Microsoft has signed a power-purchase agreement with EDP Renewables for 125MW of wind power capacity in Ohio.

The agreement includes two 15-year-long power purchase agreements as well as the construction of a new wind farm in the state.

Clicking clean

The 125MW wind farm in Paulding County, Ohio, is expected to be operational in 2019 and will produce enough clean electricity to power the equivalent of more than 36,000 homes annually.

Timber Road IV Wind Farm will be EDP's fourth operational wind farm in Ohio and its third operational wind farm in Paulding County. The four wind farms total 392MW, contributing to more than 40 percent of the state's installed wind capacity.

The companies say that the new wind farm will also bring employment opportunities with around temporary 200 construction jobs expected and seven full-time positions during operations.

In addition, the new wind farm will generate approximately $1.1 million each year in annual property tax revenue for the local government as well as land lease payments to area farmers and landowners.

“Bringing new wind projects online, particularly in states with relatively few projects but strong potential for growth, delivers both economic benefits and environmental progress in the near term and well into the future.” said Brian Janous, GM of Microsoft Energy and Sustainability.

Dana Saucer, VP and head of economic development for private non-profit JobsOhio, said: “We applaud this partnership between EDP Renewables and Microsoft, that will allow Microsoft to power its operations on the larger PJM grid with clean, homegrown wind energy from Paulding County.”

Earlier this year, Greenpeace’s preliminary clicking clean report revealed that Microsoft has increased the amount of renewable energy it uses to power its operations in Virginia to 34 percent.

The report also revealed that Amazon was lagging far behind on its renewables commitment in Virginia, with only 12 percent of AWS’ energy consumption in the state coming from renewable sources.