JPMorgan Chase is giving a boost to the renewable energy industry, saying Friday that it will switch to 100 percent renewable power to meet its global energy needs by 2020.
The New York-based banking giant has a large footprint in Texas — 584 branches covering 8 million square feet of space that includes its new 1.2 million-square-foot campus in Plano.
Worldwide, JPMorgan Chase has more than 5,500 properties in 60 countries, covering 75 million square feet, North American Windpower reported.
“Business must play a leadership role in creating solutions that protect the environment and grow the economy.”
Jamie Dimon
“Business must play a leadership role in creating solutions that protect the environment and grow the economy,” JPMorgan Chase Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon said in a release. “This global investment leverages the firm’s resources and our people’s expertise to make our operations more energy efficient and provide clients with the resources they need to develop more sustainable products and services.”
JPMorgan Chase previously announced a deal to buy more than half the electricity generated by a new wind farm located southwest of Fort Worth. The Dallas Morning News reported that NRG Energy’s Buckthorn facility in Erath County should start operating by the end of the year.
Power from the wind farm will provide electricity for roughly 75 percent of JPMorgan Chase’s power consumption in Texas and 13 percent of the overall consumption in the U.S.
The banking company has established another goal to facilitate $200 billion in “clean financing” by 2025, North American Windpower said.
Chase said that this is the largest commitment to clean energy financing by a global financial institution.
It will achieve its 100 percent renewables goal by installing renewable energy across its buildings and branches, signing power purchase agreements (PPAs), and reducing energy consumption, the company said.
Included among the projects is a solar installation up to 7MW at the JPMorgan Chase Legacy West Complex in Plano, North American Windpower reported.
Chase will join other major businesses such as Target, Walmart, and Costco that employ rooftop solar installations.
Ikea has solar panels on 90 percent of its U.S. locations, including a new retail location in Grand Praire that is opening this year.