Five months after investing in wind farms to power its restaurants, Starbucks is stepping up its use of solar energy as well. Two solar-panel complexes in Texas are now supplying electricity to 360 Starbucks outlets in the state, with more units expected to switch as six additional solar farms backed by the coffee giant come online.
The Texas projects are the latest examples of Starbucks’ efforts to generate renewable energy by investing in local providers and channeling the power to several hundred restaurants at a time. About 600 Southeastern Starbucks cafes currently rely on a feed from a solar farm in Maxton, N.C., and another 340 units in Illinois are using the energy from a wind farm operator that struck a $350 million deal with the coffee brewer.
“Starbucks is taking a unique approach—investing in solar farms regionally to support a specific group of its stores,” said Chris Roetheli, business development officer with U.S. Bancorp Community Development Corp., the tax credit specialist within U.S. Bancorp. “This is a new concept and one that I think other companies are watching and may follow.”
Starbucks pledged last year to make 10,000 of its stores “greener” by 2025, in part by powering them with renewable energy. The company said the initiative would cut utility costs by $50 million over a decade.
The solar farms in Texas are operated by Cypress Creek. The amount of Starbucks’ investment in the facilities was not revealed.
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