable energy sector, through its fully-owned subsidiary EDP Renewables North America LLC, and Microsoft Corp. executed two 15-year power purchase agreements (PPA) totaling 125 megawatts (MW) in the U.S. state of Ohio, the companies announced Thursday.
These PPAs will bring the Timber Road IV Wind Farm to Ohio's Paulding County, and form part of the announcement made by EDPR on July 24, 2018, according to the statements issued separately by EDPR and Microsoft.
The 125 MW Timber Road IV Wind Farm is expected to be operational in 2019 and will produce enough clean electricity to annually power more than 36,000 average Ohio homes.
The wind farm will generate employment opportunities, property tax revenue for the local government and land lease payments to area farmers and landowners, the companies added.
These agreements with EDPR bring Microsoft's directly purchased renewable energy portfolio to nearly 1.4 gigawatts, according to the press releases.
The Timber Road IV Wind Farm will be EDPR's fourth operational wind farm in Ohio and its third operational wind farm in Paulding County, while it is Microsoft's fifth project in the larger PJM region, which is the control area administered by PJM Interconnection, which is a regional transmission organization that coordinates the movement of wholesale electricity in all or parts of 13 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.
Also on Thursday, Microsoft signed another 15-year PPA with Invenergy, a leading U.S.-based, privately-held global developer and operator of sustainable energy solutions, to become the sole offtaker of the energy to be generated at the 74 MW Wilkinson Solar Energy Center in North Carolina.
The Wilkinson Solar Energy Center project will be constructed, owned and operated by Invenergy, and the PPA represents Microsoft's fourth power purchase agreement in the PJM region.
By Hale Turkes
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr