Constellation to power nearly 50 percent of PNC Bank’s operations with renewable energy

Through an agreement reached this week, PNC Bank will power nearly 50 percent of its legacy operations in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware, the District of Columbia, and Illinois through renewable energy provided by clean energy company Constellation.

It is a long-term commitment, yielding 78 MW of new solar power and helping PNC reduce its carbon footprint by more than 55,000 metric tons of emissions annually. In all, PNC will receive approximately 148 million kW hours of energy per year, and that energy will be matched by Green-e Energy Certified Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) sourced from other renewable facilities.

“We’re proud to offer a clean energy solution that will enable PNC Bank to reduce its carbon footprint while supporting the development of a significant renewable energy asset in Mammoth Solar,” Jim McHugh, chief commercial officer of Constellation, said. “Adding more zero-emissions energy to the grid is an important step in the journey toward a clean, carbon-free energy future.”

The agreement will last 15 years, and to be able to supply it, Constellation has also entered into another power purchase agreement to procure 78 MW of energy from the Mammoth Central solar project in Indiana – a site with an estimated capacity of 1.3 GW once completed in 2024. PNC will use the Constellation Offsite Renewables (CORe) retail power product to connect customers to the benefits of large-scale, off-site renewable energy products.

“At PNC, we strive to be good stewards of the environment, not only because it is the right thing to do, but because it is essential to supporting a high quality of life for our employees, customers, and communities,” said Kate Zettl, vice president and energy manager with PNC Bank’s Realty Services. “This collaboration with Constellation is an exciting next step toward meeting our environmental goals of reaching 100 percent renewable purchased electricity by 2025 and reducing carbon emissions and energy use 75 percent by 2035.”

As of last year, PNC already used green power to meet 46 percent of its purchase electricity use – approximately 150 million kW hours. Since 2014, the company has invested nearly $2.3 billion into renewable energy projects.