Health benefits company Anthem signed a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) for the output from a new 20-megawatt solar field that’s nearing completion in Hanover County, Virginia.
Anthem’s latest deal with utility-scale solar developer SunEnergy1 for power from the 182-acre project supports their goal to source 100% renewable energy by 2025. The Hanover County solar field should be fully operational later this year, according to the developer.
“Combined with an additional solar field in North Carolina coming online in early 2021, Anthem will have supported the development of more than 1,000 acres of solar panels that will generate more than 225,000-megawatt hours of electricity per year,” the project partners said.
The Hanover County-based solar facility is expected to generate more than 45,000 megawatt-hours of electricity annually, which Anthem said would help power offices and data centers. Combined, the solar field developments in Virginia and North Carolina should be enough to power all of Anthem’s offices and data centers nationwide.
“By addressing environmental health, we can improve lives and the health of communities in our state and across the country and set the example for others to follow,” said the president of Anthem Blue and Blue Shield in Virginia, Jeff Ricketts.
Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, who signed sweeping renewable energy legislation into law earlier this year, recently visited the Anthem solar development and congratulated the company on their energy procurement choice.
In addition to pursuing renewable energy sourcing by 2025, Anthem reported reducing energy use through efficiency initiatives such as LED lighting retrofits, advanced HVAC controls, and data-center optimization. The company said that it uses Energy Star Portfolio Manager to continuously track and benchmark all of its self-managed offices and data centers.
