Commercial | Page 96

In this column from Microsoft, the company presents the Volume Firming Agreement (VFA), a new solution to mitigate the risks and simplify the complexities that exist in the current PPA structure that may inhibit their effectiveness as a risk management tool for the corporate procurement market.

The Westfield Topanga & The Village, a leading retail destination in California’s San Fernando Valley, now features more than 4 megawatts of solar capacity from nearly 15,000 panels, projected to reduce CO2 emissions by more than 4,900 metric tons in its first year of operation.

Facebook’s new data center, currently under construction in Huntsville, Alabama, will be powered with 100% renewable energy via the combined 377-megawatt output from two solar installations to be built in Tennessee and Alabama as the largest in each state.

This white paper, presented by Duke Energy One, notes that the evolution of outsourcing offers companies more opportunities and competitive advantages than ever before. However, the outsourcing of energy systems presents particular challenges.

BNSF Railway announced its total energy use has been reduced by 5.3% since 2014, with major reductions coming from locomotive diesel consumption. While GHG intensity posted a slight uptick of 0.5% from 2016 to 2017 – attributed to a change in business mix and consumer trends - the company achieved an overall decrease of approximately 3.5% over the past decade.

Cinemark USA, Inc. announced on October 29 it has signed a nine-year VPPA with AEP Energy Partners for up to 40 megawatts of renewable energy from AEP’s Trent Mesa wind energy center in Nolan County, Texas.