Merck, a German multinational science and technology company, has announced a significant development in its sustainability strategy. The company has signed a 16-year, off-site, virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) with Recurrent Energy for the construction of the Liberty County Solar project in Texas, United States, specifically for its Electronics business.
This agreement, combined with the existing Azure Sky wind and storage project, will enable Merck to match 90% of its purchased electricity consumption in the United States with renewable energies. Globally, the company aims to match 55% of its purchased electricity consumption from renewable sources, with a goal to increase this percentage to 80% by 2030.
Kai Beckmann, Member of the Executive Board of Merck and CEO Electronics, emphasized the company's commitment to ambitious sustainability goals. Merck aims to contribute to sustainable supply chains worldwide and achieve climate-neutrality by 2040. Beckmann stated that Merck's research and development efforts can support customers in their sustainability journeys. He also highlighted the company's dedication to the semiconductor industry, aligning sustainable business practices with its milestones.
Merck's involvement in the Liberty County Solar project as an anchor buyer is part of the Net Zero Consortium for Buyers, a group of corporations organized by the Sustainability Roundtable, Inc. Merck's participation, with a capacity of 40 megawatts (MW) out of the 100 MW project, will account for 25% of its purchased electricity consumption in the United States and approximately 10% globally. The Liberty County Solar project, located northeast of Houston in Liberty County, Texas, is expected to become operational in 2024.
The integration of renewable energies is crucial to Merck's sustainability goals. In spring 2021, the company signed a VPPA with Enel Green Power for the Azure Sky wind and storage project in Texas, which began operations in May 2022. This project allows Merck to match 65% of its total purchased U.S. electricity consumption or 100% of the Life Science business' U.S. electricity consumption through renewable energy certificates.
Furthermore, in summer 2022, Merck completed the installation of 7,000 solar panels across approximately 11 acres of land at its Sheboygan campus in Wisconsin, United States. This solar project contributes 2.25 megawatts of renewable energy to the grid and generates around 4,000 renewable energy certificates per year, matching 16% of the Sheboygan site's energy consumption.
In addition to its U.S. initiatives, Merck announced a strategic partnership with ENTEGA, a regional German energy supplier, earlier this year. The collaboration involves installing rooftop photovoltaic systems at Merck's headquarters in Darmstadt, Germany, and constructing a photovoltaic park on approximately seven hectares of land in Gernsheim, Germany. Both projects are expected to be completed by the end of 2023 and collectively generate up to 7.6 megawatts of solar energy annually.
The company's sustainability targets have received validation from the independent Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) in May 2022. Merck is committed to reducing its absolute direct (Scope 1) and indirect (Scope 2) greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030, based on a baseline year of 2020.
Additionally, the company aims to reduce its indirect emissions across the value chain (Scope 3) by 52% per euro value added by 2030. The company's progress is documented in its sustainability report for 2022.
