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BASF agrees power purchase agreements as it greens its US operations
10/8/2022
News
BASF has entered into virtual power purchase agreements (VPPAs) for wind and solar power totalling 250 MW, designed to offset the carbon-intensive grid-supplied electricity being used at more than 20 of its chemical manufacturing sites in several states across the US.
The combined agreements for the output of 250 MW of renewable generation capacity will result in the purchase of more than 660,000 MWh of electricity per year – the equivalent of electricity consumed by more than 90,000 average US households, says BASF. It adds that, based on US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates, the VPPAs will offset more than 472,500 t/y of CO2 emissions. With these agreements in place, the share of renewable energy in BASF’s total North American electricity consumption will rise to more than 25%.
‘Renewable energy is an essential tool to reach BASF’s ambitious goal of net zero emissions by 2050, comments Michael Heinz, Chairman and CEO, BASF Corporation. ‘We are committed to further improving our energy footprint in the region and we are eager to drive the energy transition for chemical manufacturing in North America.’
BASF is to purchase 100 MW of power generated by Dawn Solar, with a further 150 MW of renewable energy capacity to be added through transactions with EDF Energy Services.
Last year, BASF collaborated with EDF Energy Services to add 35 MW of wind capacity to the energy mix for its manufacturing sites in Freeport and Pasadena, Texas. In another joint project with EDF Renewables, BASF’s property in Toms River became home to what is claimed to be New Jersey’s largest solar project and the largest solar project built on a Superfund* site in the US.
BASF aims to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 25% compared with 2018 by 2030 and achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
*Superfund is another name for the US Congress’ Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), which was established in 1980 to allow the EPA to clean up sites such as manufacturing facilities, processing plants, landfills and mining locations that have been contaminated with hazardous waste. Under CERCLA, parties responsible for the contamination must either perform clean-ups themselves or reimburse the government for EPA-led clean-up work.
