Decade-long relationship has produced 14 wind projects across U.S.
SAN FRANCISCO: Following Wells Fargo’s (NYSE: WFC) $200-billion low-carbon commitment announced last week, its Renewable Energy and Environmental Finance unit today announced the completion of $70 million in tax-equity funding for the Pacific Plains wind projects, including facilities in Indiana, Nebraska, and California.
Over the past decade, Wells Fargo has teamed with NextEra Energy on 14 wind projects throughout the U.S. that will collectively generate more than 5 million megawatt-hours (MWh) of clean energy each year. NextEra Energy, North America’s largest renewable-energy power company, developed and built the Pacific Plains wind projects and also operates and manages the new facilities that supply power to local utilities, including:
- 120-megawatt (MW) Bluff Point wind facility in Jay and Randolph Counties, Indiana
- 90-MW Cottonwood wind facility in Webster County, Nebraska
- 46-MW Golden Hills North wind facility in Livermore, California
“Wells Fargo’s investment in the Pacific Plains projects continues our commitment to the U.S. renewable energy market and the advancement of clean energy,” said Barry Neal, co-head of Wells Fargo Renewable Energy and Environmental Finance. “We’re especially pleased to continue our longstanding relationship with NextEra, focusing on our nation’s energy needs today and for the future.”
Wells Fargo is helping to fund the shift to a low-carbon economy and promoting environmental sustainability through products and services, operations and culture, and philanthropy. On April 19, Wells Fargo announced that it will provide $200 billion in financing through 2030 to sustainable businesses and products. More than 50 percent of the financing will be focused on companies and projects like Pacific Plains that directly support the transition to a low-carbon economy, including clean technologies, renewable energy, green bonds, and alternative transportation. The remainder of the financing will support companies and projects focused on sustainable agriculture, recycling, conservation, and other environmentally beneficial activities.
Wells Fargo’s sustainable finance goal announced in 2012 – to provide $30 billion by 2020 – was met five years early in 2015. Since 2012, the company has invested and financed more than $83 billion in renewable energy, clean technology, greener buildings, sustainable agriculture, and other environmentally sustainable businesses. In 2017 alone, Wells Fargo:
- Produced more than 9 percent of all U.S. solar photovoltaic and wind energy through projects owned in whole or in part by the bank in 33 states and Puerto Rico
- Invested $12 billion in sustainable businesses
- Donated $22.5 million to support nonprofits, universities, and community organizations focused on environmental sustainability and education, development and commercialization of clean technologies, and strengthening community resiliency
Also last year, Wells Fargo announced a $20-million expansion of its Innovation Incubator (IN2), which advances emerging clean technologies and startups. The $30-million program, co-administered by Wells Fargo and the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, is expanding beyond supporting entrepreneurs developing commercial building clean technologies to other focus areas. IN2 has implemented a Channel Partner Award program that has funded 20 early stage startups nationwide.
About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.9 trillion in assets. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 8,200 locations, 13,000 ATMs, the internet (wellsfargo.com) and mobile banking, and has offices in 42 countries and territories to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With approximately 265,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 25 on Fortune’s 2017 rankings of America’s largest corporations. News, insights and perspectives from Wells Fargo are also available at Wells Fargo Stories.
