Midwestern retailer Meijer has made a large investment in a Texas wind energy center that contributes to its renewable energy portfolio and marks significant strides in meeting its carbon reduction goal.
This comes six months after Meijer announced its goal to reduce 50% of its absolute carbon emissions by 2025.
The retailer signed a renewable product purchase agreement (RPPA) with a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, of which Meijer will purchase the majority of energy generated by the project. The project, named Lacy Creek Wind Energy Center, is under construction on 60,000 acres in Glasscock and Sterling counties, Texas, and is expected to be completed in late 2022. The project will use 108 wind turbines to generate renewable energy.
This investment complements the retailer's recently announced utility-scale, solar project with Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions, which both contribute to its renewable energy portfolio. Both projects will begin producing energy by the end of the year, putting the retailer on the right path to achieving its carbon reduction goal by 2025.
The retailer's efforts will deliver approximately 800,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of renewable electricity annually through the Lacy Creek Wind Energy Center.
In March 2022, Meijer announced its renewable energy power purchase agreement (VPPA) with developer Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions, which states Meijer will purchase a portion of the energy generated by the project for the first 15 years of operation. The project broke ground in Navarro County, Texas, on 1,800 acres of land and is expected to be completed by the end of the year.