Vodafone signs major solar power purchase agreement in UK

Vodafone has signed a major corporate solar power purchase agreement (PPA) in the UK. The deal gives Vodafone access to clean, high quality and affordable renewable electricity in the UK for the next ten years, offering price certainty and improved energy security.

In Europe, 100% of the grid electricity we use is matched with renewable energy certificates. Combined with agreements already in place, this new solar PPA means around 44% of our annual energy requirement in the UK will come from UK-based renewable power sources by 2025.

Supporting solar development

As part of the deal between Vodafone, Centrica as the power supplier and MYTILINEOS as the generator, five solar farms located in Norfolk, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire, Buckinghamshire and Dorset, will generate 216 gigawatt hours of electricity and displace more than 53,000 tonnes of CO2e emissions each year[1]. That is the equivalent of taking around 31,400 cars off the road[2]. The solar farm builds will start in 2023, with energy generation expected from early 2024.

Vodafone will purchase a significant proportion of the electricity generated by the farms, securing their development and bringing additional power provision to the UK grid. The remainder will be sold through Centrica’s Energy Marketing & Trading business.

The news follows an announcement from Vodafone UK last year to purchase a significant proportion of power from three new UK solar farms. The first of these is now fully operational, with the others to follow in the coming months. Combined with two onshore wind farms, in Northamptonshire and Lincolnshire, we have secured access to renewable power from 10 sites across the UK.

Renewable energy commitments

In July 2021, we achieved our goal of powering our entire European network from renewable sources. We are committed to achieving the same in Africa by 2025.

PPAs are a central part of Vodafone’s strategy to meet our long-term renewable electricity consumption targets. However, while PPAs are becoming more commonplace in corporate renewable electricity strategies, they are still an emerging solution. In some markets, such as Egypt and South Africa, the situation is more complicated and we are engaging with regulators and others in the energy market to begin establishing renewable power agreements.

[1] Source: How much would getting solar panels offset my impact? | LEOHT.

[2] Source: Average CO₂e emissions/car/year in UK 1,682,383 grams of CO₂e Average CO2 Emissions per Car in the UK | NimbleFins