Walmart’s Vishal Kapadia, senior vice president, energy transformation, highlighted in a blog post a series of moves to accelerate clean energy purchases and investments generating almost one gigawatt of power.
Kapadia noted Walmart in January announced its intent to accelerate the company’s energy transformation strategy. The approach it has taken is to identify high-impact, high-quality projects that will expand access to clean energy, drive new tax revenue to communities, create local jobs, and, in the case of community solar initiatives, offer direct benefits in the form of power cost savings. The new investments add to Walmart’s existing energy portfolio, which consists of more than 600 onsite and offsite renewable energy projects already in operation or under development across ten countries.
In the United States, two community solar and distributed generation portfolios developed by Pivot Energy and Reactivate include 70 megawatts from 26 new community solar and distributed generation installations across six states. Once they are operational, they can produce about 160,000 megawatts of clean energy annually, producing enough electricity to support community solar subscriptions for about 13,000 residential households. They will enable approximately $8 million in annual savings on energy bills for households and commercial off-takers while bringing new clean energy online. As intended, $6 million of savings are set to benefit low-to-moderate-income communities.
Developed by NextEra Energy Resources, EDP Renewable North America and Invenergy, Walmart’s solar projects are part of the retailer’s power initiatives in new regions, including its home state of Arkansas as well as Louisiana and Mississippi, Kapadia pointed out. The portfolio also includes additions to Walmart’s renewable portfolio in Texas. Once in service, the projects will add 842 megawatts of capacity to the grid and move Walmart closer to its goal to become 100% powered by renewable energy by 2035 while advancing its zero emissions targets. The latest projects build on the two gigawatts of renewable energy projects Walmart has previously helped bring into service through long-term renewable energy purchase agreements.
In addition to community solar, Kapadia stated, the execution of long-term renewable energy purchase agreements is important in the mission to reduce emissions and deliver more clean energy to power grids. Through long-term agreements, Walmart enables new clean energy projects that help support local jobs, generate new tax revenue in rural communities and help the company progress toward its renewable energy and emissions reduction goals, Kapadia said.
Walmart also has executed several clean energy agreements directly with utilities, helping add new clean energy capacity and resulting in an additional 77 megawatts of capacity in Louisiana, Michigan and Texas, according to the company.
Kapadia maintained Walmart’s intent is to launch 10 GW of new clean energy projects by 2030, enough electricity to power the equivalent of over two million households. The initiative will serve customers and communities and power Walmart’s growth. An energy system that thrives on emissions-free power helps people save money and adds to the resilience of the U.S. power grid, which is good for Walmart’s business and customers as well as communities and the planet. Walmart will continue looking for investments that allow the company to expand clean energy capacity and help customers and communities save money and live better, Kapadia asserted, contributing to a more sustainable future.
