AirTrunk, Asia-Pacific & Japan (APJ) hyperscale data center specialist, and CLP Power Hong Kong Limited (CLP Power), Hong Kong’s major power utility, have launched a first-of-its-kind renewable energy solution in Hong Kong in order to match Microsoft’s data center electricity demand with local renewable energy certificates (RECs).
In accordance with the agreement, AirTrunk will obtain hourly RECs from CLP Power to offer renewable energy matching at its HKG1 data center for its client, Microsoft.
AirTrunk will do this by, among other things, being: the first of its kind in the APJ area to incorporate hourly synchronization of renewable generation to data center electricity demand; the first RECs solution in Hong Kong that was connected to a specific renewable energy project; and the largest data center RECs agreement since the CLP RECs program began in 2019.
The solution will be immediately connected to WE Station, one of CLP Power’s West New Territories (WENT) Landfill Gas Power Generation Units. WE Station is a renewable energy initiative that uses landfill gas, which is produced locally at the landfill site, to generate electricity and turn trash into energy.
According to Damien Spillane, AirTrunk Chief Technology Officer, they must sustainably manage their impact on grid stability, reliability, and resilience while continuing to power the cloud for the biggest technology businesses in the world. Hourly renewable supply and demand matching tactics, like this collaboration with CLP Power and Microsoft, are critical to establishing the groundwork for a region-wide grid that is completely carbon-free while also establishing new benchmarks for climate action.
For Lena Low, CLP Power Senior Director Customer Success & Experience, in support of AirTrunk’s promise to source sustainable energy for data center operations on an hour-by-hour basis, they are proud to pioneer a brand-new hourly renewable energy certificate.
In order to meet their customers’ needs and help them meet their decarbonization goals, CLP Power is committed to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across the entire value chain by 2050. To that end, they will keep working with their clients to develop more inventive ways to bundle their carbon offset products.
The environmental attributes of each unit of electricity contained in a CLP Hourly Renewable Energy Certificate, which is created by CLP Power in Hong Kong, are hourly measurements of the electricity’s production from specific renewable energy sources. Customers can transition to zero-carbon operations by matching their power usage with the renewable energy produced on an hour-by-hour basis using CLP Hourly RECs.
In order to help its clients achieve their ambitious sustainability goals, AirTrunk is working with them to provide renewable energy solutions across all of its locations. Microsoft collaborated with AirTrunk to find the RECs in Hong Kong, and the total solution helped the company reach its 2030 target of becoming 100/100/0.
According to Brian Janous, Microsoft General Manager Energy & Renewables, they are able to take a significant step toward having 100% of their electricity matched by zero-carbon resources all the time in the area by utilizing AirTrunk’s ability and presence in the Hong Kong market. This will help them reach their pledge to use 100% renewable energy by 2025.
“We believe innovative commercial structures like this with AirTrunk will be key as we continue to move toward our 100/100/0 commitment.” said Brian Janous
