DaVita's Virtual Power Purchase Agreements

DaVita Kidney Care leveraged virtual power purchase agreements (VPPAs) to achieve 100% renewable energy throughout its U.S. operations via the construction of both wind and solar farms in Texas. DaVita’s Energy & Sustainability Team sought out renewable energy options that aligned with the provider’s corporate sustainability goals to reduce scope 1 and 2 emissions across its U.S. portfolio by 50% by 2025 from a 2018 baseline. Annually, the two projects combined are expected to generate approximately 625,000 megawatt hours of clean energy.

DaVita’s VPPA projects were initiated in 2019 and managed by DaVita’s Energy & Sustainability Team, with support from the legal team, finance team, and company leadership. Operational since 2021, The Prospero 2 Solar Project, located in Andrews County, Texas, is a 331-megawatt (MW) project that covers about 2,500 acres. In Knox County, Texas, the 243 MW El Campo wind farm supplies the rest of the renewable energy to DaVita’s U.S. portfolio. Each of the 67 on-shore wind turbines have a generation capacity of 2 - 4.2 MW on average.

DaVita’s shares of the two sites generate enough renewable energy annually to equate to avoiding carbon dioxide emissions from the electricity use of about 52,000 U.S. homes. DaVita’s share of these projects will generate as much renewable energy as the amount of electricity used annually by the company’s North American operations.

The sites could also encourage local economic growth in Texas. This solar array and wind farm are expected to contribute nearly $30 million in property taxes to fund local school and community services. Additionally, 650+ jobs have been created for construction workers in these two counties.

The renewable energy sourced from these VPPAs enabled DaVita to meet its corporate sustainability goals of becoming 100% powered by renewable energy across its U.S. operations. In 2021, the provider reduced its scope 1 and 2 emissions by 45% compared to the 2018 baseline. It anticipates reaching its 50% reduction goal in 2022. This emissions reduction goal has been verified by the Science-Based Targets Initiative. The success of the solar and wind sites in Texas established a great foundation for DaVita to pursue other VPPAs internationally.

In an effort to meet its environmental stewardship goal to reduce carbon emissions by 50% by 2025, DaVita recently joined the Better Climate Challenge.