Distributed Generation, Industrial, Solar, Sourcing Renewables  -  February 4, 2016

Lockheed Martin, Duke Energy ink 17-year renewable energy deal

As part of Lockheed Martin's comprehensive sustainability commitments, the corporation is focused on reducing overall energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions through energy-efficiency measures as well as renewable energy projects. To those ends, Lockheed recently signed a 17-year power purchase agreement for solar-generated electricity produced by Duke Energy Renewables.

The new solar facility located in Conetoe, N.C., produces 80 MW of total energy, 30 MW of which will now go to help power Lockheed Martin domestic business segments, the companies said in a joint news release Feb. 1.  Duke Energy Renewables is a subsidiary of Duke Energy. 

"Signing this agreement for the acquisition of large-scale renewable power is a significant milestone towards our commitment to environmental stewardship and is one more step in the expansion of our Go Green program looking for operational efficiencies and best business value to our operations,"  Lockheed Martin Vice President of Energy, Environment, Safety and Health Carol Cala said in a statement. "We have a goal to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 35% by 2020 based on our 2010 emissions, and with this investment in renewables we are one step closer to achieving that goal." 

Lockheed Martin uses nearly 260,000 megawatt hours of green power annually including renewable energy credits, which is enough to meet 16% of the corporation's electricity use, according to the release.

"As one of the first corporations to announce a major renewable energy deal in 2016, we applaud Lockheed Martin for its clean energy leadership, not only in its sector but across the market broadly," Hervé Touati, head of Rocky Mountain Institute's Business Renewables Center, said in the release.

Photo credit: Jordan Tan / Shutterstock.com

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