Verizon has entered into seven renewable energy purchase agreements (REPAs) with three organizations for a total of 910 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy. The carrier says total purchases equate to half of its projected annual electrical consumption by 2025.
Counting these agreements, Verizon has entered into 20 REPAs since December 2019. The agreements total approximately 2.6 gigawatts in 11 states. Verizon says that more than 4.8 million metric tons of CO2 emissions will be avoided annually.
“We are proud to achieve this key milestone in the transition to renewable energy,” Matt Ellis, Verizon’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, said in a press release. “These new agreements will be funded by our third $1 billion green bond, which we issued in September 2021, and are fundamental to the company’s ongoing efforts to be net zero in its operational emissions (scope 1 and 2) by 2035.”
The seven agreements:
- Four 15-year REPAs with Leeward Renewable Energy for an aggregate of up to 640 MW of anticipated renewable energy capacity. The projects include a facility in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) regional market that is expected to be fully operational in late 2023; two facilities in the Pennsylvania Jersey Maryland (PJM) Interconnection regional market that are expected to be fully operational in late 2023; and a facility in the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) regional market that is expected to be fully operational in mid-2024.
- A 15-year REPA with Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions for an aggregate of 180 MW of capacity. The facility, located in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) regional market, is expected to be fully operational in late 2022.
- Two 15-year REPAs with Lightsource bp for an aggregate of 89.9 MW of capacity. The facilities, both located in the PJM Interconnection regional market, are expected to be fully operational by late 2023.
In late January 2021, Verizon announced six REPAs totaling 845 MW of renewable energy.
Clean energy is a growing area of emphasis for the telecom industry. At the end of August, AT&T Business laid out its goals for renewable energy: It said it would cut 1 billion metric tons (1 gigaton) of greenhouse gas emissions by 2035. A gigaton of greenhouse gases (GHG) is the equivalent of 15% of such emissions in the United States and 3% globally as of 2020, the company said.
