(Photo Courtesy of Starbucks)Starbucks says the company reached a milestone in Illinois this week: More than 340 stores there are now powered entirely by wind power generated in the state. When it opens later this year, the Starbucks Chicago Roastery will also run on wind power, according to the coffee chain.
The company that this wind power achievement was made possible through a long-term offsite renewables agreement the company signed last year with retail energy supplier Constellation. Under the terms of the agreement, Starbucks receives electricity and renewable energy certificates (RECs) from Enel Green Power North America’s HillTopper wind farm in Logan County, Illinois, which became operational in December.
“An increasing number of commercial and industrial customers are choosing renewables as a competitive and clean way to meet their energy needs,” Georgios Papadimitriou, head of Enel Green Power North America, said at the time.
Since 2015, Starbucks reports sourcing 100% renewable energy for more than 9,000 company-operated stores in the United States and Canada. Last month the company invested in a renewable energy portfolio built with LevelTen’s procurement platform that aggregated three PPAs for wind and solar farms in North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Texas.
Over the past year, Starbucks announced that two solar farms in Texas would provide enough energy for the equivalent of 360 stores in the state. A 140,000-acre solar farm in North Carolina delivers enough energy for 600 stores in the region.
Renewable energy procurement is a priority for Starbucks, an RE100 member aiming to invest in 100% renewable energy to power the company’s operations globally by 2020.
