Microsoft has made its first clean energy deal in Asia by contracting Singapore-based clean energy firm Sunseap to set up the largest rooftop solar portfolio in Singapore to power the technology firm’s data centres.
The 60MW portfolio will cover hundreds of rooftops in the country and Microsoft will purchase all the energy produced over a period of 20 years.
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Microsoft has been active in Singapore since 1990 and its data centres there now provide its various cloud-based services including Microsoft Azure, Office 365 and others. The firm has made two previous international clean energy announcements with wind deals announced in Ireland and The Netherlands last year.
Various specialists in commercial and industrial (C&I) solar have previously said that they expect one third of renewable energy PPAs in Southeast Asia to be corporate in the next three-to-five years.
Microsoft is now track to exceed its goal of powering 50% of its global data centre load with renewable energy this year, said Christian Belady, general manager, Cloud Infrastructure Strategy and Architecture, Microsoft.
Lawrence Wu, co-founder and president of Sunseap, said: “We see exciting potential in our partnership with Microsoft to raise awareness within the tech industry of the importance of adopting renewable energy solutions. Their investment in Singapore solar indicates a growing momentum for clean energy in the country and will further the positive ripple effect for organizations in Singapore to incorporate sustainability practices in their businesses.”
Kevin Wo, managing director, Microsoft Singapore, said: “Our cloud services are helping to power Singapore’s digital transformation, and today’s agreement will ensure that transformation is increasingly powered by clean energy.”
Gian Yi-Hsen, executive director, Cleantech, Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), said: “We are seeing a distinctive trend of local and foreign companies using up to 100% renewable energy to power their business operations, and Singapore is positioning itself to serve that need.”
Earlier this year, Sunseap announced it would partner InfraCo Asia for a 168MW solar project in Vietnam, and signed a 21-year PPA for 4MW of solar capacity to power Global port group PSA Corporation's facilities in Singapore.
