SAN FRANCISCO, CA & LONDON, UK, June 13, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today Watershed, the enterprise sustainability platform, announced eight of its customers contributed to the funding of five new solar plants in Michigan. These projects are expected to generate more than 110,000 MWh of clean energy annually, avoiding over 52,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year while lowering the emissions of participating companies. Last year, Michigan passed a bill committing to 100% renewable energy by 2040; currently, less than 2% of Michigan’s electricity is generated by solar power.
Watershed customers including Block, Braze, DoorDash, Match Group, and Unity are helping fund the Michigan projects through Watershed’s fixed-price Virtual Power Purchase Agreement (VPPA). The projects will generate clean power and Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), which are proof of the production of a unit of carbon-free electricity. The participating companies will use the RECs to reduce their emissions.
“We continue to work with our customers to develop climate solutions that maximize impact. By aggregating customer demand for clean power, we’ve made ambitious projects like fixed-price VPPAs accessible to a broad range of companies at every stage of their climate journeys. Through their collective action, these companies are decreasing their individual footprints and producing exponential benefits for the five Michigan communities with new solar plants,” said Matt Konieczny, Head of Clean Power at Watershed.
Watershed developed a novel fixed-price structure for its VPPA that removes the pricing volatility traditionally inherent in VPPAs and lowers the risk for participating companies. The result is a flexible, high-impact program available to companies across sectors and sizes. Watershed VPPAs include a recently announced set of solar projects co-funded by Canva and their print suppliers, which will lower Canva’s scope 3 emissions while cleaning up the Illinois grid.
“We’re thrilled to partner with Watershed on this multi-year, renewable energy purchase as a part of Block’s commitment to clean energy and decarbonization, both key tenets of our corporate climate action program. We look forward to seeing this project’s impact in Michigan,” said Neil Jorgensen, Block’s Global Head of Stewardship.
"At Braze, we're dedicated to driving meaningful climate action and fostering sustainable business practices," said Bill Magnuson, co-founder and CEO of Braze. "Partnering with Watershed to fund new solar plants in Michigan ensures that Braze's collective electricity demand in the United States is provided by solar. We are proud to be part of this joint effort to build ever more impactful emissions reduction initiatives."
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ABOUT WATERSHED: Watershed is the enterprise sustainability platform. Companies like Airbnb, Carlyle Group, FedEx, Visa, and Dr. Martens use Watershed to manage climate and ESG data, produce audit-ready metrics for reporting, and drive real decarbonization. Watershed is the platform of choice for companies seeking to reduce emissions, meet customer, investor and regulatory requirements, and modernize their sustainability programs. Watershed customers also have exclusive access to a marketplace of pre-vetted, high-quality carbon projects and groundbreaking virtual power purchase agreements.
Amelia Penniman Watershed amelia@watershed.com
