A Microsoft data center’s electricity will be powered by a wind farm being constructed in western Kansas.
As the Hutchinson News reports, the Bloom Wind Project is located about 20 miles south of Dodge City on 15,000 acres of land in Ford and Clark Counties and once completed, will supply a Microsoft data center in Cheyenne, Wyoming with 178 megawatts of power, the wind farm’s total output, which will be coupled with 59 megawatts of power generated by the Happy Jack and Silver Sage wind farms in Wyoming.
Microsoft recently signed a 10-year contract to purchase the energy generated by the Bloom Wind Project in order to lock in a long-term rate, according to Hutch News, and the energy will be used to run computer servers at the data center.
The contract is actually between Capital Power and international insurance group Allianz Risk and Microsoft entered into a contract with Allianz to purchase the power.
Alberta, Canada-based Capital Power owns the wind project and according to the company’s website, the agreement secured long-term, predictable revenues and allows the Bloom Wind Project to secure renewable energy tax equity financing.
The Bloom Wind Farm is expected to go online next fall, according to the website.