Mars Australia has announced it will source 100 per cent of the electricity needed to power six factories from renewable energy sources.
To this end, the manufacturer of brands like M&M’s, MasterFoods , Extra sugarfree gum, and Pedigree dog food, has signed a 20-year power-purchase agreement (PPA) with Total Eren Group.
Under the PPA, Mars will source the equivalent of 100 per cent of its electricity generated from renewable energy by 2020 to match the electricity requirements of its six Australian factories in Asquith, Ballarat, Bathurst, Wacol, Wodonga and Wyong and two sales offices in Melbourne and Sydney.
Earlier this week, Burra Foods announced plans to move to renewables in a ten-year PPA with Melbourne-based energy retailer Flow Power, and in March CUB signed a a 12-year PPA with German renewable energy developer, service provider and wholesaler, BayWa r.e.
"The rise in electricity prices last year accelerated our plans to join Mars sites in the US, UK and nine other countries in moving to renewable electricity," Mars Australia general manager Barry O’Sullivan said.
"We acted quickly because the price volatility of energy in Australia made renewables the best option for our business, in addition to getting us closer to our commitment to eliminate greenhouse gasses from our operations by 2040."
Total Eren will be developing and building the Kiamal Solar Farm near Ouyen, Victoria, which will be operational in mid-2019. The Mars PPA will also facilitate the planned build of a second renewable project by Total Eren in NSW.
Mars said the PPA is part of a broader plan to become 'Sustainable in a Generation' which involves plans to reduce greenhouse gasses across its supply chain by 67 per cent by 2040.
Last year, Mars announced it was spending a billion dollars in the next three years to transform the supply chain to reduce these emissions - with the PPA spearheading this change.
“We have an extensive local supplier network and we’ll be talking to them about how they can help further reduce emissions in our supply chain,” O’Sullivan said.
Total Eren CEO David Corchia said, “Total Eren has an ambitious vision for the expansion and development of renewable energy in Australia.”
“Partnering with manufacturing thought leaders like Mars Australia is essential and sends a strong message to the rest of the market that now is the time to capitalise on the opportunities offered by renewable power purchase agreements and to drive positive change in the environment.”
Mars will not take energy directly from the solar farm to power its operations. By helping to underwrite a part of the project, Mars provided the security necessary to enable the project developers, Total Eren, to expand the solar farm to a planned Stage 1 capacity of 200 MW.
In return, Mars will receive the Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) created by Kiamal Solar Farm, which are transferable for all Mars’ electricity use in all of its Australian facilities.
Sam Kimmins, Head of RE100, The Climate Group, said, “Investing in solar power is a sound business decision in light of fluctuating energy costs in Australia. By adding renewables capacity and engaging suppliers, leaders like Mars can spur wider corporate action that can shift the local market away from fossil fuels and start bringing down the country’s high emissions.”
Mars partnered with Commodity Risk Solution, LLC, a global energy market advisor, to structure and deliver an innovative corporate PPA .
TFS Green brokered the Kiamal Project to Mars as part of their new corporate PPA services platform - Renewable Energy Hub.
FUN FACT: Energy generated by the Kiamal Solar Farm is enough to power the production of:
185 million 180g bags of M&Ms Peanut
or
29 million 3kg bags of Pedigree
or
1.4b bottles of MasterFoods tomato sauce
or
2.5b packets of Extra
