Vodafone signs 10-year deal for three new UK solar farms

Vodafone has signed a 10-year agreement for power generated from three new solar farms in Lincolnshire, Worcestershire and Nottinghamshire, helping to support its ambition to achieve net-zero UK operations by 2027.

Vodafone will purchase a significant proportion of the electricity output from the solar farms, securing their development and bringing additional renewable power provision to the UK grid. Energy generation is expected to begin by the end of 2022.

The deal, between Vodafone, Centrica as the power supplier, and MYTILINEOS’ Renewables & Storage Development Business Unit as the generator, aims to support the UK government’s ambition to focus on home-grown, clean and more affordable energy. The deal follows the development of two onshore wind farms, in Northamptonshire and Lincolnshire, which together supply 75 gigawatt hours of renewable electricity every year.

Combined, these assets will provide more than 20% of Vodafone UK’s annual energy requirement and guarantee it access to long-term, high-quality renewable electricity supplies.

When fully operational, the solar farms are expected to supply more than 100-gigawatt hours (GWh) of renewable electricity annually, enough to power a town of almost 30,000 households for a year and save around 25,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions, the  equivalent of taking 14,860 cars a year off the road.

Approximately 55GWh of green electricity will be dedicated to Vodafone UK, with the remainder being sold to balancing and merchant power markets through Centrica’s Energy Marketing & Trading business.

Vodafone’s fixed and mobile networks in the UK connect 16 million people at any one moment. Powering the network accounts for 95% of Vodafone’s total energy usage in the UK and represents the company’s biggest impact on the environment.

Says Ahmed Essam, UK CEO, Vodafone:

“Achieving our ambitious net-zero targets is a critical part of our company strategy. Already, our entire business in the UK and Europe is powered by 100% renewable electricity.

“Today’s announcement ensures a significant proportion of our energy requirement, for at least the next 10 years, is home-grown in the UK. I’m delighted Vodafone is helping to progress the development of new renewable power sites and supporting the delivery of more green energy to the UK grid.”