Food and beverage company Nestle has entered into a 15-year power purchase agreement with EDP Renewables to buy about 80% of wind power from the latter for its five facilities in southeastern Pennsylvania.
The agreement is a major step forward for Nestlé's ambition to procure 100 percent of its electricity from renewable sources.
EDP Renewables' Meadow Lake VI wind farm will generate and deliver 50 megawatts of electricity through the PJM Interconnection grid to manufacturing facilities and distribution centers operated by Nestlé Purina PetCare, Nestlé USA and Nestlé Waters North America in Allentown and Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.
Because the wind farm and the recipient facilities are located on the same regional grid, the power purchase agreement provides traceability from the Pennsylvania facilities back to the wind farm. With the addition of the energy from the wind farm, 20 percent of the electricity Nestlé uses in the U.S. will come from renewable sources in 2019.
This power purchase agreement is in line with Nestlé's support and advocacy for state policies to ensure companies have access to renewable energy. This renewable energy project will help Nestlé cut energy costs, avoid the volatility of fossil fuel prices, and stay competitive.
Nestlé USA chief supply chain officer Kevin Petrie said: "Our partnership with EDP Renewables propels us forward in our ambition to create zero environmental impact by 2030, and is another example of our business transformation journey.
"This power purchase agreement perfectly illustrates our creating shared value strategy—that we create value for our business through contributing to a healthier future for the planet."
Through this power purchase agreement, EDPR will expand the capacity of its Meadow Lake VI wind farm in Benton County, Indiana. The expansion will add 50 MW, enough to power approximately 17,700 homes for one year, to the existing 150 MW EDPR has already secured for the project.
Additionally, the wind farm will bring a number of economic benefits to the state of Indiana in the form of jobs, landowner and tax payments, and money spent in local communities. Construction on the expansion project will begin in the next two months, and the facility will be fully operational at the end of 2018. With the completion of the wind farm, the six-phase Meadow Lake project will total 800 MW.
EDP Renewables CEO João Manso Neto said: "This power purchase agreement enables EDP Renewables to further expand our presence in Indiana, the state in which we are the leading producer of wind energy.
"EDP Renewables is proud to partner with Nestlé to help in achieving its forward-looking goal of obtaining all of its energy from renewable sources."
Nestlé Commitment to Environmental Sustainability
Providing climate change leadership is just one of many societal commitments against which Nestlé transparently reports its progress every year. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions by becoming more efficient and switching to cleaner fuels, including renewable energy, is a core focus area for the company. By 2020, Nestlé aims to reduce its global GHG emissions (Scope 1 and 2) per tonne of product in every product category to achieve an overall global reduction of 35% in its manufacturing operations versus a 2010 baseline.
Nestlé has made significant progress towards its environmental sustainability goals in the U.S., as reported in its 2016 Nestlé in the U.S. Creating Shared Value Report:
47 Nestlé factories—60% of its total in the U.S.—achieved zero waste to landfill status
Reduced waste for disposal by 74% per metric ton of product since 2010
Decreased total water withdrawal by across operations by 11% per metric ton of product since 2010