Vitol rolls out unique Block PPA offering to supply Digital Realty with renewable power for 10 years

Vitol, the world’s largest independent energy trader, is rolling out its unique renewable product offering known as the Block PPA (BPPA), by supplying power to Digital Realty, the largest global provider of cloud- and carrier-neutral data center, colocation, and interconnection solutions.

Through Digital Realty’s retail energy providers, Vitol will supply Digital Realty with approximately 7 million MWh over 10 years from its renewable project portfolio to support Digital Realty facilities in Illinois and New Jersey. The energy will be matched with renewable energy credits from Vitol’s portfolio and other renewable generation sources.

The BPPA addresses the challenges of relying on renewable sources for power generation by enabling the consumer to secure a firm supply of physical renewable power at a fixed price. The BPPA eliminates traditional risks such as intermittency, reliability and exposure to market volatility, helping end users to participate in the energy transition.

Joon Park, Structured Trading at Vitol said: “We spent a lot of time with end users understanding their difficulties integrating traditional PPA offtakes into their energy consumption strategies and were happy to work with Digital Realty in tailoring this unique solution to address their concerns, particularly around the mismatch of their load profile and the intermittency risks of renewable generation.”

Eric Winter, Environmental Products and Energy Transition Solutions at Vitol said: “Vitol is in a unique position to offer these bespoke solutions across the energy spectrum by integrating our market-leading capabilities and sustainable energy activities to transfer risk away from those participating in the energy transition.  We are pleased to provide Digital Realty a more consumable pathway to their renewable energy objectives and look forward to continue to be part of their sustainability story.”

Aaron Binkley, Vice President Sustainability at Digital Realty said: “Sustainable practices are at the core of Digital Realty’s operations. To date, 62% of our global business uses renewable electricity – 100% in the European portfolio and North American colocation businesses. And, we have set aggressive targets with the Science-Based Target initiative (SBTi) to reduce our Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 68% and Scope 3 emissions by 24%, by 2030. Vitol’s BPPA is a valuable tool to support moving closer to our goals in two key strategic markets. We look forward to working further with Vitol on additional renewable energy solutions.”