Power Purchase Agreements

Delivering renewable energy to the market is what we do. Private Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) are expanding who we do it for.

As a world leading developer of wind and solar power, Mainstream delivers clean, affordable and reliable green energy solutions to our partners.

Helping companies achieve decarbonisation targets

Mainstream offers new energy solutions which are tailored to businesses’ requirements.

We have corporate Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) in place with Sasol and Air Liquide, which will supply power from our 97.5 MW solar PV farm in the Free State to their operations in Secunda.

We are also building the 50 MW Ilikwa solar PV plant, which will supply multiple private commercial and industrial customers under flexible, shorter-term PPAs in a new-to-market product called Renewable Energy Supply Agreements (RESAs).

Corporate PPAs offer a sustainable, reliable, and cost-effective source of power for large energy users, who can benefit from predictable and competitive energy pricing over long-term agreements.

RESAs provide a wider range of businesses with access to affordable, reliable and renewable power through shorter-term agreements of between five and 10 years.

Both of these approaches provide a relatively fast, simple, and highly effective way for businesses to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and achieve their ESG targets.

Delivering clean power benefits

There is no one-size-fits-all PPA. Our projects deliver a host of benefits to our partners that go beyond supplied Gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity.

Our assets are generating clean, affordable and traceable green energy, giving our partners certainty over the long term and protecting them from volatile energy prices. And while our partners have traditionally been public bodies, we are now providing the benefits of renewable solutions to the private market.

Locking in affordable energy

Solar PV and onshore wind are now the cheapest forms of energy generation, and the Levelised Cost of Electricity (LCoE) from offshore wind and battery storage is on a similar downward trajectory.

We developed the 450 MW Neart na Gaoithe offshore wind farm under a Contract for Difference (CfD) scheme that fixed the price of its electricity, reducing the UK’s exposure to volatile global energy markets. Now we are focused on giving corporate users the same long-term supply certainty.

image collage of a wind turbine and solar panels to depict hybridisation of these technologies

Securing reliable electricity supply

Global electricity demand is forecast to almost double in the next three decades, with wind and solar PV accounting for up to 70% of generation by 2050. Add in the support of battery storage, renewables are providing a pathway to secure, reliable, on-demand energy.

In Chile, our hybrid Andes Renovables platform will supply 3,366 GWh of electricity every year– matched to exacting daily demand profiles – under 20-year contracts with the National Energy Commission.

Our Corporate Solutions

The Corporate PPA market is taking off, with a growing number of blue-chip companies pledging through the RE100 initiative to offset 100% of their electricity use with clean energy.

Private off-take from existing generation, purpose-built projects and the purchase of clean energy certificates will all have a role to play. Meeting this group’s demand for renewable energy by 2030 will require nearly 450 TWh of renewable generation to be delivered by 2030, equivalent to powering France for a year.

Our industry-leading track record – not to mention CDP ‘Leadership’ rated success in reducing CO2 emissions along our own supply chains – makes us a natural partner for even the most energy intensive corporations that have decarbonisation on their business agenda.