Apparel retailer Lululemon seals 15-MW wind VPPA with Enel

Canadian apparel retailer Lululemon Athletica Inc (NASDAQ:LULU) will procure power from a 15-MW portion of Enel Green Power North America’s Azure Sky wind farm in Texas, the project developer said on Wednesday.

The partners have signed a virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) with the help of LevelTen Energy, the platform facilitating renewable energy deals. The contracted output will be equal to the Canadian firm’s power consumption at all company-operated stores, offices and warehouse sites in North America.

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The deal is Lululemon’s first renewable energy VPPA and aligns with its goal of covering 100% of its power needs in North America with renewable energy by 2021. The Vancouver-based athletic apparel retailer is set to achieve a 100% renewable power supply for its global business via purchasing renewable energy credits. It noted it will look to support the development of renewable energy projects across its regions of operation.

The Azure Sky project is located west of the Dallas-Fort Worth area in Throckmorton County. It envisages the installation of a 350-MW wind park and about 137 MW direct current (DC) of battery storage capacity. Completion is scheduled for the first half of 2022.

The 79-turbine wind farm has in place a 12-year VPPA with US dairy company HP Hood LLC, which in June agreed to buy electricity from 25 MW of the total wind capacity. Among the other off-takers are Kellogg Company, Akamai Technologies Inc, Synopsys and Uber.