The agreement is part of Sprint’s commitment to become 100% carbon neutral across all of its operations by 2025
Direct Energy selected by Sprint to supply renewable energy in Virginia. (Credit: Pixabay/seagul).
American telecom giant Sprint has partnered with Direct Energy Renewable Services to power more than 800 of its Virginia locations with 100% renewable energy.
It is part of Sprint’s commitment to be a carbon neutral organisation across all of its operations by 2025.
Sprint will be supplied with 88,000MWh of clean energy in Virginia annually
Under the agreement, Sprint’s retail locations, cell phone towers and its east coast corporate office in Reston, Virginia will all be powered by more than 88,000MWh of clean per year.
Sprint procurement and supply chain head Chas Peterson said: “Being a sustainable company is an all-in commitment. Working with Direct Energy allows us to be a leader on renewable energy in Virginia, and to diversify our portfolio as Sprint works to attain carbon neutrality across all operations nationwide by 2025.”
Sprint had recently signed two new virtual power purchase agreements (VPPAs) which have enabled new renewable development in Texas.
Direct Energy, part of international energy services and solutions provider Centrica, had also signed offtake agreements to enable the development of new solar projects across Canada, California, and Texas.
Direct Energy Renewable Energy Services head Dave Grupp said: “Companies like Sprint are eager to sign up for renewable energy. Virginia customers want customized solutions that combine local renewable energy with on-site generation and green power purchase agreements.
“We want to be able to offer more renewable options in Virginia so that customers continue to have the option of choosing the renewable plan that is right for them.”
Last November, the energy retailer signed a long-term solar power purchase agreement with Intersect Power, to buy energy from its 250MW Athos Solar I project.
Located in California, the Athos Solar I and II solar projects will have a total capacity of 450MW, once completed. The solar projects will supply enough clean energy to power 136,500 homes, while offsetting nearly 1 million tons of CO2 emissions annually.
The Athos I project is scheduled to begin construction in June and Athos II in October this year. During the construction phase, the solar projects will create more than 500 jobs.