AirTrunk signs renewable energy agreement to offset Microsoft’s energy use

AirTrunk and Hong Kong utility CLP Power have signed a renewable energy agreement to offset Microsoft's energy use in its facilities by matching its electricity consumption with local renewable energy certificates (RECs). Through this agreement, AirTrunk will source hourly RECs from CLP Power to provide renewable energy matching at its HKG1 data center for its customer, Microsoft.

According to AirTrunk, this project features a number of firsts, including being:

The first-of-its-kind in the APJ region to feature hourly matching of renewable generation to data center electricity consumption;
The first RECs solution linked to an identifiable renewable energy project in Hong Kong; and
The biggest RECs agreement for a data center since the launch of the CLP RECs program in 2019.

Speaking about the project's aim, AirTrunk Chief Technology Officer, Damien Spillane, said: "As we continue to power the cloud for the world's largest technology companies, we need to manage our impact on grid stability, reliability, and resilience, sustainably. Hourly renewable supply and demand matching strategies, like this project with CLP Power and Microsoft, play an important role in laying the foundation for a fully decarbonized grid across the region while setting new standards for climate action."

Microsoft General Manager Energy & Renewables, Brian Janous, added: "By leveraging AirTrunk's capability and presence in the Hong Kong market, we are able to both secure additional renewable supply in support of meeting our commitment to use 100 percent renewable energy by 2025, and also take a meaningful step toward having 100 percent of our electricity matched by zero-carbon resources all of the time in the region. We believe innovative commercial structures like this with AirTrunk will be key as we continue to move toward our 100/100/0 commitment."

Meanwhile, CLP Power Senior Director of Customer Success & Experience, Lena Low, said: "We are pleased to pioneer a brand-new hourly renewable energy certificate in support of AirTrunk's commitment to source clean energy for data centre operations on an hour-by-hour basis."

Adding: "CLP Power is committed to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across the value chain by 2050 and will continue to work with our customers to create more innovative ways of bundling our carbon offset products, to match customers' needs so that they can achieve their decarbonisation targets."