Wendy’s Deal Shows How Community Solar Can Double as an ESG Play

Source: Elisa Wood | · ENERGY CHANGEMAKERS · | June 28, 2024

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A deal announced this week between Ampion Renewable Energy and Wendy’s restaurant chain shows another benefit to community solar beyond those commonly touted – it can serve as a way for corporations to garner renewable energy certificates (RECs).

Businesses and households typically buy subscriptions or shares in a community solar project to reduce their electricity costs and capture the opportunity to participate in solar without installing rooftop panels.

In Wendy’s case, its participation also counts towards meeting its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals – something not all community solar participants can do, at least not easily. Wendy’s is able to do so through a product offered by Ampion that bundles RECs with community solar.

More than 130 Wendy’s stores, including 40 franchises, have enrolled in a program called Ampion+, securing RECs from  27.5 million kWh of community solar in New York, Illinois, and Massachusetts.

RECs are market-based instruments that allow for the buying and selling of property rights that represent the environmental benefits of a power project. One REC represents the environmental benefits associated with one megawatt-hour of renewable energy matched with electricity usage. Buying RECS and verifying them can be a complicated process for companies that do so on their own.