Dive Brief:
- TotalEnergies has signed an agreement to supply 800 gigawatt-hours of renewable electricity to paper manufacturer SWM over a 10-year period, the oil major announced Tuesday.
- The energy giant will provide power to three of SWM’s sites in France: Papeteries de Saint Girons, PDM Industries and LTR Industries. The contract is designed to help SWM meet its decarbonization goals, according to a Jan. 27 release.
- The agreement relies on the oil company’s integrated power portfolio, which includes renewable assets like solar, onshore and offshore wind and flexible assets like storage and combined-cycle gas turbine plants, per the release. TotalEnergies said it will supply the clean electricity through its existing renewable generation assets located in France, which have a generation capacity of 50 megawatts.
Dive Insight:
The clean energy contract between SWM and TotalEnergies begins this month and adds to a growing list of similar deals the oil major has signed with other companies. These include power supply agreements with Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Air Liquide, Merck and others.
The contract will also help the SWM work towards its emission reduction goals, the release said. The paper manufacturer aims to cut its scope 1 and scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2033, compared to a 2021 baseline, and has a target to reach net-zero status by 2050, according to its latest ESG report.
“This agreement secures half of our French electricity needs from renewable sources for the next decade, a decisive step toward our commitment to significantly reduce scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2033,” SWM’s Vice President and Chief Information Officer Giuliano Scilio said in the release.
“For an energy-intensive industry like ours, this isn't just an environmental milestone; it's a strategic investment that gives us cost predictability and strengthens our ability to offer customers genuinely sustainable solutions,” Scilio added.
TotalEnergies has several sustainability goals itself, with a target of reaching carbon neutrality by 2050. Among them are 2030 targets to reduce scope 1 and 2 emissions by 40%, compared to a 2015 baseline; increase electricity production to 100 terawatt-hours; and hit 100 gigawatts of gross installed renewable power capacity.
