London, Tuesday, 8 December 2020: EY has today announced a 10-year zero carbon Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) in the UK.

EY’s long-term commitment significantly contributes to a new solar power station project, based in Norfolk, being realised and commercially viable by providing certainty of revenue at a fixed price for 10 years. Over the term of the PPA, the renewable energy delivered by the utility scale solar power station will mean that nearly 100% of all electricity the firm purchases direct from energy providers will be counted as zero-carbon solar power.

Hywel Ball, EY’s UK Chair said: “Sustainability is one of the most significant and generation defining issues that the world faces today and it’s important that all businesses play their part in tackling these challenges.

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“As a firm we have been using renewable energy for a number of years, including purchasing electricity via renewable tariffs since 2009 and switching to 100% certified biogas in 2019. This latest initiative means we will be making an even bigger impact, ensuring that the majority of the energy EY uses in the UK continues to be zero carbon, and generating a significant surplus of green energy that will be fed back into the grid to support EY’s overall global net-zero objectives.”

Of the total 21.3 Giga Watt hours (GWh) of energy generated by the facility, EY will use 13GWh, with the remaining 40% of energy generated being sold to market. Construction of the solar power station is due to start in the new year and is expected to take approximately eight months to build and will be fully operational by October 2021.

To ensure that biodiversity of the area is protected and enhanced, the project will also include the planting of hedgerows and trees, grassland and wildflower meadows; and the erection of bird and bat houses.

The PPA is the latest step in EY’s commitment to minimising its environmental impact and EY is on track to meet its carbon neutral commitment at the end of this year by both reducing and offsetting its carbon emissions.