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EDF Renewable Energy’s (EDF RE’s) 175MW Pilot Hill Wind Project in Illinois reached commercial operation on September 26, 2015. The project was supported by Microsoft Corporation’s 20-year power purchase agreement, which secures that 100% of the energy need of Microsoft’s data center in Illinois will be powered by the clean energy generated by the wind project.
“Microsoft is excited to see renewable energy from Pilot Hill coming on line," said Rob Bernard, chief environmental strategist at Microsoft. “We are strong supporters of green power, and projects like Pilot Hill are one way we are meeting our commitment to powering our data centers and operations with renewable energy.”
Corporate America is increasingly turning to renewable energy to power its business operations, based both on consumer preferences and because renewable energy simply makes good business sense from a cost standpoint. Microsoft is one of the leading companies that has committed to deploying renewable energy for their operation centers and data centers.
The Pilot Hill Wind Project locates 60 miles southwest of Chicago in Kankakee and Iroquois counties. It comprises 103 GE wind turbines, generating electricity enough for powering 60,000 average local homes. The project will prevent approximately 374,000 metric tons of new greenhouse gas emissions per year, the equivalent of the annual emissions from approximately 79,000 passenger vehicles. EDF Renewable Services will provide balance-of-plant operations and maintenance for the facility including 24/7 remote monitoring from its NERC compliant Operations Control Center (OCC)
EDF Renewable Energy is one of the largest renewable energy developers in North America with 6GW of wind, solar, biomass, and biogas projects developed throughout the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.