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    Kraft Heinz signs virtual Wind PPA with Berkshire Hathaway Renewables unit

    July 1, 2022
    The renewable energy will come from BHE Renewables’ 158-MW Gopher Creek wind farm in Scurry County, Texas
    Image credit Bishop Hill wind project (via Utility Products)
    Bishop Hill Wind 62bf15d42eb7e

    The Kraft Heinz Company has signed a virtual power purchase agreement with BHE Renewables, a Berkshire Hathaway Energy business, for its U.S. operations.

    The agreement will enable Kraft Heinz to obtain electricity from renewable sources by 2025, as per its net-zero emissions plan.

    The firm intends to purchase sufficient renewable energy from BHE Renewables by the end of 2022 to offset over 15% of the energy used at its manufacturing sites in the U.S. and approximately 60% by the end of 2025.

    The renewable energy will come from BHE Renewables’ 158-MW Gopher Creek wind farm in Scurry County, Texas.

    “As one of the world’s largest food and beverage companies, we are committed to contributing to global efforts to reduce the ongoing threat of climate change," said Kraft Heinz CEO and Board Chair Miguel Patricio. “In 2020, we committed to buy the majority of our electricity from renewable sources by 2025. This agreement with BHE Renewables helps put us on track to accomplish that aspiration and brings us one step closer to achieving net zero emissions by 2050.”

    The agreement is the latest in Kraft Heinz’s series of renewable energy initiatives, including solar projects at three Kraft Heinz manufacturing sites in China and a recent vPPA with Repsol in Spain.

    Only a few days ago, the company announced a 12-year virtual power purchase agreement with Repsol, a global multi-energy company operating across more than 20 countries and based in Madrid, Spain. This agreement was Kraft Heinz’s first investment in wind energy and is designed to help it achieve its aspiration of procuring the majority of its electricity from renewable sources by 2025.

    Kraft Heinz is expected to source over 90 GWh  of renewable energy from Spanish producer Repsol’s largest wind project, Delta II in Aragon, Spain – equivalent to powering approximately 90 percent of Kraft Heinz’s European manufacturing sites, which is the majority of its European load.

    Kraft Heinz is the third largest food and beverage company in the U.S. and one of the top six worldwide. Its entities produce hot dogs, coffee, juice, condiments and snacks under such as brands as Oscar Mayer, CapriSun, Jell-O, Ore-Ida and more.

    About the Author

    EnergyTech Staff

    Rod Walton is senior editor for EnergyTech.com. He has spent 14 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist.

    Walton formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.

    He can be reached at [email protected]. 

    EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids.

    Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.