Recurrent Energy, the wholly owned subsidiary of Canadian Solar, has signed a power purchase agreement with Anheuser-Busch and Dallas-based oil and gas pipeline company, Energy Transfer. These two separate 15-year PPAs will see energy generated by the Maplewood and Maplewood 2 project in Pecos County, Texas sent to Anheuser-Busch and Energy Transfer, respectively.
The PPA signed with Anheuser-Busch is for 310MW of PV capacity, while the PPA for Energy Transfer is for 40MW. This PPA stands as Energy Transfer's first-ever dedicated solar contract. The PPA signed with Anheuser-Busch is the seventh largest C&I power purchase agreement for solar energy signed in the entire world to date, according to data supplied by Bloomberg New Energy Finance. The latter also represents the US beverage industry's largest single purchase of solar energy.
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Once completed in 2021, the Maplewood solar project will power the equivalent of 55,000 households.
Ingrid De Ryck, vice president, procurement and sustainability at Anheuser-Busch, said: “We take immense pride in being good stewards of the environment and are excited to announce that by 2021 our entire portfolio of beers will be brewed by using 100 percent renewable electricity from solar and wind power. Through our new partnership with Recurrent Energy, we will be able to complete one of our 2025 US sustainability goals four years ahead of schedule.”
Dr. Shawn Qu, chairman at Canadian Solar, said: “Corporations are increasingly purchasing solar energy for a variety of reasons—sometimes environmental—but cost is always a key consideration. Insiders of the renewable energy industry know well that solar PPAs often help corporations lock in low-cost electricity prices to power their operations. However, it is rewarding in 2019 to also see valued partners from the traditional energy sector like Energy Transfer view a purchase of electricity from high quality Canadian Solar assets like the Maplewood 2 project as a financially sensible decision. We are honored to partner with our respected colleagues at Energy Transfer on this marquee transaction.”
David Coker, vice president of power optimisation at Energy Transfer, said: “The PPA made economic sense for us. We are always focused on operating our facilities safely and efficiently, and while we mainly rely on electrical energy powered by natural gas, we do use a diversified mix of energy sources when it makes economic sense to do so. In fact, the percentage of electrical energy we purchase that originates from solar and wind sources is now more than 20% on any given day with the addition of this contract with Recurrent Energy.”
