US city signs unprecedented power deal: 'This is truly remarkable work'

Cambridge, Massachusetts, just signed the largest-ever virtual power purchase agreement by a U.S. city, Electrek reported.

A VPPA allows a company or a local government to fund and benefit from clean energy produced elsewhere in the electrical grid. In this case, Cambridge is paying for power from the new Prairie Solar project in Champaign County, Illinois, which is set to begin generating electricity in the summer of 2026.

Renewable company MN8 Energy will use the funds from this deal to build and operate Prairie Solar. It is being built near a former coal power plant, replacing dirty energy with clean energy. This is great news for residents, who will enjoy cleaner, safer air.

In fact, buying clean energy at a distance means the project will have a more positive impact on the environment than if the solar farm had been built close to home.

"Since the New England Grid is one of the cleanest in the country, and these projects are in grids slower to transition, they should reduce nearly twice the global greenhouse gas emissions than if the same projects were located in the greening New England grid," said Dennis Carlberg, chief sustainability officer at Boston University, per Electrek. "This is truly remarkable work that I hope others will replicate."

It's also great news for the residents of Cambridge who participate in the Standard Green option in Cambridge's Community Electricity Program. When Prairie Solar comes online, this program will provide more than 55% green energy at a competitive and stable price. It already includes wind energy from an earlier VPPA.

This fits into Cambridge's mission to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. In fact, the VPPA is a much more efficient way to achieve that goal than establishing a solar farm in the densely populated area. The city will now turn its attention to buildings and transportation, which contribute a large portion of its current planet-warming pollution.

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