Nucor Corporation announced today that it has signed a 10-year Virtual Power Purchase Agreement (VPPA) with Ørsted Onshore North America, LLC for 100 megawatts from Ørsted's Western Trail wind farm (WTW) in North Texas.
This is Nucor's second VPPA. Last year, Nucor signed a VPPA with EDFR Renewables North America to be the sole off-taker for EDFR's 250-megawatt Brazos Fork solar project, which is also located in Texas. Nucor's VPPA with Ørsted's WTW project complements the company's participation in Brazos Fork. Together, these two projects have the potential to supply renewable power to the regional electric grid 24 hours a day.
Ørsted's WTW project is already under construction and is expected to be in service later this year. The project incorporates Nucor steel and steel products and is designed to continue generating power even during particularly severe weather, such as that recently experienced in Texas.
"As an Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) steelmaker and North America's largest recycler, Nucor is already among the cleanest and most sustainable steel producers in the world. This agreement will enable us to further reduce our climate footprint beyond our operations," said Leon Topalian, President & Chief Executive Officer of Nucor Corporation. "Supporting the growth of renewable power generation is not only fundamental to who we are as a company, it also allows us to continue to lead the way forward for the global steel industry."