Aurora wind project to supply 90MW power to clothing retail company Gap

Clothing retail company Gap has signed an agreement to buy power from the Enel Green Power’s 299MW Aurora wind project in North Dakota, US, as per wind industry news.

Under a 12-year power purchase agreement (PPA), Gap will buy a 90MW portion of the power generated by the Aurora wind farm, which is currently under development.

The wind energy to be delivered to Gap under the agreement will be sufficient to power more than 1,500 of the retail outlets of the clothing retail company. It will be equivalent to around 50% of the electricity needs of over 3,300 clothing stores operated by Gap worldwide.

The electricity to be purchased by Gap from the Aurora wind project will also help in avoiding the emission of 253,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.

The PPA will also help the clothing retail company to achieve its 2020 target of reducing its Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 50% compared to a 2015 baseline.

Scope 1 emissions include direct emissions from the company owned or controlled sources, while Scope 2 emissions are indirect emissions from the generation of purchased energy.

Art Peck – president and CEO of Gap, commenting on the Aurora wind project, said: “We have a responsibility to reduce our climate impact. For Gap Inc., being a part of the climate solution means making strategic investments in clean energy generation. Today we have secured a path to achieving our 2020 goal, but we must do more.”

Located in Williams and Mountrail counties, the Aurora wind project is expected to become operational by the end of 2020. The new wind farm in North Dakota will help in avoiding the emission of around 880,000 tons of CO2 per year.

Construction on the Aurora wind project is expected to begin later this year.

The PPA with Gap marks the 11th contract with a commercial and industrial customer for Enel Green Power North America.