PNC Signs Deal with Constellation to Power 50% of its Operations

(Credit: PNC)

PNC Bank has signed a 78 MW deal with Constellation to power nearly 50% of its legacy operations in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware, District of Columbia, and parts of Illinois with renewable electricity.

PNC Bank will receive approximately 148 million kilowatt hours of energy per year through its retail agreement with Constellation, with that energy matched by Green-e Energy Certified Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) sourced from other renewable facilities located throughout the US.

Backed by PNC Bank’s 15-year commitment, Constellation has entered into a separate long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) to procure 78 megawatts of energy from Mammoth Central, the third and final phase of Doral Renewables LLC’s Mammoth Solar project in Indiana.

PNC says the agreement will help reduce its carbon footprint by more than 55,000 metric tons annually. PNC Bank will use the Constellation Offsite Renewables (CORe) retail power product, which connects customers to the economic and sustainability benefits of large-scale, offsite renewable energy projects. CORe is among Constellation’s suite of products that help customers achieve their carbon reduction goals, including opportunities to match power usage hour-by-hour with locally produced carbon-free energy. 

In 2021, PNC purchased approximately 150 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power, which is enough green power to meet 46% of the company’s purchased electricity use. In addition, PNC has been working towards aggressive, science-informed environmental targets for reducing carbon emissions, energy and water use that were set back in 2017.

PNC has reduced carbon emissions by 66%, energy consumption by 50% and water consumption by 55%, through a variety of energy, sustainability, and real estate optimization plans. Since 2000, the company has prioritized the environmental performance of its buildings, recognizing its top-performing buildings through the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and Energy Star certification programs.

Other recent projects that Constellation has been collaborating on include a $28.1 million energy efficiency project at 15 buildings on the campus of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Greenbelt, Maryland. These upgrades are expected to help NASA GSFC reduce its energy consumption by more than 38 million kilowatt hours and avoid nearly 27,000 metric tons in carbon emissions annually. As a result of the many upgrades to the campus, NASA GSFC is projected to save $1.8 million in annual energy costs and receive $3.3 million in energy efficiency rebates. 

It has also partnered with Microsoft to develop a carbon accounting solution that offers customers a better way to monitor their clean energy efforts , and Sheetz has made an agreement that will allow the chain to benefit by using a platform that builds off the Constellation Offsite Renewables power product.