Community Solar

Starbucks to anchor 40 MW of Nexamp community solar in Illinois

Starbucks to anchor 40 MW of Nexamp community solar in Illinois
A Nexamp community solar installation (courtesy: Nexamp)

Coffee giant Starbucks and community solar behemoth Nexamp are teaming up to install six new community solar projects in Illinois, a booming destination for such projects of late.

Starbucks will anchor a deployment of more than 40 MW of solar energy across the half dozen installations, providing electricity savings to more than 1,100 residents who subscribe within the ComEd and Ameren utility territories. Construction on the projects has already begun, and they will start coming online in 2025.

“Community solar is a perfect way for retailers to make progress on their own sustainability goals while also playing a role in the build-out of renewable energy resources that have the ability to directly benefit their own customers. That was the case with Starbucks, which shares our vision of equitable access to community members,” explained Nexamp CEO Zaid Ashai.

Starbucks will only receive a portion of the renewable electricity credits; the remaining capacity on each project will be allocated to area residents and businesses through the Nexamp community solar program. Nexamp and Starbucks say they hope to expand this program to locations nationwide.

Starbucks purchases more renewable energy than any U.S. retailer besides Target and Walmart, contracting 1,269,510,000 kWh of green power annually, enough to power 100% of its stores, a mark first met in 2015. This project with Nexamp would power 170 of its more than 600 Illinois stores, according to Nation’s Restaurant News.

“Starbucks is committed to our environmental promise to give more than we take, and we have a long history of renewable energy projects that bring clean energy to more communities,” said Michael Kobori, Starbucks’ chief sustainability officer. “We’re proud to support Nexamp’s efforts to bring community solar into areas where it can have the most impact and make savings opportunities available to community members.”

In April, Nexamp announced it had secured $520 million to expand its community solar portfolio, an investment led by Manulife Investment Management alongside existing investors Diamond Generating Corporation and Generate Capital. The company said it will leverage the funding to expedite the deployment of its national project pipeline, accelerate expansion and developer partnerships in new and existing markets, and fuel the continued growth of its generation offerings.

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