Akuo Energy has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Walmart for 50 MW of power from the Rocksprings Wind Farm, DelRio, Texas.
According to the agreement, Walmart will purchase 80 percent of the output from 50 MW of the project for a period of 12 years.
When complete in the third quarter of 2016, the Rocksprings Wind Farm will produce annually enough electricity to power the equivalent of 57,500 homes.
The Rocksprings Wind Farm is part of Akuo Energy’s portfolio of wind energy development projects totaling over 1,000 MW in the U.S.
In addition, this is Akuo Energy’s first project under construction in the United States.
Akuo Energy is also in the process of developing and launching a solar energy platform. Akuo Energy’s activities in the U.S are managed from Chicago by its subsidiary Akuo Energy USA.
The Akuo PPA will provide power to more than 350 Walmart stores, Sam’s Clubs, and Distribution Centers in Texas.
Walmart has kept a goal of either producing or procuring seven billion kWh of renewable energy globally by 2020.
Lat year, Walmart wanted to install up to 400 new solar projects at facilities across the US in next four years.
Walmart has invited proposals from SolarCity and SunEdison, following an RFP process, to fulfill these installations.
This escalates its global commitment to drive the production or procurement of seven billion kWh of renewable energy by the end of 2020, to be supplied by 100 percent renewable energy.
In another development, Walmart announced that it will double the number of on-site solar energy projects at its U.S. stores, Sam’s Clubs and distribution centers by 2020 from the current level.
Walmart today is the No. 1 commercial solar energy user according to the Solar Energy Industry Association and is recognized as the largest on-site renewable energy user in America by the EPA’s Green Power Partnership.
In total, Walmart’s 2020 commitments to scale renewables and accelerate energy efficiency globally could save the company as much as $1 billion a year in energy costs.
Walmart’s Mountain View store currently derives 14.5 percent of its energy from solar systems built and installed by SolarCity, a local California business and one of Walmart’s largest solar vendors.
Sabeena Wahid
editor@greentechlead.com