On January 20, US telecom provider Verizon announced seven new renewable energy purchase agreements for an aggregate of approximately 910 MW of renewable energy capacity. The deals are expected to finance the powering of seven solar and wind facilities under construction.
Four contracts have been signed with Leeward Renewable Energy for up to 640 MW of anticipated renewable energy capacity, with all contracts having a 15-year term.
The projects include one in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) regional market, which is expected to be fully operational in late 2023, two in the Pennsylvania Jersey Maryland (PJM) Interconnection regional market, which is expected to be fully operational in late 2023, and one in the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) regional market, which is expected to be fully operational in mid-2024.
The remaining capacity is accounted for by a 15-year REPA with Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions for a total capacity of 180 MW and two 15-year REPAs with Lightsource BP for a total capacity of 89.9 MW.
The Duke facility is in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) regional market and is scheduled to be fully operational in late 2022.
Two Lightsource BP solar plants in the PJM Interconnection regional market are expected to be fully operational by late 2023.
The seven deals signed are virtual power purchase agreements (VPPAs), which means Verizon will not receive the renewable energy generated. The investments will, instead, offset the operator's carbon footprint by generating clean energy.
The seven new agreements bring the total number of REPAs signed since December 2019 to 20, and the total contracted renewable energy capacity to approximately 2.6 GW.
These new agreements will be financed by Verizon's third $1 billion green bond issued in September 2021.
The latest agreements, according to CFO Matt Ellis, are “fundamental” to Verizon's goal of achieving net zero operational emissions by 2035.
