Microsoft has signed a 15-year power purchase agreement for the energy produced by a 74-megawatt solar power facility in North Carolina.



The Wilkinson Solar Energy Center will be built, owned and operated by Invenergy, the companies said in a joint announcement Wednesday.



The deal means that Microsoft's renewable energy portfolio will stand at more than 1.3 gigawatts, the statement added.

The new facility is due to commence commercial operations in 2019, while it's estimated that more than 500 jobs are set to be created during its construction.



"When we invest in renewable energy, we are investing in the future — enabling sustainable growth of our business, of the clean energy sector and the local communities that benefit economically from Microsoft's commitment to sustainability," Brian Janous, general manager of Energy and Sustainability at Microsoft, said Wednesday.



Microsoft is one of many big tech companies turning to renewable sources of energy.



In October 2017, for instance, Amazon announced that its Amazon Wind Farm Texas was operational. At the time, the business said the facility would add over 1 million megawatt hours of clean energy to the grid annually.