Industrial, Solar, Sourcing Renewables  -  May 3, 2024

Cisco, Juniper Networks, Sign Aggregated Solar VPPA

Cisco, Juniper Networks, Bio-Rad Laboratories, Cadence Design Systems, IDEXX Laboratories, Inc., PTC, and a large healthcare company signed an aggregated virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA).

The agreement was signed with Southern Power Company through Sustainability Roundtable Inc.'s Net Zero Consortium for Buyers, for the renewable energy credits produced by the 180 MW Phase II portion of the Millers Branch Solar Facility in Haskell County, Texas, which is expected to achieve commercial operation during the second quarter of 2026.

The NZCB introduced buyer-aggregated VPPAs to address a challenge experienced by the buyers in the consortium: After aggregating demand internally across their often leased real estate, these companies have relatively modest energy loads that make the independent procurement of new utility-scale renewable energy challenging. 

Cisco, a security and networking technology company, served as the anchor buyer of the Millers Branch project and will purchase renewable energy generated by a 50 MW portion, equivalent to approximately 15% of the company's U.S. renewable energy needs. This milestone will help advance Cisco's goal to reach net zero across its value chain by 2040.

"Aggregating corporate buyers is a critical approach in transitioning to renewable energy, as it helps bring new capacity to the electricity market and opens up the market to smaller buyers," said Andy Smith, Director, Global Energy & Sustainability, Cisco, in a statement. "One of Cisco's strategic sustainability priorities is to help accelerate the transition to clean energy, and we are proud to have played a leading role in negotiating and executing this deal in partnership with Sustainability Roundtable, Inc. and our six fellow offtaking companies."

Juniper Networks, a secure, AI-Native networking company, will purchase renewable energy generated by a 40 MW portion of Millers Branch. Once the project is online, it is expected to generate renewable electricity equivalent to approximately 70% of the company's electricity demand in North America. 

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