Nestlé leverages wind power in new EDP Renewables deal

Feb. 19, 2018 – Nestlé, in partnership with EDP Renewables, has announced a 15-year power purchase agreement that will provide approximately 80 per cent of the electricity load for five facilities in southeastern Pennsylvania. The agreement is a step forward for Nestlé’s goal to procure 100 per cent of its electricity from renewable sources.

EDP Renewables’ Meadow Lake VI wind farm will generate and deliver 50 megawatts of electricity through the PJM Interconnection grid to manufacturing facilities and distribution centres operated by Nestlé Purina PetCare, Nestlé USA and Nestlé Waters North America in Allentown and Mechanicsburg, Penn. Because the wind farm and the recipient facilities are located on the same regional grid, the power purchase agreement provides traceability from the Pennsylvania facilities back to the wind farm. With the addition of the energy from the wind farm, 20 per cent of the electricity Nestlé uses in the U.S. will come from renewable sources in 2019.

“Our partnership with EDP Renewables propels us forward in our ambition to create zero environmental impact by 2030, and is another example of our business transformation journey,” said Kevin Petrie, Chief Supply Chain Officer at Nestlé USA. “This power purchase agreement perfectly illustrates our creating shared value strategy — that we create value for our business through contributing to a healthier future for the planet.”

Through the power purchase agreement, EDPR will expand the capacity of its Meadow Lake VI wind farm in Benton County, Ind. The expansion will add 50 megawatts to the existing 150 megawatts EDPR has already secured for the project. Construction on the expansion project will begin in the next two months, and the facility will be fully operational at the end of 2018. With the completion of the wind farm, the six-phase Meadow Lake project will total 800 megawatts.

“This power purchase agreement enables EDP Renewables to further expand our presence in Indiana, the state in which we are the leading producer of wind energy,” said João Manso Neto, CEO of EDP Renewables. “EDP Renewables is proud to partner with Nestlé to help in achieving its forward-looking goal of obtaining all of its energy from renewable sources.”

Nestlé says its aims to reduce its global greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1 and 2) per tonne of product in every product category to achieve an overall global reduction of 35 per cent in its manufacturing operations versus a 2010 baseline.