A Better Energy solar power plant with a capacity over 125 MW has been ordered by HEARTLAND (BESTSELLER’s parent company). The power plant is expected to produce the equivalent of BESTSELLER’s global energy consumption for owned and operated buildings under a power purchase agreement (PPA).
Additionality, the idea that new renewable energy capacity gets built and added to the grid, was an important aspect of the new agreement. Not all green power products are the same. The source of green power determines additionality and thus credibility of ‘greenness’ in power consumption. On top of this, the PPA will enable the construction of a subsidy-free solar park.
“By going subsidy-free, HEARTLAND is pioneering a new way for corporations to access green energy in Denmark, while also adding new green energy to the grid. That is additionality and impact that matters,” explains Rasmus Lildholdt Kjær, CEO of Better Energy, and continues:
“Corporations can now choose how they purchase clean energy. They will play a major role in the development of a clean energy economy.”
HEARTLAND is a role model for the concept of additionality. By getting involved early in the development process, companies can contribute to new projects being built and commit to buying all or a percentage of the green power that will be produced under a PPA.
Additionality through PPAs will be a driving market force in the coming years. Energy buyers will pursue PPAs to hedge against rising utility rates and energy producers will pursue PPAs as a stable source of revenue to get new projects financed and built.
“Through our business and investments, we strive to make a positive contribution to the world around us. The same is true for this exciting project that will help BESTSELLER transition to a more sustainable reality and propel it towards its vision of becoming climate positive,” HEARTLAND CEO Lise Kaae explains.
“We wanted to have a direct impact on the deployment of new renewable energy and we wanted to bring about change in a responsible way. In Better Energy we found a shared sensibility to develop projects that fit the community and environmental context,” says HEARTLAND CEO, Lise Kaae.
HEARTLAND is a private holding company with a responsible long-term investment view. It invests in areas such as fashion, retail and technology, sustainability and business innovation, renewables, nature conservation, education and properties.