A 49MW wind project by Energia Group, an Irish energy utility, has reached commercial operations under a strategic framework agreement with technology company Microsoft.
Drumlins Park, located near Newbliss in County Monaghan, Ireland, consists of eight wind turbines supplied by GE Renewable Energy. Microsoft and Energia signed a corporate power purchase agreement (CPPA) in 2022, a partnership that Energia says will enable it to build and operate a “large portfolio” of onshore wind projects and solar developments in Ireland.
Ian Thom, CEO of Energia Group said: “This new wind farm is an important milestone for Energia Group, as well as for our collaboration with Microsoft, as it is the first wind farm to be delivered as part of our framework agreement.
“It is a further example of our commitment to powering Ireland’s energy transition, delivering new energy infrastructure to support the achievement of Ireland’s climate targets.” He added that the collaboration with Microsoft has unlocked “substantial growth” in Energia’s portfolio.
The wind farm will put in place a community benefit fund of €270,000 (£230,000) per year, with the allocation of funds managed by an independent third party.
Lavinia Morris, general manager of EMEA data centre operations at Microsoft called the commercial operation of the wind park “another important step” towards the company’s goal of using a 100% renewable energy supply for all of its data centres, buildings and campuses globally.
“As we seek to achieve a more sustainable future, Microsoft looks forward to continued collaboration with Energia to add net new clean energy capacity to Ireland’s energy grid.”
Microsoft investing in Ireland’s clean energy
In November 2022, Microsoft announced 900MW of renewable energy CPPAs in Ireland, of which more than 216MW of onshore wind and solar capacity have reached commercial operation. A further 250MW of capacity is due to commence commercial operation this year.
These figures, in context, paint a somewhat mixed picture. If the processing chips that support generative AI run for 61% of the year, they will consume 3,740kWh over that time. A single data centre houses thousands of those chips; Irish data centres are estimated to have consumed around 5.3TWh of electricity in 2022.
Recent figures put the amount of Ireland’s electricity share taken by data centres at about 21%– more than rural or urban dwellings (which took up 10% and 18% respectively). If the current rate of expansion continues in Ireland, renewable energy generation will have to ramp up significantly.
