Sasol International Chemicals, a business of Sasol Ltd., announced the signing of a virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) to reduce its GHG emissions.
The agreement was signed with Akuo, a renewable energy producer and developer.
The VPPA will deliver the equivalent of 91 megawatts or 250,000 megawatt hours annually of renewable energy capacity associated with the Tennyson solar farm Akuo is building in Coke County, Texas. This amount is approximately 50% of the annual electricity consumption at Sasol’s Lake Charles Chemicals Complex.
Once implemented in the second half of calendar year 2026, the 15-year agreement will reduce Sasol’s CO2 emissions by approximately 90 thousand tons per annum (ktpa). 3Degrees, a leading global climate solutions provider, advised Sasol on the agreement.
“The increased use of renewable energy, through both direct and virtual renewable power purchases at our major production sites, is a key lever in operating our facilities in a less carbon-intensive manner and meeting our goal of reducing our Scope 1 and scope 2 emissions by 30% by 2030,” said Todd Hancock, Vice President of US Operations for Sasol International Chemicals, in a statement.
Akuo already operates two wind farms in Coke County. The new 195MW solar plant will be Akuo’s first solar power plant in the U.S. Operations are scheduled to begin in the second half of 2026.
During the last few years, Sasol International Chemicals has made significant progress on renewable electricity procurement at its manufacturing facilities globally.
In Germany the company has signed power purchase agreements for plants in Marl and Brunsbüttel to replace externally purchased fossil power with renewable power, resulting in a Scope 2 reduction for the two plants of approximately 25 ktpa and 5 ktpa, respectively. Additionally, the utility provider for Marl has switched from coal to natural gas, further reducing Scope 2 emissions by 70 ktpa.
In Slovakia, the utility provider for Sasol’s plant in Nováky has switched from coal to nuclear, further reducing Scope 2 emissions by 0.3 ktpa.
In Italy, two 0.5 MW and 1 MW solar power plants located in the Augusta area have been recently built and connected to the public grid.
In China, 30% of the annual electricity requirements at the plant in Nanjing is covered by renewable electricity.