Nucor has signed a 10-year virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) for 100mw with Orsted North America in a bid to reduce carbon emissions for steel produced at its electric arc furnaces (EAFs).
The supply will come from Orsted’s Western Trail Wind Farm (WTW) in North Texas. The Danish renewable energy supplier noted in a statement on Wednesday that its 130-turbine WTW farm will be operational in the second half of 2021. It is set to supply Nucor’s regional electric grid at Brazos Fork, Texas with a 24/7 power supply.
This VPPA is Nucor’s second deal, and it will complement the steelmaker’s first agreement on the same grid. Leon Topalian, the US steelmaker’s president and the chief executive officer, noted in a separate statement on Mar 24 that the new agreement will further reduce the company’s carbon footprint.
Nucor had raised its Q12021 quarterly earnings guidance to $900mn in February, citing increased demand for its products. The company had noted that earnings might break record levels of 2008.