Leeward Renewable Energy Releases Inaugural Sustainability Highlights Report
Underscores LRE’s leadership in driving the clean energy transition by prioritizing people and planet
DALLAS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Leeward Renewable Energy (LRE) today released its inaugural Sustainability Highlights Report, showcasing the Company’s key sustainability activities, environmental performance, and commitments as a leading renewable energy company in the United States. The 2022 – 2023 Sustainability Highlights Report, titled “Powering with Purpose,” outlines LRE’s progress in three key areas: empowered teams; clean energy excellence; and thriving environments and communities.
“For over 20 years, LRE has made meaningful, positive impacts to protect and improve our planet by supporting the clean energy transition,” said Jason Allen, LRE’s Chief Executive Officer. “And we do this, while keeping people – our employees, landowners, local community members, and partners – at the center of our operations. Our business is inextricably linked to the environment, and by putting people and the planet first, we have created a strong, resilient company that is moving the needle on sustainability. I am proud of the work we have done and the work we will do, and the inaugural LRE Sustainability Highlights Report is a key milestone in our commitment to sustainable growth.”
Highlights from the 2022-2023 Report include:
Empowered Teams
- Furthered commitment to the health and safety of the workforce: LRE achieved over one million employee working hours without a single Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recordable injury over a period of more than three consecutive years.
- Built a values-driven, inclusive team culture: Since 2021 year-end, LRE experienced 72 percent growth in its number of employees and diversity representation increased to 34 percent, showcasing LRE’s commitment to growing a safe, inclusive workforce that reflects the diversity of the population in which LRE operates.
Clean Energy Excellence
- Advanced a low-carbon1 future: Helping customers reach their clean energy goals, LRE increased its renewable energy capacity by 61 percent in 2022 – 2023, producing approximately 13.9 million megawatt-hours (MWh). That is the equivalent of powering over 1,450,773 homes2 and avoiding over 5.1 million metric tons3 of CO2e.
- Prioritized lifecycle management: LRE is laser-focused on driving sustainable practices across its portfolio and throughout every stage of its projects. In 2022-2023, as part of LRE’s construction waste minimization effort, LRE recycled 100 percent of its decommissioned wind turbine blades, along with more than 16,000 solar panels. Through the Company’s strategic partnerships, decommissioned wind turbines and blades are recycled into new materials, such as reinforcing fibers used to strengthen concrete.
Thriving Environments and Communities
- Served as a leader in land stewardship: LRE oversaw over 5,000 acres of land under robust vegetation and biodiversity management plans and established almost 1,000 acres of pollinator habitats in 2023, furthering its commitment to protecting and enhancing the environment.
- Meaningfully contributed to local communities: LRE seeks to create economic benefits, local jobs, and long-lasting relationships in the communities where it operates, and in 2022-2023 contributed over $61 million in local community impacts. LRE also believes that being a good neighbor means supporting the causes that its local communities are passionate about, and LRE provided over $1 million in community giving in 2022-2023.
The 2022-2023 Report is a key step in LRE’s efforts to evolve its sustainability strategy, policies, measurement, and reporting. Looking ahead, LRE plans to:
- Execute 10GW of operating and contracted capacity by 2028;
- Monitor and utilize new innovations in equipment decommissioning, reuse, and recycling technologies;
- Establish the LRE Foundation to further develop the Company’s purpose-driven impact;
- Continue to align with rigorous environmental standards and advance innovative land stewardship practices; and
- Quantify and disclose its greenhouse gas emissions and develop a plan to reduce scope 1 and scope 2 emissions.
About Leeward Renewable Energy
Leeward Renewable Energy (LRE) is a high-growth renewable energy company building a sustainable future for all. The company owns and operates a portfolio of 31 wind, solar, and energy storage facilities across the United States, totaling approximately 3 gigawatts of generating capacity and is actively developing and contracting a robust pipeline of new renewable energy projects. LRE takes a tailored, full-lifecycle approach to its projects, which is underpinned by its long-term ownership model and purpose-driven culture that is dedicated to benefiting its community partners while protecting and enhancing the environment. LRE is a portfolio company of OMERS Infrastructure, an investment arm of OMERS, one of the largest defined pension plans in Canada, with C$127.4 billion in net assets (as at June 30, 2023). For more information, visit www.leewardenergy.com.
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1 Defined as zero emissions at the point of generation. |
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2 This figure is calculated by using internal operational site-specific data for Total Net Energy Generated [MWh], multiplying by the most recent data for State Output Emission Rates [lb/MWh] eGrid2022[1] for CO2e based on which state the operational site resides in, converting to metric tons, and then aggregating data across all relevant sites. For the purposes of this calculation, LRE assumes that emissions rates and GRID boundaries are consistent across the entirety of the state. [1] egrid2022_summary_tables.pdf (epa.gov) |
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3 This figure is calculated using internal operational site-specific data for Total Net Energy Generated [MWh], obtaining the relevant state-level average monthly residential energy consumption data from US EIA[1], making necessary unit conversions, dividing the site-specific data for total net energy in that year by the residential energy consumption to find the site’s equivalent homes powered calculation, and aggregating all site data across the relevant time span. For the purposes of this calculation, LRE assumes that energy consumption is consistent across the entirety of the state. [1] table_5A.pdf (eia.gov) |
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