Verizon Communications has entered into four more long-term renewable energy purchase agreements (REPAs) totalling more than 450MW of renewable energy capacity.
The move forms part of its commitment to be carbon neutral in its operations (scope 1 and 2) by 2035.
These agreements, which are virtual power purchase agreements, will help finance the repowering of wind energy facilities and the construction of new solar facilities, Verizon said.
Two REPAs are with Brookfield Renewables for an aggregate of up to 160MW of capacity at two wind energy facilities that are being repowered.
The wind energy facilities are located in New York where Verizon has significant energy usage, and the repowered facilities are expected to be fully operational in 2021.
The agreements have 12-year terms and generally are expected to be financially settled.
Verizon also entered into two REPAs with First Solar for an aggregate of up to 296MW of capacity from two solar facilities that are under development in the PJM Interconnection regional market and that First Solar intends to power using its lowest carbon footprint solar modules.
The agreements with First Solar have 15-year terms from the commencement of each facility’s entry into commercial operations, which is expected to occur in late 2022.
The agreements are generally expected to be financially settled.
Verizon chief sustainability officer and vice president, supply chain operations James Gowen said: “In 2019 Verizon issued a €0.83bn green bond to help fund the company’s sustainability efforts, including our initiative to source or generate renewable energy equivalent to at least 50% of our total annual electricity consumption by 2025.
“Bringing this additional renewable energy to the grids where Verizon consumes energy is an important step towards meeting this commitment.”
Earlier this year, Verizon announced it had entered into REPAs for an aggregate of more than 380MW of renewable energy under development in Texas and Illinois.
Verizon anticipates that the renewable energy capacity supported by the REPAs the company has executed to date will enable 981,444m metric tons of CO2e to be avoided annually.