Seymour Hills Wind Farm to Power Akamai Technologies

The 80-megawatt wind farm will consist of 38 wind turbines across 8,000 acres and will begin operations in 2018. The facility’s clean energy will be used to power Akamai’s data center operations in Texas.

By Anca Gagiuc

Akamai Technologies Wind Farm

Akamai Technologies Wind Farm

Cloud-delivery platform Akamai Technologies has signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with the 80-megawatt Seymour Hills wind farm in Texas. The company’s investment in the wind farm is part of its commitment to source renewable energy for 50 percent of its worldwide network operations by 2020.

“Akamai has been seeing a strong trend with customers that value and demand clean-powered, decarbonized services from their supply chains,” Jim Benson, Akamai EVP & CFO, said in prepared remarks. “This project is one of several in which Akamai plans to invest to reach our 50 percent goal.”

The wind farm is being developed by Infinity Renewables and will include 38 wind turbines across approximately 8,000 acres. The project is slated to begin operations in 2018. The electricity generated from the facility will be used to power Akamai’s data center operations in Texas, which account for about 7 percent of its global energy consumption.

“Corporate buyers have become a very important market for the growth of utility-scale renewable energy deployment, having overtaken electric utilities in gigawatts purchased in 2015,” added Matt Langley, Infinity Renewables’ vice president of finance and organization. “We predict that minor energy off-takers, like Akamai, represent the next big wave of corporate buyers, and we are eager to partner with them.”

“Mid-market corporate buyers like Akamai represent a huge opportunity to significantly expand private procurement of renewable energy,” added Lily Donge, principal at Business Renewables Center, Rocky Mountain Institute. “As an early mover, Akamai is leading the way for other organizations to invest in renewables.”

Image courtesy of Akamai Technologies via Facebook

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