Microsoft will purchase 100 percent of the renewable energy exported to the grid from EDP Renewables’ SolarNova 8 project in Singapore. Long-term contract supports the development of new solar projects and contributes to Microsoft’s goal of achieving 100% renewable energy.

This is the second agreement signed between both companies in Singapore, reinforcing a collaboration for clean energy that began in 2018.

EDP, through EDP Renewables (EDPR), a global leader in renewable energy development, has collaborated with Microsoft to decarbonize Microsoft’s operations through a 20-year agreement. Microsoft will purchase 100 percent of the renewable energy exported to the grid from EDPR’s SolarNova 8 project, comprising up to 200MWp of capacity.

Earlier this year, EDPR was awarded Phase 8 of the SolarNova program, consisting of installing up to 200MWp of solar capacity spanning more than 1,000 Singapore public housing buildings and more than 100 government-owned buildings. This is both the largest solar project in Singapore and the largest initiative under the government’s SolarNova program.

“We are strengthening EDP’s global collaboration with Microsoft through this project and together we are taking a step towards achieving Singapore’s sustainability goals of at least 2GW peak of solar energy by 2030. Contracting with Microsoft is a catalyst for accelerating the energy transition and to continue investing in the region.” said Miguel Stilwell d’Andrade, CEO of EDP and EDPR.

“Microsoft appreciates the global relationship that we’ve built with EDPR, enabling our companies to drive grid decarbonization efforts in Singapore, the US and Europe. Building our renewable energy portfolio with EDPR ensures that we can continue to secure renewable energy supply to meet our Microsoft’s ambitious renewable energy and decarbonization goals,” said Adrian Anderson, GM, Renewables, Carbon Free Energy, Microsoft.

Launched in 2014, the SolarNova Programme is a Whole-of-Government effort led by the Economic Development Board (EDB) and HDB to accelerate the deployment of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in Singapore. Under the SolarNova programme, HDB aggregates public sector demand for the installation of solar panels across HDB blocks and government sites.

Having surpassed its earlier solar target of 220 megawatt-peak (MWp) by 2020, HDB had in 2019 announced a new solar target of 540 MWp by 2030. The new target could potentially generate around 650 GWh of clean energy annually, contributing towards the national solar targets of 1.5 gigawatt-peak (GWp) by 2025, and 2 GWp by 2030 as set out under the Singapore Green Plan.