Fast food leader McDonald’s is one of the participants in renewable energy transactions that are becoming increasingly common for global enterprises, and has purchased more than 1GW of renewable energy capacity, as well as added 3 virtual power purchase agreements (VPPA) totaling 750MW, which include 2 wind power plants and 1 solar power plant.

VPPA, also known as indirect power purchase contract, is a form of power purchase agreement (PPA) and obtains certificates through an unbundled method, thus an actual application of green electricity will not be implemented, as it is distributed by the local power companies.

2/3 of the carbon emission of McDonald’s come from upstream sectors such as packaging and beef, as well as the tens of thousands of regular chains, for which the energy management and efficiency of the operators, as well as the realizing of targets, must all be taken into account.

McDonald’s only started to purchase green electricity from last year. After stipulating the target during 2018 pertaining to a 36% reduction in carbon emission for restaurants and offices by 2030, McDonald’s then signed the first major renewable energy purchase agreement in November 2019, which comprised of the 220MW capacity of Aviator Wind and the 160MW capacity of Samson Solar from Texas, and the combined capacity of 380MW is able to satisfy the power demand for 2,500 McDonald’s chains. Adhering to this initial direction as the foundation, the respective capacity of wind and solar power has risen to 547MW and 583MW, which elevated the fast food giant’s investment in renewable energy to 1.13GW.

Among which the Samson Solar power plant will commence operation in 2023, since it will be the largest solar power plant in the US and the world at 1.3GW, and will be constructed in 5 phases amidst 3 years. According to the coverage of foreign media, a number of suppliers have signed with the particular power plant on power purchase contracts, including Japanese automotive manufacturer Honda (200MW), Google (100MW), and US home improvement retailer Home Depot (50MW).

According to the 2019 report of Solar Means Business, Apple has purchased or acquired the most solar capacity at 400MW, followed by Amazon at 370MW, Walmart at 330MW, Target at 285MW, and Google at 245MW.

 (Cover photo source: Flickr/Mike Mozart CC BY 2.0)