Vodafone dials up its solar energy supply in Europe

Renewable energy firm Iberdrola will provide Vodafone’s operations in Germany, Portugal and Spain with 410 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of photovoltaic (PV) solar energy per year.

The deal announced today builds on an existing power purchase agreement (PPA) for solar power in Germany and extends it to Portugal and Spain, and the two firms are apparently looking at further renewable energy-based initiatives elsewhere in Europe.

Vodafone Portugal will be fed energy from the newly built Velilla solar PV plant in Palencia, Spain, while Vodafone Spain will get 280 GWh per year from the new Cedillo PV plant located in Cáceres, Spain, and according to the agreement announced last week Vodafone Germany will slurp up the full energy produced from the Boldekow PV plant, Iberdrola’s first solar project to be developed in the country.

The latter plant will have a total capacity of 56 MWp and will be built in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, and will be fully operational by 2024. All in all, we’re told the power from three solar plants is comparable to the annual electricity demands of approximately 117,000 homes.

While they’re at it, Iberdrola has also installed more than 140 electric vehicle charging points in the main facilities at Vodafone Spain.

“These agreements across Europe underline Vodafone’s commitment to ensure our customers will continue to benefit from electricity purchased 100% from renewable sources,” said Joakim Reiter, Vodafone Group Chief External & Corporate Affairs Officer. “They also provide Vodafone with improved energy security and long-term price certainty as we work towards achieving net-zero in our operations by 2030.”

“To meet the agreed net zero targets in line with the Paris Agreement, the world faces the daunting task of ensuring the almost 90% of our future electricity needs globally are generated from non-carbon and renewable sources. Today’s announcement is a great example of how telecoms operators like Vodafone can help accelerate this essential transition of countries’ energy mix by becoming anchor tenants for new renewable power deployments.”

Aitor Moso, Global Clients Director of Iberdrola added: “Iberdrola and Vodafone are both committed to connecting customers and communities to a cleaner and smarter future. As a global developer of clean energy, we have the projects around the world that allow us to support multinational companies like Vodafone who are committed to sustainability right across their business operations. Agreements with progressive businesses like Vodafone are increasingly important in allowing new renewables projects to be built, and we now look forward to accelerating the delivery of these solar PV plants.”

Earlier this year in the UK, Vodafone detailed some technical developments it is making to render its network more energy efficient, such as installing its first on-site solar panels at an exchange in Gloucester. The idea to install its first on-site solar panels at a mobile telephone exchange (MTX) network site is that it will use electricity generated directly and reduce reliance on the national grid. The intention, we were told at the time, is to install rooftop solar PV across more sites across the UK over the next two years.

All the big telcos have come out with their own particular green pledges, through which by some timescale or another they claim to be able to achieve carbon neutrality. While comms around these goals can sometimes feel quite vague and tacked on, Vodafone does seem to have made a few solid moves this year in its stated sustainability pursuits, in what has been a tumultuous year for it more generally.

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