Easier energy
NRG Energy is at the centre of transforming businesses and communities by helping them buy clean energy in a way that is simple and tailored to their needs. flow’s Janet Du Chenne explores how the company’s own transformation is enabling this initiative
W
hen a Texas-based global food distributor with customers in 90 countries sought to reduce
the environmental impact of its business operations, it set a 20% commitment to renewable energy by 2025. To meet its sustainability goals, the company looked at buying solar energy in the sunny state, but needed a simple, easy-to-execute contract, rather than the complex financial transactions and lengthy contract sizes (20 years) of power purchase agreements (PPAs). NRG Energy, which is also headquartered in Texas, stepped in to provide it with renewable energy at grid parity.1
To suit the company’s procurement needs, NRG acted as the go-between to source the
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energy from the renewable generation and break it down into a simplified procurement process. Instead of a lengthy PPA with the energy facility, NRG provided the company with a simple contract for 10 years of 25 megawatts (MW) at a fixed price, allowing it to achieve price certainty in an ever-changing market. This ensured a much shorter time commitment and one single, consolidated bill. The 25MW of solar energy provided by NRG’s plan supports 100% of electricity usage at 18 of the food distributor’s locations, including its Houston headquarters and multiple warehouses that require significant refrigeration. Scott Hart, Vice President Supply, NRG Business, observed at the time: “This marks the beginning of widespread ‘retail’ renewable products –
the type of plan that the competitive power market was created to develop. The result is transformative.”
In another instance, the City of Houston was looking to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with the aim of powering municipal operations with 100% renewable energy by 2025. NRG provided the City with a simple, affordable solution that enabled it to achieve its climate commitment five years ahead of schedule. In addition to providing retail electricity, NRG is supporting Houston’s larger Climate Action Plan implementation through sustainability consulting support, energy efficiency funding, and an affinity programme to help City employees purchase discounted renewable energy.2
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