AT&T yesterday agreed to buy another 155 MW of renewable solar energy, bringing the carrier closer to its stated 2035 goal of having net zero greenhouse gas emissions across its global operations.
Today’s deal involved two virtual power purchase agreements from Vitol, supporting solar projects in Maryland and Pennsylvania. The purchases add to AT&T’s portfolio of renewable power, one of the largest in the U.S. With the latest deals, AT&T has more than 1.7 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity, which could enable the company to avoid CO2 emissions equivalent to those generated fro more than 590,000 homes’ electricity use in a single year.
AT&T’s purchases come on the heels of seven renewable energy purchase agreements Verizon announced last month.
AT&T is buying the power from the Bluegrass solar project, in Queen Anne’s County, MD, and the Swiftwater solar project, in Monroe County, PA, both owned by Vitol affiliates. The projects’ solar arrays will generate up to 300 construction jobs in Maryland and up to 300 construction jobs in Pennsylvania. The projects are expected to be fully operational in 2022 and 2023, respectively.
AT&T previously purchased 500 megawatts of solar power in Texas in 2019 in a deal that had been the largest U.S. corporate solar energy deal up to that time.
“AT&T is investing in renewable energy because it is good for the planet and good for our business,” said Joe Taylor, AT&T vice president of global infrastructure optimization and implementation, in a prepared statement. “In addition to reducing our emissions footprint, deals like the ones with Vitol allow us to hedge against changes in energy costs and support economic development in communities we serve. It’s a win-win-win.”
