Crown Holdings signs 15-year Virtual Power Purchase Agreement with Longroad Energy

Crown Holdings, Inc. recently signed a 15-year Virtual Power Purchase Agreement (VPPA) with Longroad Energy to use wind power at all of its U.S. and Canadian beverage can plants beginning on July 1, 2020.

The agreement is a major step toward the company’s pledge to the RE100 initiative, which brings together businesses committed to 100 percent renewable electricity. Crown is aiming to achieve 30 percent renewable electricity by 2020, 50 percent by 2030 and 100 percent by 2050.

As the first phase of Crown’s RE100 plan, a wind farm based in Knox County, Texas will generate over 400,000 megawatt-hours (MWhs) of electricity that will offset 100 percent of the energy usage at Crown’s U.S. and Canadian beverage plants, which make up more than 20 percent of the company’s global Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions.

“Completely transitioning our U.S. and Canadian beverage can plants to renewable electricity is the latest example of our willingness to take action when it comes to sustainability,” Timothy J. Donahue, president and CEO of Crown, said. “From innovations to our products, which use infinitely recyclable materials, to our industry-leading rankings with CDP, to our manufacturing processes, we will continue exploring opportunities that allow us to make meaningful progress.”

Crown’s has also set 2020 sustainability goals, which has the company reducing energy consumption by 5 percent and emissions by 10 percent per billion standard units produced from 2015 production levels. Crown has met its energy goal and has achieved 76 percent of its emission goal in two years.