AES to supply 24/7 renewable power to Microsoft's Virginia data centres

US power generation group AES Corp (NYSE:AES) said Tuesday it has signed a 15-year agreement to provide around-the-clock renewable energy to Microsoft Corp’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) data centres in Virginia.

The agreement, co-created with Microsoft, involves both existing renewable projects under a long-term contract to the software group, as well as additional renewable resources in the region. The 24/7 zero-carbon electricity will come from a 576-MW portfolio including wind, solar and battery energy storage assets in the PJM market.

The deal supports Microsoft’s 100/100/0 by 2030 goal that commits the company to having 100% of its electricity consumption, 100% of the time, matched by zero-carbon energy purchases by 2030.

"By leveraging AES' capability and presence in the PJM market, we are able to both secure additional renewable supply in support of meeting our commitment to use 100% renewable energy by 2025, and also take a meaningful step toward having 100% of our electricity matched by zero-carbon resources all of the time in the region," said Brian Janous, general manager energy and renewables at Microsoft.

Microsoft has 7.8 GW of operating and contracted renewable energy projects globally, according to a sustainability update in July.

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