GKN Automotive said it had signed a virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) with global renewable energy developer and subsidiary of Canadian Solar, Recurrent Energy.

The 10 year agreement would cover 65% of the supplier's European electricity load and 30% of its global load as part of a commitment to using 50% renewable electricity globally by 2025 and 75% by 2030.

The joint agreement would establish The Rey I project, a new large scale solar farm in Spain which would contribute towards the increased supply of renewable electricity to the Spanish grid.

The project would facilitate the supply of approximately 200,000 MWh of renewable electricity to the European grid annually, reaching approximately 2m MWh over the 10-year agreement.

GKN Automotive would receive Energy Attribute Certificates (EACs) equivalent to 65% of its European 2023 electricity usage.

This development is a key step in the company’s SBTi-approved targets to reduce its direct Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions (Scope 1 and 2) by 45% by 2030 and achieve net zero across its entire value chain by 2045.

GKN Automotive is planning further VPPAs across Europe and South America.