Renewable

October 6 (Renewables Now) - US chemical company Dow Inc (NYSE:DOW) has signed eight new renewable power purchase agreements (PPAs) in Europe and the Americas for a total of 132 MW of wind and solar power capacity.

The new contracts, announced by the company on Wednesday, mean it now has access to more than 850 MW of clean energy.

Dow has signed six PPAs in Europe that have allowed eight sites of the company in Spain, the UK, Sweden, France and Germany to move to 100% green electricity.

It has also signed a long-term contract in Brazil with developer Casa dos Ventos related to the construction of a new wind park in the state of Rio Grande do Norte. Under this deal, Dow's site in Cabangu, Brazil will get 60 MW of continuous renewable power for silicon metal production.

The chemical company has further signed a long-term agreement with Canadian power producer Capital Power Corp (TSE:CPX) for capacity from Capital Power’s Whitla 2 wind farm project. This agreement will replace about 40% of the energy demand at Dow's polyethylene manufacturing facility in Prentiss, Alberta.

Capital Power has said the 15-year PPA is for 25 MW of capacity and associated environmental attributes from its in-construction 151-MW Whitla Wind 2 project in southeastern Alberta.

The eight PPAs are estimated to cut Dow's emissions by more than 600,000 tonnes of CO2e per year. Last year, renewables accounted for about 25% of the company’s purchased electricity consumption.

"As one of the leading purchasers of clean power in the chemical industry and among the top 20 clean energy purchasers of corporations globally, we continually pursue opportunities to move our sites to cleaner, more cost-effective power while ensuring reliable operations," said Jack Broodo, president, Dow Feedstocks and Energy business.