Colo and hyperscale provider QTS signed a 10-year power purchase agreement to power 100 percent of the expected electricity needs for its Chicago, IL and Piscataway, New Jersey facilities with renewable energy.

QTS purchased the energy for an undisclosed sum from Rio Bravo Wind in Starr County, Texas. The renewable power comes through power purchase agreements with Citigroup Energy.

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QTS Chicago – QTS

Windy trio

The wind farm is still in construction and is expected to be operational by June of this year. Once it gets up and running, the farm is expected to put out 237.6MW of power. QTS’ Piscataway and Chicago facilities will have a power capacity of 26MW and 125MW respectively, so the hyperscale company would take 63 percent of the wind farm’s output - when both are operating at full capacity.

The colo company will have three facilities solely powered by renewable energy (via PPAs) once the Piscataway and Chicago facilities shift over to wind power. The third is QTS’ Irving, Texas data center, which the company switched over to renewables in April 2018.

Travis Wright, Vice President Energy and Sustainability for QTS, said: "Today's announcement is another significant step towards our goal of procuring 100 percent of our power from renewable energy sources by 2025.

"Renewable energy is a critical component of our comprehensive sustainability program that we document and report on publicly. We are committed to minimizing our carbon footprint through advanced development and procurement initiatives."

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