German science and technology company Merck has signed a 12-year virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) with Enel Green Power for the construction of the Azure Sky wind power and storage project in Texas.
Taking on 68MW of the Azure project’s 350 MW of generation capacity, paired with a 137MW battery, Merck is an anchor buyer within the Net Zero Consortium for Buyers, an aggregation of renewable energy off-takers.
Merck’s agreement, which it says is among the largest aggregation deals in the world, will deliver Renewable Energy Certificates to match 65% of Merck’s U.S. electricity consumption or 100% of U.S. electricity consumption of the company’s life sciences business.
The Azure project will be located west of the Dallas-Fort Worth area in Throckmorton County, Texas, United States. Merck’s portion of the project is equivalent to approximately 14 wind turbines that stand nearly 183 meters tall.
The project is expected to be operational by the first half of 2022.
“Now more than ever, it is critical for companies to evaluate their operations and take action toward becoming more environmentally sustainable,” said Chris Ross, interim sector head, Life Science, and U.S. country speaker at Merck.
“This project supports our commitment to be climate neutral by 2040, complementing our energy and emissions reduction initiatives. Our involvement in the Azure Sky wind and storage project firmly moves us closer toward achieving this ambitious goal, outlined in our sustainability strategy.”