EDP Renewables inks 15-year PPA with Walmart in Texas

EDP Renewables North America LLC (EDPR NA) and Walmart Inc. have signed a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) for a portion of a new 180 MWac solar project in Texas. The agreement adds to a long-standing national partnership that includes 431 MW of offtake from both utility-scale and distributed generation sites across North America.

Under the new PPA, Walmart will be an offtaker for 162 MWac, complementing its current corporate procurement from EDPR NA projects of 233 MWac of utility-scale solar and wind energy and 36 MWac of distributed solar. 

“This project with EDPR NA builds on our long-term collaboration and is well aligned with Walmart’s efforts to expand clean energy capacity and help our customers and communities save money and live better,” said Frank Palladino, VP, renewable energy strategy at Walmart. “By providing meaningful economic benefits to local communities, including new local jobs, this project will help build a stronger community, a stronger energy grid as well as contribute toward our operational clean energy goals.”

The new utility-scale project will power the equivalent of more than 27,000 homes in the Lone Star state each year. It has contributed significant economic benefits in the form of millions of dollars in payments to landowners and estimates additional payments of $42 million to local governments, benefiting schools, local infrastructure and other essential public services over its multi-decade operational life. The project already actively participates in the community and has donated $10,000 to the local school district near the site.

Through collaboration with local business owners, landowners and other community members, the project’s continued development and eventual operations will bring increased local community investment, supporting local stores, restaurants, hotels and construction-related businesses. It is also expected to create 300 full-time equivalent jobs during construction and three permanent operations jobs.

This expansion builds on Walmart’s existing portfolio of more than 600 on- and offsite renewable energy projects in service or under development in over 10 countries — with a goal to enable up to 10 GW of new clean energy projects into service on- and off-site by 2030.

“Walmart has shown immense leadership in driving local environmental stewardship and supporting the local economies of its employees’ and customers’ communities,” said Sandhya Ganapathy, EDP Renewables North America CEO.

Since 2018, Walmart has been working with both EDPR NA’s utility-scale and distributed generation business. At utility-scale, Walmart is currently an offtaker at EDPR NA’s Bright Stalk and Harvest Ridge Wind Farms in Illinois as well as at EDPR NA’s Headwaters II Wind Farm in Indiana. Together with the newly announced transaction, the total volume of utility-scale PPA procurement between the two companies currently stands at 395 MW.

At a distributed scale, the two have worked on 36 MWac of offtake spread across 66 distributed generation arrays developed, managed, and operated by EDPR NA Distributed Generation for Walmart. 

— Solar Builder magazine

[source: https://solarbuildermag.com/projects/edp-renewables-inks-15-year-ppa-with-walmart-in-texas/]