French automotive technology player Faurecia, a subsidiary of the FORVIA group, has signed a 10-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Renewable Power Capital (RPC).
The deal secures almost all the output from the 417GWh, 24-turbine, Klevberget onshore farm in Sweden and will generate the equivalent of more than 40% of all FORVIA’s European plant electricity consumption per year.
Building on existing deals, up to 70% of FORVIA’s consumption – 650GWh – will be powered by renewable electricity thanks to a portfolio of 37 wind turbines. In addition to this capacity, 130 hectares of solar panels are being installed at more than 150 Faurecia sites, which provides up to 5% of its renewable energy mix.
RPC’s Klevberget onshore wind farm is located near Sundsvall, in Västernorrland . The project is currently under construction, with commercial operations expected in November 2023.
Schneider Electric advised FORVIA in the selection of the project and negotiations.
Sustainable transformation vice president at FORVIA Rémi Daudin said: “FORVIA is the first automotive company with a net zero target approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). Maximising renewable energy purchased is one of the key priorities of our roadmap to net-zero ambition. This new PPA signed in 2022 will allow FORVIA to cover more than 70% of its needs from the end of 2023, in Europe.
“We are proud to team up with leaders in sustainable energy and develop additional best-in-class wind power farms to produce clean energy in such a short period of time. We thus prove together that protecting the climate is a shared desire of all the actors of this deal.”
Head of power markets for RPC Steve Hunter added: “This virtual PPA is in line with RPC’s track record of securing long-term, stable cash flows without the need for subsidies, having already signed 10-year PPAs for three Finnish onshore wind projects within the past year.
“This deal shows our ability to bring in innovative solutions from different markets, matching our merchant-led approach with FORVIA’s requirements. We are pleased to have reached this agreement.”