Woolworths Group switches to green energy in South Australia

Woolworths has announced that its operations in South Australia will be powered by 100 per cent renewable energy starting July, the latest in the retailer’s commitment to grow greener.

The transition marks SA as the first state to go completely green in Woolworths’ nationwide transition by 2025.

Through the retailer’s new renewable energy partnership with Iberdrola Australia, almost 70 Woolworths supermarkets, 17 BIG W stores and Adelaide Regional Distribution Centre will fully switch to green energy.

According to Woolworths, this is equivalent to every home in Brighton and Glenelg going green.

The new energy partnership will allow Woolworths to source South Australian renewable electricity from Iberdrola Australia’s wind turbines and solar network at the newly developed Port Augusta Renewable Energy Park, wherein 50 turbines and 250,000 solar panels will work in tandem to supply about 100,000 Megawatt hours of renewable electricity annually for the retailer.

“South Australia will be the first state where every one of our sites are powered by green energy and we’re excited to use renewable energy generated locally to reduce the footprint of our stores from Roxby Downs to Renmark,” said Brad Banducci, CEO of Woolworths Group.

“South Australia has helped lead the transition to renewable energy in Australia, combining solar, wind and batteries to enable us to make this leap forward in our mission to be powered entirely by renewable sources by 2025,” Banducci said.

“Our customers want us to make shopping better for the planet, and renewable energy is one of the key ways we’re boosting sustainability with the support of our sustainability innovation business Woolworths360,” he said.

The move also follows the introduction of compostable fruit and vegetable bags in Woolworths’ South Australian supermarkets in April, which will remove 70 tonnes of plastic from landfill annually.

Related: Woolworths marks green packaging milestone as it removes 9,000 tonnes of plastic from its home brand

“We’re proud to be making tangible changes today that will create a better tomorrow for generations to come and we look forward to building on this in other states over the next three years,” Banducci said.

As part of its commitment to sustainability, Woolworths said that it will be prioritising partnerships which draw on new-build renewable projects.

The supermarket giant maintained that this will help accelerate the industry’s growth and enhance the availability and affordability of green energy to other businesses and the community.

It also said that its multimillion dollar nine-year partnership with Iberdrola Australia will provide additional support towards the development of the Port Augusta Energy Park, which will be fully energised in the coming months.

About 200 jobs during construction and 20 ongoing permanent full-time jobs will be created in regional SA.

“We are delighted to be supporting Woolworths Group in their sustainability journey by providing their retail stores in South Australia with 100 per cent green energy,” said Ross Rolfe, Managing Director and CEO of Iberdrola Australia.

“Woolworths Group is demonstrating that together we can decarbonise our electricity sector, preserving our natural environment and creating jobs in Australia’s regional communities,” Rolfe said.

“The Port Augusta Renewable Energy Park is the largest hybrid wind-solar farm in the southern hemisphere. It operates as part of Iberdrola Australia’s large and rapidly growing portfolio, providing our customers with electricity supply agreements that are reliable, affordable and clean.”

Following this milestone in South Australia in July, Woolworths Group will continue to gradually replace traditional energy contracts in other states with green agreements as it transitions to renewable energy nationwide by 2025.

Woolworths Group is Australia’s largest retailer, representing around one per cent of the country’s total energy use.

Its transition to renewable electricity by 2025 represents a significant influx of green energy to the national grid and a sizable investment in the sector over the next three years.

Woolworths has also pledged to not only reach net neutral carbon emissions by 2050, but to make its operations net carbon positive by 2050 – if not sooner – meaning it will remove more carbon from the atmosphere than it produces.

Source: Woolworths