Microsoft to buy solar power in Singapore in first renewable deal in Asia

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp said on Thursday it will buy solar power from the Sunseap Group in Singapore, the technology company's first renewable energy deal in Asia.

Microsoft will purchase 100 percent of the electricity generated from Sunseap's 60 megawatt-peak solar power project for 20 years for its Singapore data operations, the software company said in a statement. Sunseap's project consists of an array of solar panels on hundreds of rooftops across the city-state.

"This deal is Microsoft's first renewable energy deal in Asia, and is our third international clean energy announcement, following two wind deals announced in Ireland and the Netherlands in 2017," said Christian Belady, general manager, cloud infrastructure strategy and architecture at Microsoft.

Microsoft said it is on track to exceed its goal of powering 50 percent of its global datacentre load with renewable energy this year.

"Once operational, the new solar project will bring Microsoft's total global direct procurement in renewable energy projects to 860 megawatts," Belady said.

The solar project is under construction and will be operational by the end of the year, the companies said.

(Reporting by Florence Tan; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)