Sports brand Nike has signed the third power purchase agreement (PPA) with Spanish energy company Iberdrola, to supply clean electricity, to power its European operations.
Image: Nike and Iberdrola sign third PPA. Photo: Courtesy of Iberdrola, S.A.
As part of this PPA, Iberdrola will supply 40MW of clean power from the yet to be constructed Cavar wind complex in Navarra, northern Spain. With this PPA, the total amount of clean energy that will be bought by Nike from Iberdrola will be 200MW. The prior two agreements between the companies were made in the US.
Construction of the Cavar wind complex is expected to begin soon and it will include four projects, with an overall capacity of 111MW. This wind complex will be completed next year.
Nike chief sustainability officer Noel Kinder said: “All athletes need fresh air and clean water to thrive. Delivering on our sustainability commitments, like working towards 100% renewable energy across our owned and operated facilities worldwide, is just one of the ways we protect the future of sport.
“In 2018, we announced that we had contracted for 100% renewable energy in North America, and this latest agreement means we will be operating on 100% renewable energy across Europe by 2020. This means we are delivering against more than 75% of our worldwide goal.”
In the US, Nike agreed to power its operations from Avangrid Renewables, a subsidiary of Iberdrola. The PPA includes 100MW of wind power supplied from the Karankawa Wind Farm in Texas.
The second PPA is to power Nike’s global headquarters in Oregon with renewable supply from Leaning Juniper and Juniper Canyon wind farms, with 69MW. With this capacity, Iberdrola claims that Nike will be able to power 100% of its operations from renewable energy across its owned and operated facilities in North America.
Iberdrola renewables director Xabier Viteri said: “Large businesses with a focus on sustainability are showing that they can be a positive force in tackling climate change. More and more we are seeing companies set themselves tough carbon reduction goals, and Nike is showing leadership in taking action to deliver on those goals.”
The Cavar Complex project was announced by Iberdrola last month. This is wind farm is a joint initiative between Iberdrola and Caja Rural de Navarra. The company has placed order with Siemens Gamesa for supply of 32 turbines for the wind farm.