Vía Livemint.com
The agreement will see Microsoft purchase 3 megawatts of solar-powered electricity from Atria Power for its new office building in Bengaluru.
The agreement will see Microsoft purchase 3 megawatts of solar-powered electricity from Atria Power for its new office building in Bengaluru.
Tech giant Microsoft on Tuesday said it has inked its first renewable
energy deal in India for powering its new facility in Bengaluru. The
agreement will see Microsoft purchase 3 megawatts of solar-powered
electricity from Atria Power for its new office building in Bengaluru,
meeting 80% of the projected electricity needs at the facility,
Microsoft said in a statement.
The company, however, did not
disclose the financial details of the deal. The facility, which will be
operational starting June, is spread over 5.85 lakh square feet. The
Karnataka government is encouraging investments in local solar energy
operations, in line with the country’s goal of ramping up solar power
generation to 100 gigawatts by 2022.
Once completed, the project
will bring Microsoft’s total global direct procurement in renewable
energy projects to nearly 900 megawatts. “Investing in local solar
energy to help power our new Bengaluru office building is good for
Microsoft, good for India and good for the environment,” Microsoft India
president Anant Maheshwari said.
He added that this deal will
help the company grow in a sustainable manner and also support the
growth of the Indian solar energy industry. This is Microsoft’s first
solar energy agreement in India, and one of the first ones in the Asian
region.
The Redmond-based firm completed a new solar agreement in
Singapore last week. The deals in Asia follow wind projects in Europe
and a substantial portfolio in the US. Microsoft’s goal is to rely on
wind, solar and hydropower electricity for at least 50% of its energy
usage worldwide by the end of 2018