PPA expected to reduce Novartis greenhouse gas emissions by more than 220,000 metric tons per year
CHICAGO (August 2, 2018) – Novartis (NYSE: NVS) and Invenergy, North America’s largest privately held renewable energy company, today announced a 100-megawatt Virtual Power Purchase Agreement (VPPA) to support Novartis’s environmental sustainability strategy and goals. The electricity will be generated from Invenergy’s Santa Rita East wind farm, located approximately 70 miles west of San Angelo, Texas.
The VPPA will deliver 100 megawatts of new wind power capacity to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). Over the life of the 12-year agreement, the project is expected to reduce Novartis’s greenhouse gas emissions by more than 220,000 metric tons per year, which equates to removing more than 48,000 passenger vehicles from the road on an annual basis. The VPPA with Invenergy also represents more than 70% of the pharmaceutical company’s carbon footprint from purchased electricity in the U.S. market.
“As more and more companies turn to renewables to support sustainability goals and control energy costs, Invenergy has been leading the way with more than 1,540 contracted megawatts for corporate customers over the last three years,” said Invenergy’s Executive Vice President & Chief Commercial Officer Jim Shield. “We’re excited to partner with Novartis and applaud their commitment to environmentally responsible and economical operations.”
“At Novartis, we take our responsibility toward environmental sustainability very seriously. It is important to our organization, our associates, patients, investors and society overall,” said Karen Coyne, Global Head of Environment, Novartis Business Services. “This power purchase agreement with Invenergy is in line with our sustainability strategy and is expected to help us reduce our carbon footprint, constrain costs and increase adoption of renewable energy.”
Since 2015, Invenergy has partnered with 12 corporate customers to develop over 1,540 megawatts of new renewable energy capacity. So far in 2018, Invenergy has signed more than 745 megawatts of renewable energy PPAs to support leading companies across the globe, including previously announced partnerships with MGM, Merck, Grupo Bimbo and Facebook. As a privately held, full-service energy solutions provider, Invenergy has the unique ability to be creative when it comes to solving complex energy challenges for corporate customers.
The Santa Rita East wind farm is expected to be online in 2019, and will create up to 300 jobs during construction, and 12-15 permanent jobs once operational.
About InvenergyInvenergy drives innovation in energy. Invenergy and its affiliated companies develop, own, and operate large-scale renewable and other clean energy generation and storage facilities in the Americas, Europe and Asia. Invenergy's home office is located in Chicago and it has regional development offices in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Poland and Scotland.
Invenergy and its affiliated companies have developed more than 20,000 megawatts of projects that are in operation, construction or contracted, including wind, solar, natural gas-fueled power generation and energy storage projects. For more information, please visit www.invenergyllc.com
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