Today, I attended the opening of Cisco's new solar energy facility in Blythe, California. This facility, built by NRG Energy, Inc., will generate renewable power for use at our San Jose headquarters. Though we have already installed approximately 2.7 megawatts of solar at our sites in Texas, Massachusetts, and India over the past few years, this project is much larger (20 MW), is our first ever off-site power purchase agreement, and is our first-ever renewable energy project in the state of California.
Over its 20-year life, the system will help us achieve our goals of advancing environmentally sustainable growth in a connected world. It will produce approximately 60,000 megawatt-hours of clean, renewable solar power each year, which will reduce Cisco's greenhouse gas emissions by nearly 18,000 metric tonnes! These energy savings will help reduce Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 40% while allowing Cisco to use renewable energy for at least 25% of our power needs year-over-year.
https://alln-extcloud-storage.cisco.com/Cisco_Blogs:ciscoblogs/DJI_0074.mp4The project also reduces the number of renewable energy certificates we buy as a company, which brings more price certainty to our energy budget and will save us money over the life of the system. The additional 20 megawatts of renewable energy capacity also benefits the local community, bringing jobs and economic stimulus to Blythe.
As a whole, the project strengthens our reputation as a sustainability leader in the industry and shows our stakeholders that we are committed to advancing environmentally sustainable growth for ourselves, our partners, and our customers.
And as exciting as the Blythe II announcement is, our commitment to sustainability extends well beyond this project. At Cisco, we know that environmentally-friendly business practices can reduce business risk, improve reputation, and drive market opportunities. That's why we implement projects and programs across our company that reduce our environmental footprint while making a positive impact on our bottom line. For example,
These are just a few of the ways our sustainability program at Cisco extends into each part of our organization. This solar project is one more example of an innovative solution that will positively impact people, society and the planet. In the words of our CEO Chuck Robbins, we are committed to "making a difference in the lives of people around the world," and this solar facility does just that.
Congratulations to the Cisco and NRG team that worked together to make this project happen. I look forward to working on and learning about different ways to reduce Cisco's environmental footprint.
To read more about Cisco's broader sustainability strategy, download our latest CSR report.