A 200-megawatt solar farm in Australia is operational, adding to the area’s renewable energy goal and marking the first international renewable energy agreement by Salesforce. The solar site has the highest avoided emissions rate of any other Salesforce renewable energy project, avoiding two times the emissions of a comparable site in California, Salesforce says.
The X-Elio Blue Grass Solar Farm in Queensland is also the Spanish energy company’s first installation in Australia. It will help with Queensland’s target of obtaining 70% renewable energy by 2030 and 80% by 2035.
The solar energy project, which began in 2020, is expected to save more than 320,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year and will generate enough electricity to power 80,000 businesses and homes in the region. It is expected to produce 420 gigawatt hours of renewable energy each year, according to X-Elio, and Salesforce has agreed to take 25% of that generation through the power purchase agreement.
The $200 million project is the first of X-Elio’s 600 MW of energy capacity planned in Australia, which also includes sites in New South Wales and Victoria. The company has 2.6 GW of solar capacity installed internationally. Australian energy companies Stanwell, which will receive 49 MW, and ZEN Energy also have power purchase agreements at the Blue Grass site.
Queensland’s renewable energy target was announced in September 2022. The $42 billion effort includes two pumped hydro projects, a commitment to convert all publicly owned coal-fired power plants into clean energy hubs, and a plan to build a super grid to connect wind, solar, battery, and hydrogen energy production.
Salesforce says it picked the Blue Grass Solar Farm location as part of its renewable energy procurement matrix. The company says the site met significant targets of avoiding emissions and land use by not impacting sensitive vegetation and wildlife.
The Salesforce energy agreement with Blue Grass Solar Farm is for 10 years. The company says it has achieved net zero across its value chain and uses 100% renewable energy. It also has a goal of reducing emissions by 50% by 2030 based on 2018 levels, and 90% by 2040.
Earlier this year Fujitsu Australia signed its first power purchase agreement with CWP Renewables’ Sapphire Wind Farm in North West Shelf. That renewable energy site has a 270 MW capacity, and Fujitsu says the deal will power 30% of its operations in Australia.