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Released February 26, 2018 | SUGAR LAND
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Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The decision earlier this month by AT&T Incorporated (NYSE:T) (Dallas, Texas) to ink contracts for 520 megawatts (MW) of windpower with a unit of NextEra Energy Incorporated (NYSE:NEE) (Juno Beach, Florida) is only the latest move by Corporate America to increase its use of renewable energy. Other technology companies that have signed purchase power agreements (PPAs) or are siting renewable generation at their facilities include: Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) (Cupertino, California); Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (Mountain View, California), the corporate parent of Google; T-Mobile US Incorporated (NASDAQ:TMUS) (Bellevue, Washington); Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) (Redmond, Washington), Amazon.com Incorporated (NASDAQ:AMZN) (Seattle, Washington); and Facebook Incorporated (NASDAQ:FB) (Menlo Park, California).
It's not just technology companies that are signing renewable energy PPAs or siting renewable generation at their facilities. Venerable blue-chip companies that have chosen to expand their use of renewable power include: General Motors (NYSE:GM) (Detroit, Michigan); General Mills Incorporated (NYSE:GIS) (Minneapolis, Minnesota); 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) (St. Paul, Minnesota); Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) (New Brunswick, New Jersey); Nike Incorporated (NYSE:NKE) (Beaverton, Oregon); Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) (Cincinnati, Ohio); Marriott International Incorporated (NYSE:MAR) (Bethesda, Maryland); and Walmart Incorporated (NYSE:WMT) (Bentonville, Arkansas).
"If they're not building gas-fired power plants, electric utilities and Electric Power, developers are building renewable energy generation," Britt Burt told attendees at Industrial Info's 2018 Industrial Market Outlook in Houston on January 17. "Increasingly, that renewable generation is being built at the behest of large energy-using industrial facilities as part of their company's commitment to operating more sustainably."
In a recent earnings call, NextEra Energy Chief Executive Officer James Robo said wind had become the company's cheapest form of energy to generate at 1.2 to 1.8 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) at high-wind sites, according to a report in The Dallas Morning News. He said the costs of operating an existing coal or nuclear generating facility range from 3.5 to 5.0 cents per kWh.
Robo's comment echoes research from investment firm Lazard, and others, showing that wind power, and to a lesser degree solar power, are becoming more competitive with traditional fossil fueled power plants. Declining costs make renewables more attractive to utilities and corporate energy users eager to respond to consumer expectations about sustainability. For more on that, see December 5, 2017, article - Study: Renewable Energy Costs Stay on Downward Trajectory, Nuclear Up, Coal Flat and June 26, 2017, article - Nuclear, Renewable Energy Expected to Soar as China Flexes its Energy Muscles.
As one part of fulfilling its commitment to rely on renewable energy for 100% of its electricity by 2050, General Motors recently signed contracts to buy 200 MW of wind power from proposed wind projects in Ohio and Illinois. The 100-MW, $202 million Northwest Ohio Wind Energy Farm, under development by Starwood Energy Group (Greenwich, Connecticut) is scheduled to begin construction in March 2019. For related information, see Industrial Info's project report. Hilltopper Wind Energy, a $330 million, 200-MW project located in Illinois, is scheduled to begin turning dirt this May. GM will purchase 100 MW of that plant's output. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.
AT&T's 520-MW deal with units of NextEra Energy includes energy from the Minco V Windfarm, scheduled to be constructed next year in Caddo County, Oklahoma, and the Javelina Wind Energy Center, an operating windfarm that stretches across Webb and Duval counties in Texas. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.
Google also has worked hard to green its electricity supply, largely through PPAs. Among its other initiatives, it signed PPAs for 196 MW of generation from two planned South Dakota Windfarms being developed by Avangrid Renewables LLC (Portland, Oregon). Construction of the $165 million, 170-MW Tatonka Ridge Windfarm Phase III Expansion is scheduled to begin in March 2019 and be completed before the end of that year. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report. Avangrid Renewables also plans to kick off construction of the Coyote Ridge Windfarm Phase IV expansion next month. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.
Sportswear giant Nike recently signed a deal with Avangrid Renewables to take about 86 MW of generation from the Karankawa Windfarm that Avangrid is developing in Bee County, Texas. Construction of that project is scheduled to begin in March 2019 and be complete by yearend 2019. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.
Like GM and other corporations, Nike signed that PPA as part of its goal to power a large portion, or even all, of its global facilities with renewable energy. "This agreement enables us to source 100% renewable energy across our owned or operated facilities in North America," Hannah Jones, Nike's chief sustainability officer and VP of its Innovation Accelerator, said in a statement last month. "Investing in renewable energy is good for athletes, the planet and for business."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.
It's not just technology companies that are signing renewable energy PPAs or siting renewable generation at their facilities. Venerable blue-chip companies that have chosen to expand their use of renewable power include: General Motors (NYSE:GM) (Detroit, Michigan); General Mills Incorporated (NYSE:GIS) (Minneapolis, Minnesota); 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) (St. Paul, Minnesota); Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) (New Brunswick, New Jersey); Nike Incorporated (NYSE:NKE) (Beaverton, Oregon); Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG) (Cincinnati, Ohio); Marriott International Incorporated (NYSE:MAR) (Bethesda, Maryland); and Walmart Incorporated (NYSE:WMT) (Bentonville, Arkansas).
"If they're not building gas-fired power plants, electric utilities and Electric Power, developers are building renewable energy generation," Britt Burt told attendees at Industrial Info's 2018 Industrial Market Outlook in Houston on January 17. "Increasingly, that renewable generation is being built at the behest of large energy-using industrial facilities as part of their company's commitment to operating more sustainably."
In a recent earnings call, NextEra Energy Chief Executive Officer James Robo said wind had become the company's cheapest form of energy to generate at 1.2 to 1.8 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) at high-wind sites, according to a report in The Dallas Morning News. He said the costs of operating an existing coal or nuclear generating facility range from 3.5 to 5.0 cents per kWh.
Robo's comment echoes research from investment firm Lazard, and others, showing that wind power, and to a lesser degree solar power, are becoming more competitive with traditional fossil fueled power plants. Declining costs make renewables more attractive to utilities and corporate energy users eager to respond to consumer expectations about sustainability. For more on that, see December 5, 2017, article - Study: Renewable Energy Costs Stay on Downward Trajectory, Nuclear Up, Coal Flat and June 26, 2017, article - Nuclear, Renewable Energy Expected to Soar as China Flexes its Energy Muscles.
As one part of fulfilling its commitment to rely on renewable energy for 100% of its electricity by 2050, General Motors recently signed contracts to buy 200 MW of wind power from proposed wind projects in Ohio and Illinois. The 100-MW, $202 million Northwest Ohio Wind Energy Farm, under development by Starwood Energy Group (Greenwich, Connecticut) is scheduled to begin construction in March 2019. For related information, see Industrial Info's project report. Hilltopper Wind Energy, a $330 million, 200-MW project located in Illinois, is scheduled to begin turning dirt this May. GM will purchase 100 MW of that plant's output. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.
AT&T's 520-MW deal with units of NextEra Energy includes energy from the Minco V Windfarm, scheduled to be constructed next year in Caddo County, Oklahoma, and the Javelina Wind Energy Center, an operating windfarm that stretches across Webb and Duval counties in Texas. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.
Google also has worked hard to green its electricity supply, largely through PPAs. Among its other initiatives, it signed PPAs for 196 MW of generation from two planned South Dakota Windfarms being developed by Avangrid Renewables LLC (Portland, Oregon). Construction of the $165 million, 170-MW Tatonka Ridge Windfarm Phase III Expansion is scheduled to begin in March 2019 and be completed before the end of that year. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report. Avangrid Renewables also plans to kick off construction of the Coyote Ridge Windfarm Phase IV expansion next month. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.
Sportswear giant Nike recently signed a deal with Avangrid Renewables to take about 86 MW of generation from the Karankawa Windfarm that Avangrid is developing in Bee County, Texas. Construction of that project is scheduled to begin in March 2019 and be complete by yearend 2019. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report.
Like GM and other corporations, Nike signed that PPA as part of its goal to power a large portion, or even all, of its global facilities with renewable energy. "This agreement enables us to source 100% renewable energy across our owned or operated facilities in North America," Hannah Jones, Nike's chief sustainability officer and VP of its Innovation Accelerator, said in a statement last month. "Investing in renewable energy is good for athletes, the planet and for business."
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, six offices in North America and 12 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.
