P&G cleans up with EDF wind power

UNITED STATES: Consumer goods company Procter and Gamble (P&G) becomes the latest corporate brand to buy wind power following a power purchase agreement with EDF Renewable Energy.

by David Weston 20 October 2015

Proctor and Gamble's headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio

P&G will use 100% wind power to produce its Fabric and Home Care brands of laundry detergents and fabric cleaners.

The US conglomerate has agreed to buy 80% of the power produced at EDF's 123MW Tyler Bluff project in Cooke County, northern Texas, due to come online in December 2016.

When announcing the deal, P&G also signed the US government's American Business Act on Climate Pledge, where the company agreed to achieve 30% renewable power globally by 2020.

Tyler Bluff was acquired by EDF when it bought mid-sized New York-based wind developer OwnEnergy in August.

EDF bought 100% of OwnEnergy assets, including the 20 staff and its pipeline portfolio of 329MW eight-project developments across the US.

P&G becomes the latest corporation to directly buy wind to power its operations. Tech firms Facebook, Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services have signed agreements to power data centres with wind power.

Walmart, Budweiser and General Motors have also signed power purchase deals for its manufacturing facilities.