Dive Brief:

• The Wendy’s Company is partnering with solar acquisition and services provider Ampion Renewable Energy to source clean energy and reduce carbon emissions across its United States restaurants and franchises, the companies announced last week.
• The fast food chain said nearly 100 of its company-operated restaurants and almost 40 of its franchise locations in New York, Massachusetts and Illinois had enrolled in Ampion’s clean energy offering. The solar provider said its “Ampion+” product helps corporations reduce energy costs, access renewable energy certificates and provides them an “innovative way to achieve ESG objectives.”
• Wendy’s said restaurants and franchises utilizing Ampion+ will source around 30% to 100% of their energy through solar power without having to install on-site solar panels.

Dive Insight:

The Dublin, Ohio based chain — known for its square beef patties — said it aims to increase the number of enrolled locations as more solar generation capacity is made available. Signing up for Ampion’s renewable energy offering would help generate and provide renewable electricity to local utility grids, ultimately decreasing emissions and reliance on fossil fuels, according to both companies.

Wendy’s locations already enrolled in Ampion+ are estimated to generate 27.5 million kilowatt hours in community solar power, per the release. The companies said this amount is roughly equivalent to carbon dioxide emissions produced by the annual electricity use of 2,200 homes.

Each kilowatt hour of produced solar power will be tracked and assigned to a specific restaurant or franchise location through Ampion-issued renewable energy certificates (REC).

"As the need for reducing carbon emissions grows, community solar combined with RECs provides a solution for environmental sustainability in the corporate sector that is both achievable and affordable, while enabling companies to quantify and disclose their progress in a standardized manner," Nate Owen, CEO and founder of Ampion, said in the release.

Wendy’s partnership with Ampion builds on sustainability goals it set last year, which include reducing absolute scope 1 and scope 2 emissions by 47% and scope 3 emissions generated from franchises by 47% by 2030, compared to a 2019 baseline.

The announcement also comes at a time when interest in solar power is on an upward trajectory. A recent report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration found that solar additions will contribute 58% of new electricity generation capacity this year, while battery storage additions will make up 23%. Further, EIA estimated solar would add a record 36.4 gigawatts if additions proceed as scheduled in 2024.