Cheerio! – Renewable Energy is the Lucky Charm for General Mills
April 27, 2020
April 24 (Renewables Now) – Minnesota-based food major General Mills Inc (NYSE:GIS) has joined the RE100 global corporate initiative and set an objective to source 100% renewable power by 2030.
The company announced this on Thursday and presented a list of existing renewable energy projects that allow it to cut Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions in its global operating facilities.
General Mills has an ongoing 15-year virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) with RES Americas for a 100-MW portion of the Cactus Flats wind farm in Texas and a 15-year off-take contract with a joint venture of RES and Steelhead Americas for 200 MW of the Maverick Creek wind park in the same state. These two plants will generate enough renewable energy credits (RECs) to cover 100% of the company’s power usage in the US.
The company also has a 1.6-MW generator fuelled by the anaerobic biodigester at its Murfreesboro plant in Tennessee, a 335-kW biogas regeneration plant at the Paranavai Yoki facility in Brazil and a 195-kW biogas regeneration plant in Arras, France.
In 2015, General Mills set a Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi)-approved goal to cut absolute greenhouse gas emissions across its full value chain, covering Scopes 1, 2 and 3, by 28% by 2025. It said today that through 2019, it had lowered the emissions of its extended value chain by 14% compared to its 2010 baseline.
Climate Denial Crock of the Week 
April 27, 2020 at 6:07 pm
Good move as long as it’s not fake “greenwashing”. More and more companies come to the conclusion that customers do want a sustainable (green) world.
April 28, 2020 at 5:06 am
Don’t support Vung Ang 2
Coal power station in Vietnam carries reputational and financial risk
Companies should not financially support a coal power plant on a site that is already known to have polluted air and water, will cause further impacts to livelihoods of local communities and carries stranded asset risk.
Call on Mitsubishi and the banks not to support Vung Ang 2