EDPR, Microsoft Sign Ohio Wind PPAs

EDP Renewables, through its fully owned subsidiary EDP Renewables North America, has signed two 15-year power purchase agreements with Microsoft Corp. totaling 125 megawatts. The contract will bring the Timber Road IV Wind Farm to Ohio’s Paulding County.

The 125-megawatt wind facility is expected to be operational in 2019 and will generate sufficient clean electricity to power more than 36,000 average Ohio homes annually. The wind farm will also yield employment opportunities—some 200 full-time equivalent jobs during construction and seven full-time positions during operations. Moreover, the wind park is set to generate approximately $1.1 million a year in property tax revenue for the local government as well as land lease payments to area farmers and landowners.

Building up renewable capacity

The Timber Road IV Wind Farm will mark EDP Renewable’s fourth operational wind farm in the state and its third one in Paulding County. Combined, the four wind farms have a capacity of 392 megawatts and represent more than 40 percent of the state’s installed wind capacity. The three operational farms have paid more than $6 million to local governments to date and $16.1 million to landowners through 2017.

“Bringing new wind projects online, particularly in states with relatively few projects but strong potential for growth, delivers both economic benefits and environmental progress in the near term and well into the future,” Brian Janous, general manager of energy and sustainability at Microsoft, said in a prepared statement. “We are constantly looking for opportunities where our corporate demand can not only be met but can also accelerate the transition to renewable sources. EDPR has done great work in Ohio, and we’re pleased to partner with them to grow this market.”

The agreements bring Microsoft’s directly purchased renewable energy portfolio to nearly 1.4 gigawatts. Timber Road IV Wind Farm is Microsoft’s fifth project in the larger PJM region.