Community solar energy supplier Ampion renewable energy partners with The Wendy’s Company to help Wendy’s restaurants obtain sustainable energy. Nearly 100 company-owned restaurants and nearly 40 franchised restaurants in New York, Illinois and Massachusetts are now affiliated with Ampion+, a service that helps organizations reduce energy costs and secure Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) that substantiate the use of renewable energy and greenhouse gas emissions reductions.
Credit: Ampion
The registered restaurants will obtain between 30 and 100% of their energy from solar energy, without having to install solar panels on site. Wendy’s plans to increase the number of restaurants participating in community solar through Ampion as additional solar generation capacity comes online and more franchise restaurants enroll in the program.
“We are excited about the opportunity this partnership presents for our company and franchise restaurant operators by making it easier and more accessible to source clean energy while realizing cost savings,” said Steven Derwoed, VP Global Design and Construction at Wendy’s. “We are advancing progress toward our emissions reduction goals through community solar participation and RECs. It is a win-win situation for the company and our franchisees.”
Last year, Wendy’s set short-term science-based goals to reduce emissions by 47% and franchisee emissions by 47% per restaurant by 2030, both compared to the 2019 baseline. Purchasing renewable energy is a key area of focus for Wendy’s in achieving these emissions reduction goals.
Through Ampion, Wendy’s locations have deployed approximately 27.5 million kWh of community solar energy. Each kilowatt hour is recorded, tracked and allocated to a specific restaurant location via RECs via Ampion+.
“As the need to reduce carbon emissions grows, community solar combined with RECs offers a solution for environmental sustainability in business that is both feasible and affordable, while allowing companies to quantify their progress in a standardized way and make it public,” said Nate Owen. , CEO and founder of Ampion. “We see that more and more large companies are actively looking for sustainable solutions through community solar energy. This partnership with Wendy’s shows that Ampion can support these organizations in reducing emissions and deploying more renewable energy on the electricity grid for local communities.”
RECs represent the environmental benefits associated with 1 MWh of renewable energy linked to electricity consumption. Companies purchase RECs to claim responsibility for the clean energy generated and the associated environmental benefits in their ESG reports.
“Accounting and organizational constraints often prevent companies from purchasing RECs necessary to achieve their ESG objectives,” said Vihann Kong, senior executive director at Ampion. “Our innovative Ampion+ product addresses these barriers by combining community solar and RECs in one transaction. We are proud to help The Wendy’s Company and franchisees reduce their carbon emissions while saving on their bottom line.”
This collaboration comes as community solar continues to trend upward. A recent report from Wood Mackenzie estimates that cumulative community solar installations could more than double over the next five years. Earlier this year, Ampion surpassed 1 GW of community solar generation under management.
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