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Intuit Leads on a New Type of Renewable Energy Transaction: VPPA 2.0

Intuit Leads on a New Type of Renewable Energy Transaction: VPPA 2.0

Published 07-21-20

Submitted by Sustainability Roundtable, Inc.

Above: Clearway Energy Group completed construction of the 419 MW Mesquite Star wind farm in Fisher County, Texas Below: Sean Kinghorn, Intuit™s Global Sustainability Leader

Sean Kinghorn

Sustainability Roundtable, Inc. (SR Inc), the leader in outsourced Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) assistance, announced today it supported multiple corporate clients in helping to cause new renewable energy capacity to be built through a new type of transaction process and structure.   Through this process, one of SR Inc’s Member-clients, Intuit, contracted a portion of the 419 megawatt (MW) Mesquite Star wind farm in Fisher County, Texas, which became operational in June 2020. Intuit, makers of TurboTax, QuickBooks and Mint, contracted 10 MW under a Virtual Power Purchase Agreement (VPPA), which, along with other buyers, enabled Clearway Energy Group to finance the development and construction of the new wind generation capacity.   The 10 MW of wind generation capacity can meet the annual electricity demand of about 3,300 average U.S. homes.

Sustainability Roundtable, Inc. Renewable Energy Procurement Services (SR Inc REPS) assisted Intuit through a shared cost service providing transaction structuring, market, financial, legal, regulatory, engineering and contracting advisory services for more than 12 months as Intuit selected, negotiated and signed the VPPA. SR Inc REPS managed a national request for proposal process for Intuit and multiple corporate buyers which involved more than 20 qualified leading developers proposing more than 50 individual projects across six different U.S. energy markets.  It resulted in all seven finalists offering market leading terms to tailor the Buyer Organized Aggregated VPPA – what SR Inc REPS styles a “VPPA 2.0” – to the risk averse needs of corporate off-takers like Intuit.  Intuit, like most enterprises, does not have the demand for 50+ MW of generation capacity that the world’s largest energy users regularly contract for as they dominate the VPPA market to date.  The VPPA 2.0 approach is designed for multiple, smaller, high credit enterprises and is intended to expand the demand for utility scale renewable energy. 

Sean Kinghorn, Intuit’s Global Sustainability Leader stated:

“Intuit is committed to delighting our customers and they have made clear they would like us powered by renewable energy.  We have appreciated SR Inc REPS’ leadership in helping to create a model of shared services and Buy-side Aggregated VPPAs that has the potential to deliver cost-positive renewable energy for every enterprise that is creditworthy and able to make a long-term commitment to cause new renewable energy.  It has made it possible to meet our goal of 100% renewable energy 10 years early and to move to a bold climate positive target: by 2030, we will reduce carbon emissions 50 times greater than our 2018 carbon footprint, resulting in a reduction of 2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide.”

Jim Boyle, SR Inc’s CEO & Chairman remarked:

“Intuit has provided important cross industry leadership.  Intuit has demonstrated how an enterprise can partner with others to leverage shared support services – such as those provided by SR Inc REPS’ Net Zero Consortium for Buyers – to enable each individual enterprise to make substantially smaller but still independent commitments. Intuit did this while still: (a) causing new renewable energy capacity; (b) winning market leading contractual protections; and (c) benefiting from the cost advantage of utility scale renewable energy. Currently, other SR Inc Member-clients are in negotiations for another VPPA 2.0 which also provides a no necessary first capital transaction they model as likely to be cost-positive as it provides them with more credible Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) that are caused by their purchase. Through VPPA 2.0 transactions, it is now reasonable for most high credit enterprises to benefit from the cost advantage of utility scale renewable energy as they seek to also chart a profitable path to 100% renewables through renewable energy they cause.”

About Intuit

Intuit is a mission-driven, global financial platform company that gives everyone the opportunity to prosper. Intuit is the proud makers of TurboTax, QuickBooks, and Mint. ​Intuit’s products and services help more than 50M people around the world put more money in their pockets, with less work and greater confidence. From uncovering data patterns for how wealth is created, to designing conversational interfaces that deliver personalized experiences, Intuit is putting AI, ML, and an unrivaled set of data to work to help millions of people achieve financial freedom. Learn more at www.intuit.com

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Sustainability Roundtable, Inc.

Sustainability Roundtable, Inc.

Sustainability Roundtable, Inc. (SR Inc) is the leader in outsourced Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) assistance. SR Inc’s Sustainable Business & Enterprise Roundtable (SBER) provides confidential, membership-based, Strategic Advisory & Support Services to help management teams set goals, drive progress, and report results as they lead their organizations to greater sustainability. SR Inc’s Renewable Energy Procurement Services (REPS) team is led by 20+ year experts focused on corporate renewable energy strategy development, markets, law, financing, technology, transaction structuring, negotiation services and procurement. For information regarding SR Inc’s Sustainable Business & Enterprise Roundtable service and/or SR Inc’s Renewable Energy Procurement Services, visit our website at www.sustainround.com

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