The 125 MW Timber Road IV Wind Farm is expected to be operational in 2019 and are expected to produce enough clean electricity to annually power more than 36,000 average Ohio homes. The wind farm will also yield employment opportunities — approximately 200 full-time equivalent jobs during construction (expected to commence in several months following approval from the Ohio Power Siting Board on February 21, 2019) and seven full-time positions during operations. In addition, the new wind farm is anticipated to generate approximately $1.1 million each year in annual property tax revenue for the local government as well as land lease payments to area farmers and landowners.
"Bringing new wind projects online, particularly in states with relatively few projects but strong potential for growth, delivers both economic benefits and environmental progress in the near term and well into the future," said Brian Janous, general manager, Energy and Sustainability at Microsoft.
These agreements with EDPR bring Microsoft's directly purchased renewable energy portfolio to nearly 1.4 GW. Timber Road IV Wind Farm is Microsoft's fifth project in the larger PJM region.
Miguel Prado, EDP Renewables North America CEO, said, "Agreements like these are a prime example of EDP Renewables' ability to work with corporate customers to help them achieve their renewable energy targets and reduce carbon emissions."
The Timber Road IV Wind Farm will be EDPR's fourth operational wind farm in Ohio and its third operational wind farm in Paulding County. The four wind farms total 392 MW, contributing to more than 40 percent of the state's installed wind capacity.
"We applaud this partnership between EDP Renewables and Microsoft that will allow Microsoft to power its operations on the larger PJM grid with clean, homegrown wind energy from Paulding County," said Dana Saucier, JobsOhio's vice president and head of Economic Development.
