Microsoft to buy Illinois wind power for 20 years
Microsoft Corp. says it has agreed to buy electricity from a new wind farm in Illinois for the next 20 years in an effort to reduce its carbon footprint.
The company's chief environmental strategist, Rob Bernard, made the announcement Tuesday.
The 175-megawatt Pilot Hill Wind Project is being built on the Kankakee and Iroquois county line, about 60 miles from Chicago. EDF Renewable Energy, a subsidiary of a French utility, owns 96 percent of the project.
The project will produce enough electricity to power 70,000 homes, and should be online next year
Bernard says electricity will be delivered to the same grid that powers Microsoft's Chicago data center, and is its largest wind investment.
He says the agreement builds on Microsoft's commitment to green power.