Microsoft and Brookfield sign biggest-ever clean power deal

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ALSO READ: Microsoft basks in AI glory, revenue up 17% to $61.9 billion That’s comparable to about 10 nuclear power plants and reflects the turbocharged demand for electricity from data centers and artificial intelligence. Technology companies are clamoring for more clean energy to meet their own climate goals, just as overall energy demand is rising. “It is absolutely the largest single announcement for a corporate clean-power purchase agreement ever," BloombergNEF analyst Kyle Harrison said in a message.

“It cements Microsoft as the second-largest corporate buyer of clean energy through PPAs, after Amazon." It’s difficult to estimate the cost for 10.5 gigawatts of new capacity because development costs vary significantly by energy type and location. But if all the development was US solar farms, they would cost more than $11.5 billion to build, according to BloombergNEF. After minimal growth over the past two decades, US power consumption is forecast to expand quickly in response to demand from the new data centers needed to develop and run AI, as well as new factories and electric vehicles.

Last month, power generator Exelon Corp. predicted a 900% jump in power demand from data centers planned in the Chicago area. ALSO READ: Microsoft's OpenAI partnership could face EU antitrust probe, sources say Such a dramatic forecast presents a challenge for technology companies to secure additional power supplies while simultaneously reducing emissions.