The renewable arm of EDF Energy in the US has bought a 96% stake in a wind farm in Illinois.

EDF Renewable Energy will sell power from the 175MW Pilot Hill Wind Project – which is currently under construction – to Microsoft Corporation for 20 years.

It is located around 60 miles southwest of Chicago and will be used to power Microsoft’s data centre. The total output of the wind farm is equivalent to the electricity usage of around 70,000 homes in Illinois.

Ryan Pfaff, Executive Vice President for EDF Renewable Energy said: “The participation of companies like Microsoft in renewable energy generation projects points to a growing trend of ‘blue chip’ organisations taking charge of their energy destiny by procuring directly, with a focus on both reducing their carbon footprint and controlling long-term energy costs.”

The wind farm is scheduled to start delivering power next year. EDF Renewable Energy bought the stake from Orion Energy Group and Vision Energy.