Nestlé to Invest in 208 MWh Ganado Solar Project of Enel North America

Italy's Enel Green Power Kickstarts Agrivoltaic Solar Project of 170 MW Capacity

Renewable energy major Enel North America has announced partnership with global food conglomerate Nestlé to be the sole tax equity investor for its 208 MWdc Ganado solar-plus-storage project in Jackson County, Texas, US.

Enel said that Nestlé will also purchase the renewable energy attributes from the entire output of the solar plant, helping advance the efforts of Nestlé to create a more sustainable future and reduce greenhouse gas emissions across its operations.

Paolo Romanacci, Head of Enel North America’s renewable energy business, Enel Green Power, said, “Enel’s flexible portfolio of solutions scale to meet the needs of each customer, leveraging the business demand for clean electricity to build momentum toward a zero-carbon economy. Those solutions are matched with our expansive, modern renewables fleet – projects that generate real value for customers, communities and investors alike.”

In addition to its direct investment in the solar project, Nestlé will purchase 100% of the renewable electricity attributes generated by the project’s energy production, estimated to be an average of 333,000 MWh annually for 15 years. This green electricity will help Nestlé reduce carbon emissions in many of its US facilities, where household favorite brands such as DiGiorno pizza, Stouffer’s, Nesquik, Purina Pro Plan pet food and Tidy Cats cat litter are made.

Enel said that the annual carbon emission reduction is expected to be about 126,294 metric tons of CO2, which is equivalent to the emissions of more than 27,200 cars per year. Nestlé is committed to sourcing 100% renewable electricity across its sites globally by 2025.

Kate Short, Chief Procurement Officer, Nestlé North America, said, “Not only will our investment in Ganado help reduce carbon emissions across our US manufacturing sites, but we’re also proud that it will help expand the availability of renewable energy, adding enough solar electricity to the U.S. grid to power about 24,574 homes each year.”

The Ganado solar-plus-storage project of Enel is expected to become operational in the second quarter of this year.