Thermo Fisher Scientific agreed the virtual power purchasing agreement with EDF Renewables, a subsidiary of EDF Group and a provider of renewable electricity through onshore and offshore wind power, solar power, and storage projects.
The 20-year agreement between the partners is covered by the 200-megawatt Millers Branch Solar project, which is located in Texas, US, and is expected to begin commercial operations in December 2025.
As such, the power purchasing agreement between the two companies will come into action in 2026, and will mean that all of Thermo Fisher’s electricity needs can be met across its US sites with renewable energy.
The Millers Branch Solar project will deliver 545,000 megawatts-hours (MWh) of electricity annually from the site. According to EDF, this is enough power to meet the consumption of nearly 51,000 average homes. Further, the project is able to avoid the production of over 386,000 metric tons of carbon annually.
Thermo Fisher’s action supplements a previous agreement with Enel North America, which allowed the company to source half of its electricity needs in the US from wind power.
The deal was agreed last year and represents an eight-year virtual power purchasing deal to deliver 90-megawatts of power from the Seven Cowboy wind project in Oklahoma, US.
At the time, Konrad Bauer, SVP, global business services, Thermo Fisher, said, “This project will more than double our use of renewable energy and, combined with our $20m (€18.5m) investment in green infrastructure earlier this year, supports our commitment to a net-zero value chain by 2050.”
As part of its overall plan to reduce its carbon footprint, Thermo Fisher announced at the end of last year that it would reduce its Scope 1 and 2 emissions from operations by more than 50%, from a 2018 baseline.
The company stated that it was ahead of schedule to achieve its previous 2030 goal of a 30% reduction. Overall, the company plans to be net-zero value chain by 2050, including Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions.
Outside of working with partners to deliver renewable energy, Thermo Fisher stated that it had engaged with 90% of suppliers to set target emission reductions across its global value chain. Beyond this, the company stated that it is working to design products with the environment in mind, to produce green product alternatives.
