The Co-op has signed a solar power deal with ScottishPower Renewables, which it says underscores its “commitment to achieving net zero”.
The retailer has signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) to utilise the clean energy produced from ScottishPower Renewables’ Coldham solar farm in Cambridgeshire.
The solar farm is made up of 19,000 state-of-the-art solar panels at the 9MW site, which is enough to power the equivalent of around 55 retail stores, or 2,000 homes in the UK.
The Co-op will source electricity for its estate, including food stores and distribution centres across the UK, over a 15-year period, to increase energy security and speed up its path towards decarbonisation.
Group CEO Shirine Khoury-Haq said: “The launch of Coldham solar farm, as a result of our PPA with ScottishPower Renewables, shows Co-op’s commitment to achieving net zero.
Subscribe to Sustainability Beat for free
Sign up here to get the latest sustainability news sent straight to your inbox everyday
“This agreement means more renewable energy will be generated, and in doing so increase energy security, boost economic development and help us achieve net zero in our own operations by 2035.
“We maintain that the government should make decarbonising the grid a top priority. However, businesses still have their part to play, and this solar farm is a further step in Co-op’s approach to renewable energy procurement through a mixture of PPAs and embedded generation.”
The deal follows another 15-year PPA recently announced between the Co-op and renewables developer CPPA, encompassing output of a 34MW solar farm in North Yorkshire. It is set to be up and running in 2025.
Last month, Co-op became the first UK convenience retailer to have its net zero targets validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
