Energy giant inks agreement to meet around half Kerry Group’s UK electricity demand for 10 years
RWE has inked a landmark Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) to provide the UK subsidiary of food giant Kerry Group with solar power for 10 years from 2025.
According to the announcement, the decade-long solar PPA - which represents RWE's first such deal in the UK - will cover around half of Kerry's UK electricity use.
The deal is structured as two separate financial "pay-as-produced" agreements committing power generated by RWE's UK solar projects at Cotmoor in Nottinghamshire and Copse Lodge in Northamptonshire, both of which boast potential installed capacity of 49.9MW.
Cotmoor has already achieved a final investment decision with full construction works slated to begin later this year, while Copse Lodge Solar Farm is expected to follow suit in 2025.
The deal represents a step forward for RWE's plans to commission an average of 450MW of new solar and storage projects in the UK each year as part of its commitment to invest €8bn between 2024 and 2030.
The firm also secured agreements for six UK solar projects in the last Contracts for Difference Auction Round 5.
"Solar power is one of the quickest and easiest renewable technologies to deploy and can quickly make a significant contribution to the UK's energy system," said Olaf Lubenow, head of commodity solutions for the UK, North and South Europe at RWE Supply & Trading. "Through the build-out and operation of our UK portfolio of over 4.4GW of solar projects, our clean electricity can help even more businesses like Kerry Group to decarbonise for the future by sourcing clean green electricity for years to come.
"We're delighted to be able to support the transition of businesses away from fossil fuel-sourced electricity and to be making a meaningful contribution to the UK's net zero ambitions."
The deal will also help Kerry Group achieve its goals to reduce its combined Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions by 55 per cent by 2030 and achieve net zero by 2050.
"Kerry is committed to the fight against climate change," said Juan Aguriano, global head of sustainability at the company. "Power purchase agreements represent a key pillar of Kerry's renewable energy strategy to deliver on these commitments. The agreements with RWE are Kerry's first PPAs in the UK and represent approximately 50 per cent of Kerry's electricity volume used in the country.
"We are proud to support the UK's transition to low-carbon electricity and look forward to supporting more projects like these in the future in Europe and around the world."
