Global baking company Grupo Bimbo has signed a virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) to receive 100 MW of wind energy from Invenergy’s Santa Rita East project in Texas.
This agreement comes as part of Grupo Bimbo’s larger initiative to become the first baking company in the U.S. to use 100% renewable energy for its operations by 2020. Beginning in the third quarter of 2019, wind energy production from the Santa Rita East wind farm will be matched with energy consumption from Grupo Bimbo’s U.S. operations through the VPPA.
“We are excited to partner with Invenergy in order to help reduce greenhouse-gas emissions across the U.S.,” states Daniel Servitje, chairman and CEO of Grupo Bimbo. “We strive to be leaders in sustainability – it is part of our purpose of building a sustainable, highly productive and deeply humane company – and decreasing our environmental footprint is one of our primary goals.”
Construction and operation of Invenergy’s Santa Rita East wind farm will deliver substantial social and economic benefits to Irion County, Texas, the developer says. This includes up to 300 jobs during construction and 12-15 permanent jobs during operation. Additionally, as part of Invenergy’s agreement with the county, the project will generate $4,000 every year for eight years for the Mertzon’s Lions Club, the Irion County Volunteer Fire Department and the Extension Education Club.
“This agreement is a great example of how companies across all industries can view renewable energy as beneficial for both the environment and business,” says Invenergy’s founder and CEO, Michael Polsky. “Grupo Bimbo is one of the organizations leading the way for sustainability in the baking industry, and as Invenergy continues to lead the way to a clean energy future, we are proud to help expand their commitment to using renewable energy on a global level.”
Since 2015, Invenergy has partnered with 10 corporate customers to develop more than 1.1 GW of new renewable energy capacity.
Grupo Bimbo focuses on four environmental action lines: carbon-footprint reduction, water-footprint reduction, waste management and natural capital. The company has 196 plants and more than 1,800 sales centers in 32 countries throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa.
