Fifth Third Bancorp secured a long-term power purchase agreement to receive renewable energy from the 80-MW Aulander Holloman solar facility in Hertford County, N.C.
The approximately $200 million solar project will be designed, built and owned by Mooresville, N.C.-based SunEnergy1 LLC, according to a March 7 news release.
Fifth Third also announced that it joined the RE100 initiative and the Business Renewables Center. With the solar contract, Fifth Third said it will have achieved its goal of contracting for 100% renewable power four years ahead of schedule.
The RE100 initiative is a collaborative, global platform jointly developed by The Climate Group and the Carbon Disclosure Project to increase the demand for and supply of renewable energy.
Other RE100 members include dozens of large corporations, including technology giants Apple Inc., Google Inc., Facebook Inc. and Microsoft Corp.; financial institutions Bank of America Corp., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Swiss Reinsurance Co. Ltd.; and the global payments technology company Visa Inc., all of which have committed to sourcing 100% of electricity purchases from renewable resources by 2025.
"This is the first time that we have seen a corporation move to 100% clean power by purchasing all of the output from one project," SunEnergy1 CEO Kenny Habul said. "When complete later this year, the Hertford County Aulander Holloman facility will be one of the largest solar projects in the US; it will provide an important economic investment in North Carolina; and it will lead to a meaningful and measurable difference in carbon emissions."
Schneider Electric SE's Energy & Sustainability Services division assisted Fifth Third with selection and closing of the power purchase agreement.
