Starbucks has closed a deal that will supply clean power to the electricity grids serving 3,000 of its stores by 2021. A three-project, 146-megawatt renewable energy portfolio will tap wind and solar farms in North Carolina, Oklahoma and Texas. The portfolio was constructed with the help of LevelTen Energy, a technology-enabled power procurement platform.
“As we continue to strive towards building and operating the world’s largest green retail business, we know we need to find innovative business models to achieve our renewable energy goals,” said Patrick Leonard, Energy Manager for Starbucks company-operated stores in the U.S. and Canada in a statement. “Not only does this portfolio model allow us to support new solar and wind farms that will deliver the clean energy equivalent to the electricity powering over 3,000 stores, it also opens the door for many new buyers to cost-effectively source smaller amounts of renewable energy.”
The Starbucks portfolio was enabled by LevelTen Energy’s Dynamic Matching Engine, software that curates and analyzes massive data sets on clean energy projects under development. Using this technology, the LevelTen team identifies optimal available project combinations for individual corporate buyers. Companies can then execute power purchase agreements (PPAs) individually or in partnership with other buyers. Going forward, data sharing collaborations between the energy project developers and LevelTen will enable Starbucks to monitor its renewable energy generation, track portfolio performance and streamline contract management.
“Starbucks is setting an important precedent in the corporate energy procurement space by demonstrating how a single off-taker can safely and easily procure shares of renewable energy from a variety of new wind and solar projects,” said Bryce Smith, CEO of LevelTen Energy in a statement. “This approach enables many more corporate and institutional buyers to support, in a fiscally responsible way, the massive buildout of new clean energy projects across the globe.”