Equinix signs PPA with SunEdison for 105MW of solar power

Global interconnection and data centre company Equinix has agreed to a power purchase agreement (PPA) for 105MW of PV power with renewable energy company SunEdison.

This new deal is expected to cover all of Equinix’s data centres in California, including 11 sites located in the Los Angeles and Silicon Valley metro areas. As a result of this agreement, Equinix will boost its use of renewable-energy sources from 30% to 43% globally.

The 105MW will be derived from SunEdison’s 150MW Mount Signal Solar II project, which will be located in near Calexico, California, — just north of the United States-Mexico border. Construction on the site is expected to begin this year and will commence operations in the second half of 2016.

The Mount Signal Solar II project is expected to produce 300,000 MWh per year to offset Equinix’s energy consumption. The installation is expected to reduce Equinix’s carbon footprint by over 180 million pounds of CO2 per year.

Paul Gaynor, executive vice president, SunEdison EMEA and Americas, said: "The Mount Signal Solar project is another demonstration of SunEdison's ability to deliver cost effective renewable energy. Smart companies like Equinix know they can rely on SunEdison to help them save money, meet their sustainability goals, and create valuable jobs in the local community."

Equinix is not the first company to embrace solar as an outlet to power its data centres, as Amazon announced plans in June 2015 to develop an 80MW solar farm to generate energy for its databases, while Apple noted in February 2015 that it is constructing a 70MW solar powered data centre in Arizona.