Orange, Engie sign virtual PPA in Romania

Orange Romania Group and Engie Romania have signed a long-term virtual power purchase agreement for renewable energy.

Under a six-year virtual power purchase agreement (vPPA), Orange Romania Group said it secured 30 GWh of electricity from solar power plants per year.

The contract is for three members of the telecommunications group in Romania

The vPPA contract is for group members Orange Romania, Orange Romania Communications, and NextGen Communications.

The subsidiary of the telecommunications giant said the deal with Engie Romania contributes to the plan to achieve carbon neutrality in the country by 2040. The target was determined in Orange Group’s strategic plan Lead the Future. The headquarters of both parent companies are in France.

Orange plans to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040

Orange noted that since the beginning of the year it already secured a green energy supply for its firms in Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg, Slovakia, Poland, Romania and Moldova.

CEO of Orange Romania Liudmila Climoc said the vPPA is another important step in the company’s long-term commitment to sustainable development.

Richard: A good example of how companies can ensure an economically sustainable activity aligned with the environmental goals

According to Nicolas Richard, CEO of Engie Romania, virtual PPAs enable the utility to offer customers green electricity with predictable energy costs. The model is a way for corporate customers to conduct economically sustainable activities while working on their environmental objectives at the same time, he added.

A virtual power purchase agreement is a long-term contract signed between a producer and a buyer. By hedging the electricity supply, it prevents exposure to price fluctuations in the energy market and provides guarantees of origin, which verify that the electricity is from renewable sources.