US technology giant Microsoft has signed virtual power purchase agreements (VPPAs) for 389MW of solar capacity with EDP Renewables North America.
The deals will see Microsoft receive renewable energy credits (RECs) for the electricity generated at the EDPR projects, in exchange for its support of the facilities.
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It covers output from three EDPR projects in the US: the 150MW Cattlemen II solar project in Texas, the 140MW Wolf Run facility in Illinois and the 110MW Hickory project, which is also in Illinois.
These projects were commissioned last year – Cattlemen in December and the Illinois projects in November – and the signing of the VPPAs marks the third, fourth and fifth projects to be part of offtake agreements between Microsoft and EDPR.
“The importance of ensuring benefits flowing from renewable energy development directly into communities has never been more important,” said Sandhya Ganapathy, CEO, EDPR North America, referring to community benefits, such as Hickory’s contribution to the Sharing the Power Foundation, which offers financial support to organisations and causes that ensure access to clean air, water and renewable power.
Ganapathy spoke to PV Tech Premium last year, and suggested that around two-thirds of demand for solar power in the US has been driven by corporate buyers, such as Microsoft, which are keen to integrate renewable power into their energy supplies.
The commissioning of these projects, and signing of offtake agreements, bring EDPR’s operating portfolio of renewable power projects in Texas and Illinois to 3.1GW of capacity. While wind projects account for the majority of this capacity – 2.3GW in total – EDPR has expanded its US solar capacity in recent weeks, commissioning the final phase of the 577MW Fox Squirrel solar project in Ohio earlier this year.
The news also follows stable prices in the US solar PPA sector, with the latest figures from LevelTen Energy showing the average price of a solar PPA signed in North America increased just 0.3% between the third and fourth quarters of 2024.
