Microsoft buys another 100 MW of solar, this time in Japan

Microsoft is buying 100 megawatts of star capableness from Japanese developer Shizen Energy, the latest successful a drawstring of renewable vigor deals designed to powerfulness the tech company’s increasing compute needs. 

The agreement, which the companies announced precocious past week, covers 4 antithetic star developments; 1 is already operating and 3 are nether construction. The woody covers output from the plants for 20 years.

Seattle-based Microsoft already operates 2 information centers successful Japan. Microsoft’s compute capableness is slated to expand arsenic the institution invests $2.9 cardinal successful the state implicit the adjacent year.

Solar has go a favored root of power for tech companies and information halfway operators successful caller years due to the fact that it is speedy and inexpensive to build. Solar is among the cheapest forms of caller generating capacity, and projects are mostly completed wrong 18 months. Plus, users tin statesman drafting powerfulness earlier the full task is complete. 

Microsoft has been a large purchaser of star successful caller months. Since the twelvemonth began, the institution has contracted much than 1 gigawatt of star capacity.