Verizon this week announced that it has entered into four more long-term renewable energy purchase agreements (REPAs) totaling more than 450 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy capacity as part of its commitment to be carbon neutral in its operations by 2035.
These agreements, which are virtual power purchase agreements, will help finance the re-powering of wind energy facilities and the construction of new solar facilities.
Verizon entered into two REPAs with Brookfield Renewable for an aggregate of up to 160 MW of capacity at two wind energy facilities that are being repowered. The wind energy facilities are located in New York where Verizon has significant energy usage, and the repowered facilities are expected to be fully operational in 2021.
Verizon also entered into two REPAs with First Solar for an aggregate of up to 296 MW of capacity from two solar facilities that are under development in the PJM Interconnection regional market and that First Solar intends to power using its lowest carbon footprint solar modules.
Earlier this year, Verizon announced it had entered into REPAs for an aggregate of more than 380 MW of renewable energy under development in Texas and Illinois. Verizon anticipates that the renewable energy capacity supported by the REPAs the company has executed to date will enable 981,444 million metric tons of CO2e to be avoided annually.
James Gowen, Verizon’s Chief Sustainability Officer and VP, Supply Chain Operations
In 2019 Verizon issued a $1 billion green bond to help fund the company’s sustainability efforts, including our initiative to source or generate renewable energy equivalent to at least 50% of our total annual electricity consumption by 2025.
