- The projects will be installed in Madrid, Catalonia, the Valencian Community, the Region of Murcia and Andalusia and will have an installed power of 6 MW
- Iberdrola is further strengthening the innovative approach of its solutions through bilateral agreements with large customers who are committed to sustainable consumption to provide renewable energy for self-consumption at competitive and stable prices
- The agreement is part of MAKRO's Corporate Social Responsibility strategy and seeks to give continuity to the measures already implemented to contribute to caring for the environment and sustainability
Iberdrola and MAKRO have committed to promoting energy sustainability together with the signing of a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) whereby the energy company will provide green electricity to the company's hospitality industry distribution centres in Spain for the next 15 years.
Iberdrola will therefore supply the electricity produced for on-site self-consumption using solar photovoltaic panels located on the roofs of ten MAKRO shopping centres. The two companies are considering whether to extend this collaboration to the rest of the distributor's supermarkets in Spain and Portugal.
The photovoltaic installations will have a total installed power of 6 MW and will occupy a total area of more than 30,000 m2, divided between the centres of Bormujos, the first to already have this type of renewable installation, and Alcalá de Guadaira, both in Seville; Barajas, Alcobendas and Alcorcón, in Madrid; Barcelona and Badalona, in Catalonia; Murcia, Vara de Quart in Valencia and Puerto de Santa María, in Cadiz. The initiative will enable the distribution company to reduce its annual emissions into the atmosphere by some 3,500 tonnes of CO2.
For Iberdrola, the agreement reinforces the innovative approach of its business strategy: signing bilateral renewables agreements that promote the supply of power to large customers at competitive, stable prices.
"PPAs continue to place value on the competitiveness of renewables solutions and to open up opportunities for the development of innovative projects that are transforming the present and future of energy in this country. Long-term energy sales contracts bring stability to investments and have also become an excellent tool for managing the electricity supply of large consumers who are committed to clean, sustainable consumption. In addition, in this case, the production and supply of electricity takes advantage of the surface area available on the customer's roofs," explained Eduardo Insunza, Global Strategic Customers Director at Iberdrola.
In the words of Peter Gries, MAKRO's Managing Director, "This initiative reaffirms the company's commitment to the environment and demonstrates our ambition to become a benchmark for sustainability within the hospitality industry. Because of our collaboration with Iberdrola, we are closer to our energy efficiency goals and are contributing decisively to caring for the environment in which we operate."
Renewables for a green recovery
Iberdrola is a global reference point in the area of PPAs and has long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) in markets that include Spain, Portugal, the United Kingdom, the United States and Mexico, with wind and photovoltaic power projects with an installed capacity of over 2,500 MW. In Spain, the company has been a pioneer in promoting this type of agreement with companies from sectors such as banking, telecommunications, the brewery industry, distribution and sports brands.
In the area of self-consumption, the company has spent years developing solutions with Smart Solar that are aimed at domestic consumers and neighbourhood communities, SMEs and large companies to generate and consume renewable electricity on site, optimising consumption and improving the sustainability and competitiveness of their facility. The solution, which is comprehensive and tailored to their needs, allows customers to opt for sustainability and benefit from savings of between 30% and 70%.
Iberdrola is confident that electrification will act as a lever for financial recovery and employment in the post-COVID landscape. To drive that recovery, it will invest €10 billion this year to launch new projects, industrial activity throughout the value chain, and innovation in fields such as renewables, smart grids and large-scale storage systems. The company is this country's leader in renewable energies, with an installed wind capacity of more than 6,000 MW and over 16,500 MW in renewables as a whole; totalling more than 32,700 MW worldwide and making its generation facilities among the cleanest in the energy sector.
Further information: What is a PPA and what are its main benefits?
MAKRO, efficiency and sustainability
The collaboration emerged from MAKRO's commitment to providing all its centres with the most advanced technologies in renewable energy for efficient and sustainable use. In this way, the company will consume a high percentage of the solar energy produced at its own facilities, optimising energy consumption and contributing to the care of the environment and environmental sustainability while carrying out its operations.
The agreement is part of the Corporate Social Responsibility strategy developed by MAKRO, which aims to contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Specifically, the company intends to respond to SDG 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy - and its second goal, which aims to significantly increase the share of renewable energy in the energy mix. This collaboration also comes in addition to other energy management measures already implemented by MAKRO at all its centres. With these measures, since 2008 the company has managed to reduce its energy consumption by 33%, some 34 GWh/year, so that consumption in the 2019 financial year was 74.27 GWh.
