Coles has signed a 10-year agreement with clean energy generator CleanCo to source 90 per cent of its Queensland electricity requirements. It is expected to reduce Coles’ electricity carbon emissions nationally by 240,000 tonnes annually.
The partnership will see Coles purchase 400 GWh of electricity annually from the Western Downs Green Power Hub, which is set to be Australia’s largest solar farm once built, as well as the MacIntyre Wind Farm.
It will supply three-quarters of the company’s electricity needs with the remainder supported by CleanCo’s low emissions portfolio from July, 2022.
In 2019, Coles purchased around 70 per cent of the electricity generated by three solar power plants in regional NSW powered by Metka EGN. It was one of the first major Australian retailers to commit to buying renewable energy through a 10-year Power Purchase Agreement with the global renewable power generation company.
“Long-term agreements like this are a great example of how we are able to reduce our energy costs, support the community and make a meaningful impact on reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” said Coles chief sustainability, property and export officer Thinus Keeve.
“The CleanCo and Metka EGN agreements are great examples of how we can grow renewable energy generation capacity in Australia because they give the developers the certainty they need to invest and we look forward to growing our partnerships with renewable energy providers in the future.”
The project is set to reduce Coles’ electricity carbon emissions by 20 per cent annually – the equivalent of taking 100,000 vehicles off the road. It also secures the development of 800 local jobs in Queensland’s Western and Southern Downs, together with CleanCo’s Karara wind farm.
The Western Downs Green Power Hub is scheduled to begin generating in the first quarter of 2022, while the MacIntyre Wind Farm is scheduled for 2024. Together, the projects will generate enough energy to power 935,000 Queensland homes.
