Go green! Big technology companies like Microsoft have been making heavy investments in renewable energy sources like solar power lately. And now we have new developments in this sphere.
Redmond has shared the details of yet another one of its initiative, this time centered in Arizona.
As detailed in the blog post, the technology giant plans to build two new Azure datacenter campuses in El Mirage and Goodyear. It has joined hands with First Solar, which is already working on its Sun Streams 2 photovoltaic solar plant in Maricopa County.
The 150-megawatt plant is set to become operational in 2021, and as part of its twenty-year agreement, will supply power to the two Azure datacenters.
One interesting little nugget is in how the datacenters will be cooled throughout the year:
“The advanced design of Microsoft’s datacenters means that our planned datacenters will use zero water for cooling for more than half the year. Our design uses outside air instead of water for cooling when temperatures are below 85 degrees Fahrenheit. When temperatures are above 85 degrees, an evaporative cooling system is used, which is similar to “swamp coolers” in residential homes. This system is highly efficient, using less electricity and a fraction of water used by other water-based cooling systems, such as cooling towers.”
Nice.
That done, the Redmond based technology giant will have to its name nearly 1.5 gigawatts total of renewable energy partnerships.
This will put the firm one step closer to its goal of 100% renewable operations. Microsoft reached it target of 50% by 2018, and the company will impressively cross the 60% mark ahead of its early next decade target.
Lofty goals, done right, eh?
