BT powers UK digital growth with Scottish windfarm deals
BT has signed a new Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) worth £185m, over 15 years, with a Scottish wind farm to further support the provision of new renewable energy in the UK.
Thirteen wind turbines at Stroupster, in the far North of Scotland, now provides the company with 100 Gigawatt (GW) hours per year.
BT now has agreements with four windfarms in the UK, including Fallago Rig in the Scottish Borders, helping to power the country’s demand for digital services.
The company has reduced its carbon emissions from its operations every year since 2008 and continues to work hard to reduce its energy consumption.
Rob Williams, BT’s general manager of power procurement, said the significant PPA at Stroupster underpinned BT’s long-term commitment to renewable energy.
“BT is a green energy pioneer and we have been purchasing 100 per cent renewable energy in the UK since 2012. By 2020 we aim to be purchasing 100 per cent renewable electricity worldwide, so soon all of our power will come from sources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves and geothermal heat wherever we operate across the globe - where markets allow. We hope our commitment to renewable energy will encourage more consumers and businesses to make the move towards renewable energy.”
“We’re as committed to reducing our own carbon emissions as we are to providing products and services that help everyone live within the planet’s resources.”
The deal was welcomed by Scottish Renewables director of policy, Jenny Hogan: “The fact that we’re seeing more and more large companies like BT contracting most or all of their power from sources like wind, solar, hydro and biomass shows that renewable energy makes good business sense.
“Renewables are already Scotland’s biggest source of power – ahead of nuclear, gas and coal – andhave the potential to provide half of all Scotland’s energy – electricity, heat and transport - by 2030. It’s great to see firms like BT grasp this opportunity to cut carbon and stabilise their energy costs.”
Brendan Dick, BT Scotland director, said: “It’s great news that our global operations and networks will be supplied with renewable sources in this deal, the second in Scotland. As demand grows for our digital services such as superfast fibre broadband and cloud services, it’s important we power that expansion in an environmentally sound way. We’ve shown that investment in ICT could help reduce carbon emissions by 24 per cent by 2030 while bringing £122bn economic benefit to the UK.”
The 100 Gigawatt (GW) Stroupster Wind Farm joins Fallago Rig as BT’s second wind farm supply in Scotland. The Stroupster wind farm was constructed by BayWa. BT also makes use of a wind farm at Mynydd Bwllfa in Wales, which powers half of BT’s energy requirements in Wales, and a wind farm in Lancashire in England.
BT consumes around 2.5 TWh (Terawatt hours) each year. Combined with EE, BT uses around 1 per cent of the UK’s energy to power its networks, data centres and offices, and it spends around £350m per year on energy and fuel.
BT’s Purposeful Business Report for 2015/16 demonstrates the company’s extensive work to put responsible and sustainable business at the heart of its operations. For further information visit www.btplc.com/Purposefulbusiness/
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