Facebook Signs 170MW PPA with Apex Clean Energy as Part of Major Renewables Push
Wind and solar power developer Apex Clean Energy announced that it has signed a power purchase agreement with Facebook. Under the terms of the agreement, Apex will supply Facebook with 170 MW from the Lincoln Land Wind project in Morgan County, Illinois. The deal is part of a major renewables push for Facebook, which has reportedly signed over 800 MW of wind and solar PPAs in the past few days in several U.S. states, and in Ireland.
Lincoln Land Wind is a 300 MW wind project, intended to generate enough clean energy to power up to 102,500 homes. The project is expected to begin operations in 2021.
Mark Goodwin, Apex Clean Energy President and CEO, said:
“The clean energy industry has long recognized Facebook as a leader. In its early commitment to utilizing 100 percent renewable energy, and now its continuing work to fulfill that pledge, Facebook has led from the front of the pack. Apex has a strong track record in enabling corporate clean energy procurement, and we’re excited that the Lincoln Land Wind PPA results in Facebook becoming our largest partner to date.”
The new deal will help Facebook achieve its sustainability goals, which include reducing operational greenhouse gas emissions by 75% in 2020, from a 2017 base, and reaching 100% renewable energy. By the end of 2019, renewable energy accounted for 86% of the company’s overall energy mix, reaching nearly 4.5 GW, and Facebook had achieved a 59% GHG reduction.
Urvi Parekh, Head of Renewable Energy at Facebook, said:
“We are thrilled to partner with Apex once again to bring an additional 170 MW of new renewable energy to the grid. At Facebook, we are committed to not only supporting our operations with 100% renewable energy, but to helping accelerate the transition to renewable energy. With our recent announcement of our new data center in DeKalb, we are excited to bring renewable energy to Illinois.”
The announcement marks Facebook’s third PPA of the past year with Apex, including a 200 MW deal with Apex’s Aviator Wind East project, and a 61.6 MW PPA with Apex’s solar project, Altavista Solar. When it begins operations in the next few months, Aviator Wind East will be part of the largest single-phase, single-site wind project in the United States.