PepsiCo Enters Solar PPA With Iberdrola

• Iberdrola has signed up PepsiCo as one of the offtakers for solar power to be generated by its 590 MW Francisco Pizarro Solar PV Plant
• PepsiCo will procure power to operate its 11 production facilities, logistics and distribution centers in Spain and Portugal
• The project is planned to come online within 2022, and the long term PPA will come into effect from January 1, 2023

Spanish energy major Iberdrola has secured global food and beverages behemoth PepsiCo as an offtaker for power from its soon to come online 590 MW solar power plant, to help supply clean energy to the latter's 11 Spanish and Portuguese sites.

In Spain, PepsiCo will procure power for beverages plant in Álava, and snacks in Burgos and gazpacho Alvalle in Murcia. In Portugal, the solar power supply will be for snacks plant in Carregado.

Solar power supply will also be used for PepsiCo's 2 large logistics centres in Burgos and Valencia, as well as sales offices in Vitoria, Pamplona, Palma de Mallorca and offices in Vitoria and Barcelona. The long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) will come into effect from January 1, 2023.

For PepsiCo, the PPA is aligned with its target to reduce its GHG emissions by more than 40% by 2030 and achieve net zero status by 2040.

Back in January 2021, Iberdrola announced food producer Danone España as one of the offtakers for the 590 MW facility in the form of 2 separate agreements for 73 GWh annually and 104 GWh annually for 10 years, after having signed up German pharmaceutical company Bayer as the offtaker for some part of the project (see Food Producer To Procure Solar Power From 590 MW Project).

Iberdrola is building the 590 MW Francisco Pizarro Photovoltaic Plant between the 2 municipalities of Torrecillas de la Tiesa and Aldeacentenera, in Extremadura's Cáceres region. On completion in 2022, it is expected to become the largest solar PV plant in all of Europe.

"Long-term green power purchase agreements open up many opportunities for the development of renewable projects that allow us to accelerate the energy transition to reduce dependence on fossil fuels," said Iberdrola's Director of Large Customers and Industrial Solutions, Sergio Hernández de Deza. "PPAs have become an optimal tool for managing the electricity supply of large consumer customers who share our commitment to a new, cleaner and more sustainable economic model."

Recently local media reported Iberdrola being directed by a court in Extremadura to demolish 60% of its 500 MW Nunez de Balboa Solar Power Plant in Usagres for illegally acquiring part of land used.