Coles is creating cleaner energy, via its 10-year agreement with CleanCo.
From July 2022, Coles will source more than 90% of its Queensland electricity requirements from CleanCo.
Coles will purchase 400 GWh of electricity annually through the agreement. The Western Downs Green Power Hub set to be Australia’s largest solar farm once built; and the McIntyre Wind Farm will supply three quarters of the Coles’ electricity requirements, with the remainder supported by CleanCo’s low emissions portfolio.
Coles will reduce electricity carbon dioxide emissions nationally by an estimated 20% or 240,000 tonnes annually. This is the equivalent of taking 100,000 vehicles off the road.
Coles Group CEO, Steven Cain says, “We have already made changes throughout our business to use energy more efficiently, which has enabled us to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 36.5% since 2009, while growing our team member base and store network.”
In addition to cleaner energy, the deal ensures that 800 local jobs are created in Queensland’s Western and Southern Downs.
“The CleanCo and Metka EGN agreements are great examples of how we can grow renewable energy generation capacity in Australia because they give the developers of the certainty they need to invest and we look forward to growing our partnerships with renewable energy providers in the future,” says Coles Chief Sustainability, Property and Export Officer, Thinus Keeve.
CleanCo CEO Dr Maia Schweizer adds, “We are proud to partner with Coles and provide renewable-backed power for its Queensland sites under one contract.”