Microsoft has signed an eight-year take care of the most important U.S. photo voltaic producer, Qcells, to provide the corporate with sufficient photo voltaic panels so as to add 12 gigawatts of photo voltaic electrical energy to the U.S. grid.
For perspective, that’s about one-third of the solar energy added to the U.S. electrical grid in 2023, in accordance with information from the Photo voltaic Power Industries Affiliate and Wooden Mackenzie. The panels are meant for photo voltaic farms that Microsoft helps construct to offset the electrical energy consumed by its ever-expanding information middle footprint. They are going to be able to producing sufficient electrical energy to energy 1.8 million properties.
Microsoft beforehand dedicated to purchasing 2.5 gigawatts from Qcells over an unspecified interval. Except for the panels, Qcells, a part of a South Korean provider, is offering engineering, procurement and development providers. It’s investing $2.5 billion to construct new photo voltaic factories in rural Georgia.
Monetary phrases of the alliance weren’t disclosed.
Hedging towards provide chain shortages
The connection will assist Microsoft get photo voltaic tasks accomplished extra shortly, stated Bobby Hollis, vice chairman of vitality, who joined the corporate in October. The deal requires a provide of about 1.5 gigawatts of modules per yr by 2032. “We’ve to verify what we’re doing may be finished at a big scale,” stated Hollis.
Microsoft has pledged to cowl all of its electrical energy consumption with renewables by 2025. As of August, the corporate had signed contracts to purchase greater than 13.5 gigawatts of photo voltaic, wind or different renewable vitality in 16 markets. “There are lots of gamers which are competing for sturdy improvement belongings and to determine easy methods to take part extra strategically earlier on,” Hollis stated. “We’ve to become involved a lot earlier.”
Greater than 1,000 procurement offers have been signed by firms globally within the first half of 2023, in accordance with S&P World. Many corporate-backed tasks have been sluggish to come back on-line within the U.S., stymied by tariffs on panels imported from China and allowing delays for the interconnections required to carry photo voltaic and wind farms onto the electrical energy grid.
“Provide chains can grow to be a bottleneck,” Hollis stated. “We’ve to ensure that when surprises occur, we are able to nonetheless make our dedication.”
The Qcells relationship isn’t unique, which suggests Microsoft might supply panels elsewhere if wanted, he stated. Likewise, Qcells is discussing related relationships with different prospects, stated Jihyun Kim, govt vice chairman of Qcells USA.
‘Sustainably made’ within the USA
The deal was made doable by tax incentives within the Inflation Discount Act meant to spur extra home photo voltaic manufacturing. Qcells’ investments, each in Georgia and in Washington state, are the largest for the U.S. trade, the corporate claims. The corporate has claimed a number one share of U.S. photo voltaic panel shipments for a number of years. It’s already producing about 5 gigawatts of panels and photo voltaic parts yearly in Georgia, stated Kim.
Qcells says its photo voltaic panels are “sustainably made.” It’s one in every of a number of producers searching for certification beneath the EPEAT for Photo voltaic program, a information that helps federal companies purchase low-carbon merchandise.
The polysilicon in Qcells’ panels is made utilizing hydropower in Washington state (most different producers are nonetheless on coal). And the corporate can be making its metal frames for photo voltaic installations lighter, to chop down on supplies, stated Kim. “Down the highway, recycling of the panels, which we are going to assist, will even be an essential piece,” he stated.
