Intuit Hits 100% Renewable Electricity Goal 10 Years Early
The 419 MW Mesquite Star wind farm was just completed in Fisher County, Texas, and is now providing electricity for Ecolab, Lowe’s, Intuit, and Brown University. In the case of Intuit (which you may have used to do your taxes this year), the company has now reached its 100% renewable electricity goal. As the headline notes, it has reached that goal 10 years earlier than it had committed.
The project is also providing Ecolab with 100% of its US electricity needs. The company has a goal of halving its carbon emissions by 2030 — presumably, based on 2019 levels, but I can’t find details confirming the base year.
“The 100 MW agreement will generate enough clean energy to power the equivalent of all 143 Lowe’s stores in Texas,” said Chris Cassell, Lowe’s director of corporate sustainability. Lowe’s intends to cut carbon emissions to 40% below 2016 levels by 2030.
“Power we purchase from Mesquite Star will offset about 30 percent of our campus electricity and will cut our net campus emissions by 15 percent. We’re very pleased that our part of this project will contribute to a cleaner energy future,” said Stephen Porder, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and Brown’s assistant provost for sustainability.
Blattner Energy built Mesquite Star, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy provided the wind turbines, and Clearway Energy Group owns the project. BHE Renewables provided a tax equity investment.
“Successfully launching a project like this, at a time like this, demonstrates the durability of this industry even under the most difficult circumstances,” said Craig Cornelius, CEO of Clearway Energy Group. “Mesquite Star will provide clean, affordable wind power in the Lone Star State for decades to come while supporting our customers in meeting their sustainability and clean energy goals. We thank our customers, landowners, construction partner, and the many others involved in the success of this project.”
300 jobs were created for construction of Mesquite Star, and millions of dollars were pumped into the local economy in West Texas. The wind power industry is a $46.5 billion industry in Texas that supports 25,000 jobs a year and wind farms provide $285 million in local and state taxes for the Lone Star State to use wisely for the benefit of its residents (hopefully).
Intuit is the company behind TurboTax, QuickBooks, and Mint. If you use any of these popular accounting software services, you can now be happy to know that the company’s electricity generation is 100% renewably powered. If your home or business is too, then you’re green and clean from end to end.
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