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UK’s biggest solar corporate PPA deal signed
1/3/2023
News
Vodafone and Centrica have signed a second major corporate power purchase agreement (PPA) with Greece-based industrial and energy company Mytilineos for the output from five solar farms under construction in the UK, which will output 216 GWh of green power. It is claimed to be the biggest solar corporate PPA deal in the UK to date.
The PPA will provide Vodafone UK with access to clean and affordable renewable electricity for the next 10 years, offering price certainty and improved energy security. The company also reports that 100% of the grid electricity it already uses in the UK is from certified renewable sources. Combined with agreements already in place, the new deal between Vodafone, Centrica as the power supplier and Mytilineos as the generator, means around 44% of Vodafone UK’s annual energy requirement will come from UK-based renewable power sources by 2025.
The five solar farms, located in Norfolk, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire, Buckinghamshire and Dorset, will generate a total of 216 GWh of electricity and displace more than 53,000 tonnes of CO2e every year, according to Centrica and Vodafone, the equivalent of taking around 31,400 cars off the road. Construction will begin this year, with energy generation expected from early 2024.
Vodafone will purchase a significant proportion of the electricity output from the solar farms. The remainder will be sold through Centrica’s Energy Marketing & Trading business.
PPAs are key to Vodafone’s renewable energy procurement strategy. This latest news follows an announcement last year to purchase a significant proportion of power from three new UK solar farms for the supply of 109 GWh of renewable electricity. The first of these is now fully operational with the others to follow in coming months. Combined with two onshore wind farms, in Northamptonshire and Lincolnshire, Vodafone UK has so far secured access to renewable power from 10 sites across the UK.
Commenting on the deal, Chris O’Shea, Chief Executive Officer of Centrica says: ‘Power purchase agreements such as this are going to be essential to the growth of renewable energy in the UK and Europe, helping secure guaranteed returns for developers, and encouraging growth in the sector. They are also key to how large organisations like Vodafone decarbonise their operations.’
