French postal service aims to deliver stable energy bill using renewables

The French postal service wants to hedge against unpredictable energy prices by securing renewable energy through a corporate PPA tender.

La Poste Group consumes 550 GWh of electricity annually and in 2016 committed to sourcing all of that from renewables, albeit without setting a target date. As part of that pledge, the unit responsible for electricity supply, La Poste Immo, in 2017 launched pilot PV projects for self-consumption.

The state-owned business today announced it will hold a tender to seek one or more corporate power purchase agreements (PPAs) to secure supply of electricity from renewables or biogas.

La Poste did not specify what form the PPA would take. “One of the currently imagined schemes could be the integration of GC [green corporate] PPA volumes in energy supply contracts with power suppliers having the responsibility of balancing the whole. Other schemes are possible,” said the group in the tender document. La Poste said it is open to all types of supplier, whether consulting firms or energy producers, aggregators or suppliers, and added price will not be the only selection criterion.

Offers must be submitted before 5pm (CET) on November 1.

Although solar electricity prices in France are remain higher than in neighboring countries, interest in corporate clean energy procurement is growing. In 2017, online search engine Qwant engaged Akuo Energy and in May 2018 Voltalia sealed a 5 MW power purchase agreement with the Boulanger Group. In June national railway company SNCF launched a call for 143 MW over a 25-year period and Aéroports de Paris is holding a tender for the supply of Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Le Bourget airports, and will soon reveal the results.