Microsoft, GE to study Europe's first battery-integrated wind turbines
Microsoft will purchase all the power from GE's 37 MW wind farm in Ireland, which will be the first European implementation of wind turbines with integrated battery storage. Both companies will use the project data to understand how each battery could store excess energy better and possibly feed it back to the grid. Microsoft will use some of the output from the installation to power its Irish data centres. The purchase agreement is for 15 years.
Microsoft buys 15 years worth of energy from GE’s Irish wind farm Both companies will measure all the power stored in the batteries and sent to the grid.

Microsoft announced that it has bought all the energy that will be produced for the next 15 years by GE's 37-megawatt Tullahennel wind farm in Ireland. But this isn't just a good marketing move: Both companies will take the opportunity to mine the powerplant's data to understand how each turbine's battery can better store energy and potentially redistribute it back into the grid. As Microsoft's statement notes, it's the first deployment of battery storage integrated with wind power in all of Europe.

We're expanding our #renewableenergy purchases to Europe with new 37 MW wind deal in Ireland: https://t.co/SEyoQxm1ew — Microsoft_Green (@Microsoft_Green) October 9, 2017

At least some of this energy will go to powering the data centers Microsoft has in Ireland, forming a sustainable loop. The purchase brings the company's total global direct procurement in renewable energy projects to almost 600 megawatts, Microsoft noted in a statement. But at the end of the day, sustainable -- and cheaper -- energy is entirely in the interest of the big tech corporations which are always looking for ways to make their power-sucking data centers more affordable. And, of course, obtaining cleaner energy sources might keep your company from getting slammed by Greenpeace.