Verizon Communications today announced that it has fully allocated $1 billion in proceeds from its latest green bond, issued in May 2023, with the entire amount going toward investments in renewable energy, supporting the company's clean energy goals.
According to the Verizon Green Bond Impact Report, proceeds from the bond, Verizon's fifth green bond since 2019, were allocated entirely to renewable energy purchase agreements (REPAs), supporting renewable energy projects under development in five states including Illinois, Maine, North Dakota, Ohio and West Virginia, and covering nearly 0.9 GW of capacity, of which 53% is solar and 47% is wind.
Verizon added that it is on track to exceed its goal of sourcing the equivalent of 50% of its total annual electricity consumption from renewable energy by 2025, and that it will continue to identify new renewable energy projects under development to support its goal. to achieve 100% renewable energy by 2030.
Verizon has entered into 27 REPAs for a total of approximately 3.6 gigawatts (GW) of anticipated renewable energy generation capacity. According to the green bond report, renewable energy projects are expected to avoid more than 4.7 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually and help developers build new wind and energy facilities. solar in 15 states.
Tony Skiadas, Verizon's chief financial officer, said:
“The $5 billion in green bonds we have issued to date are critical to our efforts to achieve our goal of net-zero emissions across our operations by 2035. As one of the leading corporate buyers of renewable energy and one of the largest issuers of green bonds In the US, we are proud to help accelerate the greening of the US power grid as we work to meet our goals around climate protection.”
