Orange and Boralex ink PPA in France

This Corporate PPA between Orange France and Boralex is the first large-scale renewable PPA signed by Orange in France.

Boralex, an independent producer of onshore wind power in France, will supply Orange with 67 GWh per year of renewable electricity generated by the 26 wind turbines at the Ally-Mercoeur wind farm in the Auvergne Rhône-Alpes region. The implementation of this five-year agreement will begin on 1 January 2021. The agreement will cover all the electricity produced by the wind farm, which has an installed capacity of 39 MW.

This agreement illustrates Orange’s ambitions for the energy management and sustainability of its networks as the volume of data transmissions continues to grow.

When it presented Engage 2025, its new strategic plan, Orange made a major commitment to respond to the climate challenge: it will seek to anticipate the objectives of the GSMA by 10 years, with a net zero carbon footprint by 2040, despite the increase in network data transmissions.

This will involve the increased use of renewable energies, which by 2025 will account for more than 50% of the electricity consumed by the group. It will also involve an unprecedented effort in energy efficiency. Between now and 2025, Orange will strengthen its Green ITN programme to reduce the energy consumption of its networks and increase the number of electrified vehicles in France by ten-fold.

For Boralex, this agreement, the first with a CAC40 company, is a significant step in the deployment of its strategic plan up to 2023, of which the sale of green power to electricity-consuming businesses is a major component. The agreement signed with Orange allows the Ally-Mercoeur wind farm to enter a new phase and secure the sale of its electricity at the end of its current purchase obligation contract, which will end in December 2020. The signing of this agreement also illustrates the quality of Boralex’s production facilities and of its industrial expertise in maintaining its assets and extending their life beyond the initial purchase obligation contracts.

Read the article online at: https://www.energyglobal.com/wind/17072020/orange-and-boralex-ink-ppa-in-france/