WALKER — Meijer Inc. has signed a 15-year contract to purchase output from a large-scale solar project in Texas under an agreement that will offset the retailer’s carbon emissions.
Meijer last week announced the virtual power purchase agreement with Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions, which is developing the 250 megawatt (MW) Pisgah Ridge Solar project south of the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. The developer is a non-regulated subsidiary of Charlotte, N.C.-based utility giant Duke Energy.
The project broke ground in June 2021 and is expected to be completed by the end of this year. Meijer is one of at least two corporate buyers for the project’s output: Massachusetts-based pharmaceutical company Charles River Laboratories Inc. has contracted for 102 MW of output for 15 years, Duke Energy Sustainable Solutions announced last year.
Meanwhile, Meijer officials say the contract will help the company achieve its 50-percent carbon reduction goal by 2025 that was announced in January. While the Texas project will not directly power any Meijer stores, the company will receive credits for the avoided emissions.
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