1. Microsoft to purchase electricity and renewable energy credits from the 110MW Hickory Solar Park in Illinois.
2. Partnership between EDP Renewables North America and Volt Energy Utility to develop the solar project.
3. Focus on environmental justice, job creation, and engaging women and minority-owned enterprises in the project.
EDP Renewables North America (EDPR NA) and Volt Energy Utility have partnered to develop the 110MW Hickory Solar Park in Illinois. Tech giant Microsoft will purchase electricity and renewable energy credits from this project for 15 years through an environmental justice power purchase agreement (EJ PPA) co-developed with Volt Energy, an African-American owned utility-scale solar development company. The focus is on making clean energy investments in communities disproportionately impacted by environmental injustices, with a commitment to engage women and minority-owned enterprises in the project’s management and construction phases.
EDPR NA CEO Sandhya Ganapathy emphasized the importance of aligning efforts with partners who prioritize equitable strategies contributing to local community growth. Volt Energy founder Gilbert Campbell expressed excitement about the opportunity to address environmental injustice, invest in clean energy infrastructure, and support minority-owned businesses and students looking to enter the sustainability sector. Microsoft has also invested in other solar projects, including agreements with EDPR’s Wolf Run Solar Park in Illinois and Cattlemen Solar Park II in Texas.
In alignment with the promotion of environmental justice, Google has also partnered with EDPR to develop 500MW of distributed solar projects across the US. This initiative includes a corporate sponsorship model to support sustainability efforts and clean energy goals.