Newsletter: Invenergy to Provide 100% of Grupo Bimbo’s U.S. Energy

This wind newsletter was originally published on April 13, 2018.

Member Highlight: Invenergy to Provide 100% of Grupo Bimbo’s U.S. Energy

Grupo Bimbo, the largest bakery in the world, signed a virtual power purchase agreement with Michigan EIBC member company Invenergy to provide 100% renewable energy for the global corporation’s U.S. operations.

As part of the company’s emissions reduction goals, Grupo Bimbo will match 100% of its U.S. energy consumption with 100 MW of renewable electricity from Invenergy’s Santa Rita East Wind Farm in Texas.

“This agreement is a great example of how companies across all industries can view renewable energy as beneficial for both the environment and business,” said Invenergy’s CEO Michael Polsky.

“Grupo Bimbo is one of the organizations leading the way for sustainability in the baking industry, and as Invenergy continues to lead the way to a clean energy future, we are proud to help expand their commitment to using renewable energy on a global level,” Polsky said.

This is not the first time Invenergy has partnered with a large corporation seeking to meet its renewable energy goals. Since 2015, the company has partnered with 10 corporations to develop more than 1,100 MW of renewable energy.

 

Wind Newsclips

In Michigan
  • Wind energy plays a leading role in DTE Energy’s renewables plan.
  • DTE Energy signed leases on 22,000 acres of land for a proposed wind farm in Michigan’s Branch County. 
  • The Mason County Planning Commission approved land-use requests from Consumers Energy for wind turbine maintenance platforms.
  • Thumb-area townships are delaying the development of the 55-turbine Tuscola Wind III Energy Center, in the works by Michigan EIBC member company NextEra Energy Resources’ subsidiary, Tuscola Wind III.
  • Cleveland company Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation (LEEDCo) is trying to develop a Lake Erie offshore wind farm.
From Washington
  • The Trump administration announced new tariffs on Chinese imports of wind power and battery products, but the market impact is expected to be minor.
  • Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced plans to expand wind power in the Atlantic Ocean.
  • The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is seeking input on which parts of the U.S. Atlantic have the greatest chance for leasing by offshore wind developers.
  • A FERC decision to approve ISO New England’s new market pricing proposal has some clean energy advocates worried that the agency will use the minimum offer price rule to gut no-cost, state-supported wind programs.
  • The Department of Energy pulled out of an agreement with a developer to build a 700-mile transmission line that would deliver wind power from Oklahoma to Tennessee and beyond.
Across the Country
  • An environmental group’s report says most Atlantic Coast states have offshore wind potential that exceeds their electricity consumption.
  • Global wind capacity is expected to double by 2027, despite a significant slowdown in U.S. installations after 2022 due to the Production Tax Credit phase out, according to a new report.
  • A look at how batteries can improve the economics of offshore wind projects.
  • A local energy authority in Northern California wants to construct the country’s first commercial-scale floating wind farm.
  • A repowering project at Illinois’ oldest utility-scale wind farm will increase capacity by 50% with less than half the turbines.
  • After a 250 MW wind project in northern Illinois was narrowly approved, plans are surfacing for another project in the region.
  • An Illinois town approved rules to keep turbines at least 1.5 miles from the city limits.
  • A northern Indiana county is considering stricter setbacks for wind projects.
  • An eastern Nebraska county adopted a six-month moratorium on wind projects to study local zoning regulations.
  • Facebook and Adobe will share the output of a 320 MW wind project under construction in Nebraska.
  • Officials in a Nebraska county reached a compromise over new wind regulations that are more stringent than state rules.
  • A western Ohio wind turbine company launched a scholarship for STEM students. 
  • An Ohio lawmaker has been circulating a discredited study on potential turbine hazards.
  • Michigan EIBC member company Invenergy is partnering with Oklahoma Panhandle State University to provide job training and scholarships in the region.
  • Oklahoma lawmakers have proposed new caps on tax credits for wind energy, which could bankrupt existing wind farms.
  • Aging wind farms in West Texas were “repowered” with more efficient turbines, creating jobs and revitalizing the state’s wind industry.
  • The company that just bought Texas’s largest utility wants to use surplus wind to charge electric vehicles.
  • College of William & Mary scientists are designing an “acoustic lighthouse” to alert birds with high-pitched sounds as they approach wind turbines.

 

Events to Watch:

Michigan EIBC’s 6th Annual Member Meeting is scheduled for April 30Register here.

Michigan EIBC’s member-only Lobby Day is May 1. Register here.

AWEA invites you to the Powering Forward conference May 7-10 in Chicago, Illinois. The conference, entitled WINDPOWER, will create an opportunity for the industry comes together to plan for the future and keep this success story growing. Register here.

You’re invited to present, advertise, exhibit, or sponsor at The Energy Fair, June 15-17 in Custer, Wisconsin. Learn more and register here.