by Brian Eckhouse, Bloomberg
Starbucks Corp. is boosting its investments in clean power.
The Seattle-based coffee giant is investing in tax equity from a portfolio of eight Cypress Creek Renewables LLC solar farms in Texas, according to a statement Monday. Terms weren’t disclosed.
In tax-equity deals, companies passively invest in power projects in return for using renewable-energy credits that offset their own tax liabilities.
Starbucks also agreed to buy solar power from two of the Cypress Creek projects, in Wharton and Blossom, Texas. The 10-megawatt solar farms produce enough energy to power the equivalent of 360 Starbucks stores. The company announced in 2017 that it would buy power from a solar farm in North Carolina.
Starbucks is among the few companies that are both buying clean power and investing in tax equity, said Kyle Harrison, an analyst at BloombergNEF. “There’s a two-sided aspect to this: sustainability and a business opportunity,” he said.
