Commercial, Solar, Sourcing Renewables, Wind  -  August 6, 2018

Apple, Akamai, Etsy, Swiss Re collaborate on RE aggregation

Apple, Akamai, Etsy and Swiss Re announced on August 6 an agreement to develop two new wind and solar energy farms in Illinois and Virginia. Spearheaded by Apple, the new projects will generate 290 megawatts to the PJM electric grid serving much of the Eastern U.S., including areas of Virginia, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland. The two new projects will support each of the companies' operations and will also provide enough power for 74,000 homes.

In a statement from Akamai, the company explained that they, along with Etsy and Swiss Re, had limited opportunity to access large renewable energy projects in the regions covered by the thirteen state PJM wholesale electric market. By collaborating with Apple, these companies were able to access wind and solar power from the new projects at competitive prices and agreement terms. Collaborations like this accelerate the pace at which new renewable energy generation is built and brought online. 

Assisted by 3Degrees, the group will collectively purchase 125 megawatts from a wind farm near Chicago and 165 megawatts from a solar PV project outside Fredericksburg, Virginia, which will be delivered to the electric grid covered by PJM. The projects are expected to come online over the next two years. The solar and wind projects will be developed by sPower (an AES and AIMCo company) and Geronimo Energy, respectively.

"At Apple, we're proud to power all of our operations around the world with 100 percent renewable energy," said Lisa Jackson, Apple's vice president of environment, policy, and social initiatives. "In the process, we've charted a course for other companies and organizations to purchase renewable energy and transition their own operations to greener power. The collaboration announced today shows how companies of all sizes can address climate change by coming together."

"Etsy is excited to be a part of a project that will benefit both the planet and our customers," said Rachel Glaser, Etsy chief financial officer. "This agreement will help Etsy to meet our goal of powering operations with 100% renewable electricity while also innovating by paving the way for small companies to participate in the renewable energy market." 

SED's View:  Kudos to Apple for their leadership in bringing this innovative deal that allowed others corporates to gain access to new renewable capacity. Aggregation projects like this are one of three key drivers that we believe will dramatically expand adoption for renewable energy over the next 18 months. All three key drivers will be discussed at our upcoming Renewable Energy Sourcing Forum, October 1-3 in Florida. - John Failla

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