Dow Chemical Co. has signed a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) with Bordas Wind Energy LLC to purchase 200 MW annually for its Freeport, Texas-based manufacturing facility.
According to Dow, the wind farm is being developed as a joint venture between MAP and Eneverse and is expected to be finished in the first quarter of 2016.
Company officials claim that Dow is the first U.S. company to power a manufacturing site with renewable energy at this scale and will now become the third-largest corporate purchaser of wind energy in the U.S.
Dow say renewable energy is an integral part of its energy and sustainability efforts. With the PPA, Dow says it is on track to meet its 2025 renewable energy goal as part of its sustainability goal commitments.
‘Dow is always looking for win-win solutions – good for the environment and good for business,’ says Jim Fitterling, Dow's vice chairman of business operations. ‘By entering into this agreement, Dow is taking a serious approach to our future energy needs in Texas, and cost-competitive wind energy is a great opportunity.’
Dow is the latest in a long line of corporate purchasers of wind energy. Just this year alone, several blue-chip corporations, such as General Motors and Whirlpool, have signed PPAs with wind energy, or in the case of IKEA, agreed to buy the project outright.
