State Farm and Rivian are both contracting with clean energy providers to reduce their carbon footprints.
State Farm said it's buying enough zero emission renewable energy to power its buildings in Bloomington. That is eight facilities in all, including corporate headquarters and the operations center.
“State Farm is committed to reducing its overall impact on the environment and addressing climate change,” says Jenny Greminger, vice president of Administrative Services and Public Affairs.” Our efforts to improve energy efficiency, reduce waste, and lessen our carbon footprint is just another example of State Farm’s pledge to be a good neighbor.”
The Bloomington-based insurance giant said buying solar power-generated electricity from Constellation Energy will help get to the corporate goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions in half by the end of the decade.
State Farm said it will use solar power that is the fossil energy equivalent of 74,000 metric tons of carbon per year, or the amount produced by 16,000 passenger vehicles annually. That's about 103,000 megawatt hours of energy per year.
The energy will come from solar projects in Sangamon and Morgan counties. The Double Black Diamond Solar Facility will begin construction soon and may be done late next year. State Farm said that means the energy purchases also support construction jobs in the state.
Meanwhile, Rivian has turned to the Goose Creek wind farm in Piatt County for its renewable energy. The electric vehicle maker with a plant in Normal will buy 50,000 megawatts from Apex Clean Energy — enough to power 75% of its manufacturing facility and parts of its vehicle-charging network.
“About a third of global greenhouse gas emissions come from transportation, with nearly another third from electricity generation. We have a tremendous opportunity at Rivian to help tackle emissions beyond the tailpipe to support decarbonization of manufacturing and charging of electric vehicles,” said Andrew Peterman, Rivian director of renewable energy.
Rivian, too, touts construction jobs in Illinois as a benefit from the new contract.
“Long-term success for us means helping to accelerate the transition to carbon-free energy across the entire economy, not just within Rivian’s own footprint,” said Peterman.
Apex is currently in the process of securing local permits and approvals for the 300-megawatt Goose Creek Project. The project is slated to begin operations in 2024.
Rivian has signed the Climate Pledge to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040, 10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement.
