Altria Group has signed a virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) for energy produced by a new wind farm project in Haskell and Throckmorton Counties, Texas, USA. Altria’s contracted portion of the Inertia Wind Energy Center is intended to address the emissions from 100 percent of Altria’s annual purchased electricity demand across all U.S. facilities.
“This is our first-ever VPPA and marks significant progress toward our science-based environmental targets—achieving 100 percent renewable electricity and reducing operational greenhouse gases emissions by 55 percent by 2030,” said Sal Mancuso, executive vice president and chief financial officer in a statement.
“When the project is operational, we expect we will hit both those targets—ahead of schedule. We’re proud to support a project that will bring additional renewable energy to the electricity grid, contributing to positive climate action.”
The Inertia Wind Energy Center will be developed, owned and operated by a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources, and is expected to be operational by the end of 2022 with a total generation capacity of 301 megawatts. In addition to bringing clean energy to the grid, the project is expected to create jobs and provide long-lasting economic benefits to the local community.
Altria’s agreement equates to around 400,000 MWh of renewable electricity per year—the equivalent of over 51,000 homes’ annual electricity use—and is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 283,000 metric tons, or equivalent to the emissions from more than 61,000 passenger vehicles being driven each year.