The electric vehicle charging network provider signed a virtual power purchase agreement on a 75 MW project with Terra-Gen, and now owns enough generation to support its chargers with 100% renewable energy.
Electrify America, a nationwide installer of EV charging networks, announced that the power it delivers through its chargers is now 100% backed by renewable energy after it entered a virtual power purchase agreement with Terra-Gen.
The 75 MW project is planned for San Bernadino County, California, and Electrify America is signed on for all the estimated annual production of 225,000 MWh for 15 years. The company entered into a virtual power purchase agreement, which allows a business to source renewable energy from a remote location to power its operations.
The project is expected to break ground in late 2022 and is planned to reach commercial operations in mid-2023. Though the project will not be activated until next year, Electrify America is already backed by 100% renewable generation through the purchase of clean energy certificates from other existing generation sources.
“Electrify America’s business model and purpose have always been at the forefront of efforts to reduce emissions through enabling electric mobility,” said Giovanni Palazzo, president and CEO of Electrify America. “Our commitment to customers and to a sustainable future go hand-in-hand, which is why we are investing in renewable energy generation to commit to a net zero carbon footprint associated with the energy delivered to our customers.”
In addition to purchasing off-site renewable energy, the company invests in on-site solar at its charging locations. It has invested $2 million in 30 Level 2 charging stations in rural California that are fully off-grid. Each station includes a sun-tracking solar array that can charge two vehicles at a time, with a maximum rate of 3.5 kW. It can charge during any weather condition or time of day thanks to the attached energy storage on the off-grid system.
It also installs on-grid solar on canopies at its EV charging stations. Its Baker, California station has DC fast chargers on-site. To illustrate the charging power difference between AC and DC fast charging, a Level 2, 7.2kW AC charger can take one hour to deliver about 27 miles of EV range. A 50 kW DC fast charger can deliver the same 27 miles of range in about ten minutes.
“In aggregate, these 100% renewable energy commitments address Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions for all energy delivered to our customers, and amount to an estimated 2 million metric tons in avoided CO2 emissions over 15 years – comparable to the carbon sequestered by planting nearly 40 million trees,” said Jigar Shah, head of energy services at Electrify America.
