SunEdison announced on November 2nd that it has signed a power purchase agreement with Bloomberg, the global business and financial information and news leader, to power the company's Rockland County, New York-based data center with 2.9 megawatts (MW) DC of solar energy.
"Data centers consume enormous amounts of energy and that can mean sky-high energy bills, but SunEdison solar solutions can help companies quickly reign in their energy costs," said Steve Raeder, SunEdison's regional general manager of its Eastern U.S. solar business. "We're delighted to work with an industry leader like Bloomberg to help them save money while advancing their sustainability initiatives. And, because we've installed thousands of systems, we know how to do it quickly and cost effectively."
SunEdison will supply Bloomberg with solar power through a state-wide program called "remote net metering" which allows customers to enjoy the savings and environmental benefits of solar without needing to install a system on site. Instead, the solar system is built in the same region as the customer, and clean renewable energy is delivered over the existing power lines.
The 2.9 MW solar power plant is expected to generate enough clean and reliable electricity each year to offset more than 5 percent of the data center's electricity usage. Additionally, the project is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 11,600 metric tons over the period of the agreement—the equivalent of taking more than 6,800 cars off the road or powering more than 4,400 homes for one year.
"Bloomberg is constantly looking for opportunities to expand its portfolio of renewable energy projects that make good business sense–projects that reduce costs, diversify energy supply and have a positive environmental impact," said Curtis Ravenel, Bloomberg's global head of Sustainable Business and Finance. "With this project, we're projecting to save more than $2 million over the life of the agreement versus traditional utility prices, and it helps us reach our sustainability and climate goals. With SunEdison's track record for delivering best-in-class solar projects, choosing them to support our critical data centers was easy."
Bloomberg and SunEdison are founding members of the Business Renewables Center, a collaborative platform launched by the Rocky Mountain Institute. The platform aims to accelerate corporate renewable energy procurement and double U.S. capacity of wind and solar energy by 2025. Bloomberg is also a signatory of the Renewable Energy Buyers Principles, a set of six principles that articulate the needs of corporate renewable energy buyers.
Construction of the solar power plant is targeted for completion in the fourth quarter of 2016. Operation and maintenance of the solar power plant will be performed by SunEdison Services, which provides global asset management, monitoring and reporting services.