Microsoft moves token in a market that has little to do a priori with the development of software or services in the cloud. The multinational has just announced a “strategic alliance” with the manufacturer of solar panels Qcells in the US to guarantee the supply of renewable energy, with which it has promised to operate at 100% as early as 2025. The pact goes beyond a simple purchase operation: advances that Microsoft will help Qcells to establish a supply chain.
The alliance between Qcells and Microsoft provides for the supply of more than 2.5 gigawatts (GW) of solar panels and related services, which is equivalent —both companies specify— to the supply of more than 400,000 homes.
“Qcells will work with Microsoft to develop solar projects, as well as provide panels and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services to select projects that Microsoft has contracted through power purchase agreements (PPAs)” , confirm the two companies through a joint statement released this Friday.
A pact with background
The agreement is in line with the commitments that Microsoft has been acquiring, which has set itself the goal of covering all of its electricity consumption with renewable energy already in 2025 and reach the “negative carbon” goal —eliminate more CO2 than it emits— by 2030. According to him, with the agreement with Qcells he hopes to “bring more renewable energy” to the grid.
“We strive to build and deliver clean energy solutions, including factories in the US. This partnership with Microsoft will help achieve this vision”, explains Justin Lee, director of Qcells: “This first step is just the beginning of a great partnership that not only supports our two companies, but helps deliver a clean energy future for customers and communities.”
“Building a resilient solar energy supply chain is essential to advancing a global green energy economy. Microsoft’s partnership with Qcells will help bring this vision to life by bringing innovation and investment to rural Georgia,” said Brad Smith, Microsoft President.
Another successful celebration of solar today! Qcells USA is delighted to announce it has entered into a partnership with @Microsoft by which we will provide (EPC) and project development services to help accelerate their transition to clean energy: https://t.co/KhuEJakbMu
— Qcells USA Corp. (@QCELLS_USAcorp) January 25, 2023
Qcells, owned by Seoul-based Hanwha Solutions, has already announced plans to invest more than $2.5 billion in the construction of “a complete solar supply chain” in the US, in addition to inaugurating its new facility in Georgia during the first quarter of 2023, where it will manufacture 3.3 GW of solar panels, wafers and cells. In total, it expects to reach a total production capacity with panels of 8.4 GW in the state by 2024.
Beyond the crossing of statements or even the power that contemplates the agreement, the movement is interesting for several reasons. One of them —in which both firms have an impact— is that it leaves a milestone in the supply of renewables. “It is the first time that a company that acquires energy works directly with a solar energy provider to adopt clean energy on a large scale,” they settle.
Another of the great keys is the movement it represents for Satya Nadella’s own multinational. By the figures. and for the bottom. Its cumulative acquisition of renewable energy to date – Axios specifies – is around 13.5 GW and the agreement with Qcells will be equivalent to about half of the renewable GW that the multinational acquired from all its sources globally last year.
“We started to think that it really makes sense for us to go further and work more closely and collaboratively with solar panel suppliers…because it helps us have some control and certainty and it does the same for our suppliers as well,” explains Axios Brian Janous, a Microsoft executive.
According to figures from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), the multinational is one of the large corporate users of solar energy in the United States, along with other large technology companies such as Meta, Amazon or Apple.
Another context clue is the US desire to reduce its dependence on China and boost the US solar industry, including “made in the USA” domestic manufacturing, one of the objectives of the Inflation Reduction Act.
Cover image: American Public Power Association (Unsplash)
