Russian gas giant and UK business energy supplier Gazprom has greened its energy supply by entering into a 15-year contract with solar farm developer Canadian Solar.
The deal will see Gazprom Energy, the giant’s UK-facing retail supply arm, purchase the electricity generated from up to 40MW of Canadian Solar’s operational assets in the UK.
Gazprom is to also receive the Renewables Obligations Certificates associated with the electricity, helping the supplier meet its obligations under the RO scheme. This electricity will also be sold directly on to Gazprom’s business energy customers, who also benefit from carbon management services.
The deal will see as much as 600MW of renewable electricity traded between Gazprom and Canadian Solar, and Toon Van de Plas, originator at Gazprom Marketing and Trading, said it would make a “significant renewable power contribution” to the UK energy market.
Andrew Morris, manager of clean energy at Gazprom Energy, added: “We are pleased to keep growing our UK power portfolio and are always looking ahead for more innovative structures.”
Green energy tariffs have become increasingly popular in the UK as consumers and businesses alike become more carbon conscious. In April this year rival suppliers Good Energy and Ecotricity were involved in a spat with the Advertising Standards Agency over the latter’s claims that it supplied “the greenest electricity” in Britain.
