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Ball Corporation, has recently announced that it has entered into a virtual purchase agreement (VPPA). In this agreement, Ball will purchase 151 megawatts of new wind energy from NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, which is the largest producer of solar and wind energy in the world. The center’s wind energy will be in West Texas. Ball’s part of the project will produce 600,000 megawatts of clean energy per year. This is enough to meet the electricity needs of almost half of Ball’s North American manufacturing plants.
NextEra Energy Resources will own and operate the wind energy center. This will help Ball achieve its 2030 science based targets as well as net-zero emission prior to 2050. The center’s wind energy will reduce Ball’s global Scope 2 greenhouse gases emissions by around 30%. This is equivalent to removing 91,000 gasoline-powered passenger cars from the roads each year.
“Ball believes transparency is key to progress. We are growing our business to meet the demand of infinitely recyclable aluminum beverage packaging. However, we remain committed towards our goals of cutting operational emissions and reducing carbon footprint of our aluminum packaging.” Dennis Schuilenburg is Chief Commercial Officer at Ball. “Our Lifecycle Analysis Study shows that renewable electricity can be used in can manufacturing to reduce the carbon footprint by as much as 18%, which helps our customers achieve their sustainability goals”.
Ball has previously signed wind agreements with Sweden, Spain and the United States. The electricity generated from these projects allowed for 44% of the company’s global electricity demand to be sourced from renewables in 2021. Ball has a goal to get 100% renewable electricity worldwide by 2030. The interim target is 75% by 2025. Ball projects that it will reach 65% by 2024 with the addition of wind energy.
“We are pleased to collaborate with Ball and it is great to see them incorporate wind energy into their sustainability strategy,” stated Matt Handel (senior vice president of development, NextEra Energy Resources). “This center will also provide significant economic stimulus to the local community, creating jobs and additional tax revenue.”
Construction is ongoing on the wind energy center and it is expected that it will begin supplying power in 2023. Schneider Electric Energy and Sustainability Services advised Ball on the agreement. They also assisted with the company’s project selection and negotiation.
