Thermo Fisher Scientific recently signed an eight-year virtual power purchasing agreement with Enel North America to deliver a 90-megawatt (MW) portion of the Seven Cowboy wind project in western Oklahoma.
Thermo Fisher will purchase approximately 400,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of renewable electricity, equal to half of the company’s current U.S. electricity needs.
Thermo Fisher plans to transition most locations globally to renewable energy. Today, more than 60 sites worldwide are powered by renewable electricity, including seven facilities that generate 3.5 MW of solar power and 3 MW of wind energy. Another 15 MW of solar power projects are planned.
“By sourcing electricity from new wind and solar facilities we can help our customers meet their Scope 3 greenhouse gas reduction targets,” said Konrad Bauer, senior vice president, global business services, Thermo Fisher Scientific.
“This project will more than double our use of renewable energy and, combined with our $20 million investment in green infrastructure earlier this year, supports our commitment to a net-zero value chain by 2050.”
The Seven Cowboy Wind project is expected to be operational by the second half of 2023. Schneider Electric advised Thermo Fisher on this agreement.
Seven Cowboy wind project, located in Washita and Kiowa counties, Oklahoma, will have 107 wind turbines to generate approximately 1.3 TWh of energy annually, equivalent to the electricity needs of over 120,000 US households, and will avoid more than 758,000 tons of C02 emissions a year.
This will be Enel Green Power’s 13th wind farm in Oklahoma — its portfolio represents over 2 GW of operating capacity and $3 billion in investment in the state, making it Oklahoma’s second largest wind operator.