Working towards using clean energy to power its datacenters, Microsoft has recently signed a deal with Sunseap, a Singaporean renewable energy company. The company is one the leading solar energy providers in the country and has operations in other parts of Southeast Asia such as Cambodia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
Although the actual amount invested by Microsoft in this deal was not revealed to the public, the technology giant has announced that the new agreement will be responsible for the Singapore company’s largest portfolio of solar energy to date. Based on the deal with Sunseap which has a 20-year effect, Microsoft has pledged to purchase all of the solar energy exported to the grid from a 60 megawatts peak solar portfolio. The agreement also marks Microsoft’s first ever Asian renewable energy deal.
In 2016, Microsoft has expressed the company’s corporate sustainability goals to use renewable energy to fill in 50% of the power required at its datacenters. Once the solar project starts operating, the company’s total global direct procurement of sustainable energy will be up to 860 megawatts. According to Microsoft’s general manager of Cloud Infrastructure Strategy and Architecture, Christian Belady, the technology giant is on track to achieving the company’s clean energy goal earlier than expected. Apart from the solar energy deal with Sunseap, Microsoft also has two other renewables energy deals outside Asia. In 2017, the company signed a deal to purchase 100% of the renewable power produced by the new GE wind farm in County Kerry, Ireland, along with another in the Netherlands.
Last year, the Singaporean government announced that a carbon tax will be imposed on business in 2019 to promote the usage of greener energy. According to PwC, the increasingly pressing predicament of climate change in Asia Pacific will encourage the total investments on solar and wind energy projects, which are expected to reach US $250bn by 2025.
Microsoft datacenters in Singapore currently provide the power for Office 365, Microsoft Azure, and various other services in Southeast Asia. According to Kevin Wo, the managing director of Microsoft Singapore, the energy deal with Sunseap will ensure that the digital transformation in Singapore will be greener and more sustainable. He added that Microsoft is happy to work together with the leading solar company in Singapore, Sunseap, to encourage the usage of clean energy in the local economy, while working towards Microsoft’s goals for sustainable operations.
Following the signing of the recent renewable energy agreement in Singapore, Microsoft has proven its dedication towards promoting the usage of sustainable energy globally.
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