Microsoft Corporation has secured its first long-term renewable energy deal in Japan, underscoring the company’s commitment to achieving its green goals for data centers and operations. Under a 20-year agreement, Shizen Energy Inc. will supply Microsoft with 25 megawatts of solar power capacity from a project in Aichi prefecture. This power purchase agreement is part of Microsoft’s broader aim to become carbon negative by 2030, in a move that reflects the growing focus on carbon neutrality by global technology companies.

Large technology companies, including Microsoft and Amazon.com Inc., are increasingly entering into such deals to address concerns about their energy consumption. These firms are under growing pressure from regulators and shareholders to transition to cleaner energy sources, given the massive amounts of electricity consumed by their extensive computing operations.

In Japan, there is a rising trend of companies seeking clean electricity sources, even though land constraints have posed challenges for expanding renewable energy projects. Shizen Energy’s solar power plant is set to commence operations in December. The Japanese company is also open to exploring additional power purchase agreements with Microsoft for other projects.

Microsoft’s commitment extends to fostering sustainability by collaborating with entities like Shizen Energy and governments worldwide, as stated by a spokesperson for Microsoft Japan. Shizen Energy’s expertise and presence in the Japanese market is enabling our first renewable energy purchase in Japan and it’s great to see near-term supply for our 100% renewable energy goal.” said Adrian Anderson, General Manager, Renewable and Carbon Free Energy at Microsoft. “A commercial structure like this is important to promoting grid decarbonization in the country.”

Speaking on the project, Oliver Senter, Executive Officer of Shizen Energy responsible for Investment & Strategy said “The Inuyama project represents the strongest elements of Shizen Energy Group, from years of local development through to construction, and also PPA arrangement with an innovative and international financial scheme. We look forward to enabling more projects with a similar structure as we increasingly focus on PPA projects to support our customers to decarbonise in Japan, Asia and the Americas.”