UK Universities announce £50m green energy deal.

Twenty Universities in the UK have struck a deal to buy renewable energy directly from British wind farms.

The Energy Consortium (TEC) has established an aggregated power purchase agreement (PPA) which will mean that parties will get renewable energy at a fixed price over a ten-year period.

This in turn directly supports the amount of ‘renewables’ in the UKs generation mix and makes a stated contribution to a ‘net-zero’ carbon environment for their community and the UK.

“The corporate PPA market has long been touted as a means for larger organisations to procure renewable power and enable subsidy-free development,” said Richard Murphy, Managing Director, TEC. “But to date, it has largely been the preserve of very large companies, requiring substantial commitments from buyers. By acting together in a collaborative approach facilitated by the energy expertise here at TEC, these institutions, whether large or small, have been able to navigate a previously inaccessible market.”

In June, former Prime Minister Theresa May announced that the UK would become the first G7 nation to commit to being net zero by 2050.

Since this announcement, environmentalists have questioned how the UK will reach this target as they say stronger policy needs to be implemented.

The PPA is the first time that UK public sector energy users have clubbed together to buy clean electricity.

To meet the highest standards demanded by the Universities in buying renewable energy the deal was structured so the power from the wind farms contractually flows with the Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGOs).

Richard Murphy added: “The combined challenge facing the Higher Education and wider public sector is to secure reduced carbon emissions whilst saving money and I am delighted that the TEC team have secured both through this ground breaking deal.

Read the press release in full here.

11 October 2019

ClimateAction