EDP Renewables North America is to sell 80MW of electricity to cloud computing company Salesforce from the under development 205MW Bright Stalk wind farm in Illinois.
Construction of Bright Stalk in McLean County will start in 2019, with the project slated to be fully operational by the end of that year.
The wind farm will also pay up to $2.6m in local taxes each year and millions of dollars to local landowners through the life of the project, EDPR said.
It added that the power purchase agreement is the largest Salesforce has signed and will deliver electricity to the company’s nearby data centres and offices.
Salesforce vice president of sustainability Patrick Flynn said: “This agreement is a huge step toward our goal of powering our operations with 100% renewable energy by 2022, and we are excited to work with EDP Renewables on this urgent initiative.”
EDPR chief executive Joao Manso Neto said: “EDP Renewables is proud to partner with Salesforce to help in meeting its commendable commitment of powering its global operations exclusively by renewable energy sources.
“This agreement is a major milestone for EDP Renewables and paves the way for our company to expand our presence as a wind industry leader in the state of Illinois.”
EDPR currently operates 797MW of wind power in Illinois and Bright Stalk together with the under development Broadlands plant will take capacity beyond 1.2GW by the end of next year.
Image: EDPR
EDPR inks 80MW Illinois deal
By EBS