Nestle SA Invests in Texas solar power project

Nestlé SA announced it is investing in Ganado, a solar project the size of about 850 football fields, in Jackson County, Texas, owned and developed by Enel North America.

The deal should indirectly help power many of Nestlé's US facilities and advance its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across its operations.

Nestlé's investment, the value of which was not specified will add 208 megawatts of solar electricity to the US power grid.

In addition to its direct investment, Nestlé will purchase 100 percent of the renewable electricity generated by the project', which is estimated at 333,000 megawatt hours per year for 15 years.

The annual carbon emission reduction is expected to be about 126,294 tonnes of CO2, which is equivalent to the emissions of more than 27,200 cars per year.

"We will continue to accelerate the use of renewable electricity, including wind and solar, to source 100% renewable electricity across our sites globally by 2025, and to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050," said Howard Baker, global head of engineering service and technologies at Nestlé.

According to Kate Short, chief procurement officer of Nestlé North America, not only will their investment in Ganado help reduce carbon emissions across their US manufacturing sites, but they would also add enough solar electricity to power about 24,574 homes each year.