Wednesday 9 December 2020

EY signs first zero carbon power purchase agreement in UK

EY has signed its first zero carbon power purchase agreement (PPA) in the UK to help accelerate its own journey towards net zero.

The agreement means nearly 100% of the electricity the professional services firm sources from energy providers will be clean solar power.

The ten-year PPA will see it buy renewable energy from a solar energy farm in Norfolk, which is scheduled to be built in 2021, becoming operational next October.

The facility will generate 21.3 GWh of energy, of which EY will use 13GWh - the remaining 40% will be sold to the grid.

Hywel Ball, EY’s UK Chair said: “Sustainability is one of the most significant and generation-defining issues that the world faces today and it’s important that all businesses play their part in tackling these challenges.

“As a firm, we have been using renewable energy for a number of years, including purchasing electricity via renewable tariffs since 2009 and switching to 100% certified biogas in 2019. This latest initiative means we will be making an even bigger impact, ensuring that the majority of the energy EY uses in the UK continues to be zero carbon, and generating a significant surplus of green energy that will be fed back into the grid to support EY’s overall global net-zero objectives."