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Sustainability Roundtable, Inc. and Aquila Clean Energy Announce the Purchase of 30 MW of Purchaser-Caused Solar Energy through SR Inc's Net Zero Consortium for Buyers (NZCB)

BOSTON, July 30, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, Sustainability Roundtable, Inc. (SR Inc) announced a new aggregated procurement featuring four virtual power purchase agreements (VPPAs) through its Net Zero Consortium for Buyers (NZCB). The transaction procures 30 MW of renewable energy from Catania Solartrack, a new 50 MW solar project in Catania, Sicily, developed by Aquila Clean Energy EMEA, a European developer of integrated & hybrid clean energy solutions and an independent power producer. DLA Piper represented the four NZCB offtakers for external legal support.

Covering about 247 acres, Catania Solartrack combines agriculture and power generation. The project's 52 MW of installed capacity will avoid around 24,000 tons of atmospheric CO2 emissions annually, generating clean energy equivalent to the annual consumption of 27,000 households. The system was designed with PVcase, an integration to Autodesk's AutoCAD solution, offering an end-to-end design and engineering platform for solar project developments. The project is scheduled for completion in March 2026 and commercial operation in September 2026.

The NZCB's procurement strategy prioritizes causing new renewable energy capacity to be built, instead of buying energy attribute certificates (EACs) from already built, existing systems. This procurement will contribute to corporate buyers' Scope 2 emissions goals while causing new renewable energy capacity in Catania. The project will generate approximately 61,000 Purchaser Caused Environmental Attribute Certificates (PC EACs) annually for the four off-takers throughout the contract's 10-year duration.

This procurement's PC EAC buyers work with the NZCB to access utility-scale clean energy's financial and environmental benefits. The 30 MW of solar energy was procured through VPPA 2.0, the NZCB's systematized reverse auction process that enables project financing by providing developers with guaranteed fixed-price revenue. The aggregations democratize renewable energy procurement for companies too small to undertake a full VPPA alone.

The corporate buyers leveraging their combined buying power for this purchase include Autodesk, IDEXX ...