Vodafone and Centrica have signed a second major corporate Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with MYTILINEOS S.A for the output from five solar farms under construction in England, which will output 216 gigawatt hours of green power.
The deal gives Vodafone UK access to clean, high quality and affordable renewable electricity for the next ten years, offering price certainty and improved energy security. Already in the UK, 100% of the grid electricity Vodafone uses is from certified renewable sources. Combined with agreements already in place, this new solar PPA means around 44% of its annual energy requirement will come from UK-based renewable power sources by 2025.
The five solar farms, located in Norfolk, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire, Buckinghamshire and Dorset, will generate a total of 216 gigawatt hours of electricity - and displace more than 53,000 tonnes of CO2e - every year1, the equivalent of taking c.31,400 cars off the road2. The builds will begin this year with energy generation expected from early 2024.
Vodafone will purchase a significant proportion of the electricity output from the solar farms, securing their development and bringing additional renewable power provision to the UK grid. The remainder will be sold through Centrica’s Energy Marketing & Trading business.
The deal, between Vodafone, Centrica as the power supplier and MYTILINEOS as the generator, supports the UK government’s ambition to focus on home-grown, clean and more affordable energy and to boost long-term energy independence and security.
Power Purchase Agreements are key to Vodafone’s renewable energy procurement strategy. Today’s news follows an announcement last year to purchase a significant proportion of power from three new UK solar farms for the supply of 109 GWh of renewable electricity. The first of these is now fully operational with the others to follow in the coming months. Combined with two onshore wind farms, in Northamptonshire and Lincolnshire, Vodafone UK has secured access to renewable power from 10 sites across the UK.
Ahmed Essam, UK CEO, Vodafone, said: "The recent energy crisis has highlighted we must work together – as governments, businesses and society – to change how we produce and consume energy. Today’s announcement ensures a significant proportion of our energy requirement, for at least the next 10 years, is home-grown in the UK."
"I’m pleased Vodafone is helping to progress the development of new renewable power sites and supporting the delivery of green energy to the UK grid. Importantly, this also gives Vodafone UK improved energy security and price certainty and will help us meet net zero for our UK operations by 2027 goal3.”
Power purchase agreements such as this are going to be essential to the growth of renewable energy in the UK and Europe, helping secure guaranteed returns for developers, and encouraging growth in the sector. They are also key to how large organisations like Vodafone decarbonise their operations. We’re delighted to build on our longstanding relationship with Vodafone and support them on their net zero journey. Chris O’Shea, Chief Executive Officer of Centrica
Yiannis Kalafatas, Chief Executive Director of MYTILINEOS’ Energy Sector stated: “We are excited about this second transaction with Vodafone, as this demonstrates our capability to support renewable energy and energy independency in the UK. We are also proud of being able to achieve such a milestone - both as a developer and a generator – by signing the biggest solar corporate PPA deal in the UK to date.”
Footnotes:
1. Source: How much would getting solar panels offset my impact? | LEOHT.
2. Source: Average CO2e emissions/car/year in UK 1,682,383 grams of CO2e Average CO2 Emissions per Car in the UK | NimbleFins.
3. Scope 1&2
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