Microsoft secures capacity exceeding Czech wind power through wind park deal

Microsoft has signed an agreement to purchase electricity from a Vattenfall wind park that, once completed, will rank among the largest in the Netherlands. By signing the agreement, Microsoft secured 100% of the output from the Wieringermeer wind farm. With this move, the software giant is continuing to pursue its strategy of increasing the share of renewable generation in the consumption of its data centres.

For Vattenfall, this is its first commercial electricity supply contract for a data centre located outside the countries of the Scandinavian Peninsula. Until now, Vattenfall's experience in supplying electricity to data centres in Nordic countries had been primarily through its hydropower plants. The contract with Microsoft's data centre near Amsterdam is therefore Vattenfall's first in the data centre sector related exclusively to wind power.

The Dutch Wieringermeer wind park, whose output Microsoft secured by signing the agreement, is due to be commissioned in 2019. Vattenfall estimates the cost of expanding and repowering the 350MW Wieringermeer park at more than EUR 200 million. Once completed, the installed capacity of the Wieringermeer wind park will be greater than the current installed capacity of all wind power plants in Czechia. Once the 26MW Václavice wind park, which is currently being completed, is commissioned, the installed capacity of wind power plants in Czechia will reach almost 310 MW.

Microsoft turns its attention to its European data centres and renewables

In addition to its agreement with Vattenfall, Microsoft last month also signed an electricity purchase agreement with GE. The agreement concerns electricity supplies from the 37MW Tullahennel wind farm in Ireland. The Irish project is distinctive in that each turbine at the wind farm is also equipped with its own battery storage system.

“Wieringermeer is Microsoft's second wind power project in Europe, announced around a month after the disclosure of our cooperation with GE in Ireland. Once the Wieringermeer wind park is completed, we will have secured electricity from nearly 800 MW of renewable sources. Both European wind parks will help bring us closer to meeting our renewable energy commitments,” said Christian Belady, general manager of Microsoft's cloud infrastructure division.