Italian renewable energy major Enel Green Power has signed a 12-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with food and beverage giant Mondelēz International for a 65MW slice of output from its under-construction Roadrunner PV plant in Texas, US.
The deal will see multinational Mondelēz, which manufactures products including Oreo cookies and Cadbury and Toblerone chocolate, cut its annual CO2 emissions by 80,000 tonnes while buying enough electricity to cover the energy demand of producing “50% of all the Oreos consumed in the US annually”, equal to around 10 billion cookies.
“The PPA with Mondelēz reaffirms Enel Green Power’s role as the partner of choice for corporate customers and shows that a wide range of industrial players are getting on board with the energy transition, understanding that renewables are not only a sustainable but also a cost-effective source of energy,” said Antonio Cammisecra, head of Enel Green Power.
“By leveraging on our international expertise and technological leadership, we are able to tailor solutions to our customers’ needs, helping them to reach their sustainability and business objectives.”
Currently under construction in Upton County, Texas, Roadrunner will have a total capacity of 497MW, generating some 1.2TWh a year once online. The first 252MW phase of the PV project is slated to be complete by the end of the year, with the follow-on 245MW phase set to be switched on in 2020.
Roadrunner is set to be the largest solar facility in Enel’s US 5GW North America portfolio. In Texas, it operates the 63MW Snyder wind farm and is building the 450MW High Lonesome wind project.
