Shares in Woolworths Group Ltd (ASX: WOW) have had a rough slog so far in 2022. But not all is dire. The company's continued work towards net zero is starting to pay off.
A new partnership is expected to see the supermarket giant – responsible for 1% of Australia's electricity use – flicking the switch on fossil fuels at its South Australian operations, powering them instead with renewable energy from July.
At the time of writing, the Woolworths share price is $37.27. That's 3% lower than it was at the start of 2022.
That's a better performance though than that of the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO). The index has slipped 5% this year so far.
Let's take a closer look at the sustainable milestone about to be surpassed by Woolworths.
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Own Woolworths shares? The retailer's going green in SA
Owners of Woolworths shares, rejoice! The company's plan to power its operations with 100% renewable energy by 2025 will soon take a major step forward.
The supermarket giant has entered a nine-year multimillion-dollar partnership with Iberdrola Australia to source green energy from the new Port Augusta Renewable Energy Park.
The park houses 50 turbines and 250,000 solar panels. It will be producing around 100,000 megawatt-hours of renewable energy for the retailer each year, starting in July.
That will see nearly 70 Woolworths supermarkets, 17 Big W stores, and the Adelaide Regional Distribution Centre switching off electricity generated by fossil fuels.
It's just one of many similar partnerships the ASX 200 share is pursuing – Woolworths is looking to draw on new-build renewable energy projects to boost the industry's growth and the availability and affordability of green electricity.
Woolworths CEO Brad Banducci commented on the upcoming milestone, saying:
South Australia will be the first state where every one of our sites are powered by green energy and we're excited to use renewable energy generated locally to reduce the footprint of our stores from Roxby Downs to Renmark.
[W]e look forward to building on this in other states over the next three years.
