Microsoft Initiates Measures To Reduce Irish Data Hub Carbon Footprint
Author: Anusuya Lahiri
Microsoft Corp agreed to buy a massive amount of clean energy to power a data center in Ireland, Bloomberg reports. Statkraft AS, Europe’s largest generator of renewables, will provide Microsoft with 366 megawatts of wind and solar energy, marking the supplier’s first power-purchase agreement in Ireland. The financial terms of the deal remain undisclosed. The renewable power for Microsoft in Ireland will come from six projects, including three wind and three solar located across the country. The Norwegian company will fund and manage their construction, and the power-purchase agreement will start once the projects begin operating. Lately, companies like Microsoft have struggled to get planning permission for specific data centers as they battled mounting regulatory pressure to clean up their energy consumption. Amazon.com, Inc expanded its renewable energy portfolio globally, with an additional 2.7 gigawatts (GW) of clean energy capacity across 71 new renewable energy projects. Samsung Electronics Co, Ltd looks to invest over KRW 7 trillion ($5.02 billion) by 2030 as part of sweeping environmental initiatives to become carbon neutral by 2050.