Fifth Third Celebrates Five Years of 100% Renewable Energy

The Aulander Holloman Solar Facility is located in Hertford County, North Carolina. (Photo: Business Wire)

In late August 2019, Fifth Third achieved this goal with the opening of the Aulander Holloman solar facility in North Carolina. The project was made possible by a virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA), which guaranteed that Fifth Third would purchase all of the electricity generated, allowing the solar project developer to secure financing and build the project.

As part of the agreement and in exchange for Fifth Third’s financial guarantee, the bank will receive claims for adding net new renewable capacity to the regional grid in the form of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs). RECs are issued when one megawatt-hour of electricity is generated and delivered to the grid from a renewable energy source. Properly verified and retired RECs serve as proof of renewable energy generation and use. As an industry best practice, Fifth Third is using a combination of RECs, on-site renewable energy, and ongoing energy efficiency measures across the enterprise to power its operations with 100% renewable energy.

“Ultimately, the power purchase agreement resulted in us putting more energy into the nation’s grid than we use across all of our facilities combined,” said Pratik Raval, Chief Sustainability Officer for Fifth Third. “More importantly, it has proven to be a smart financial decision, particularly as an energy price hedging mechanism for the bank. In that regard, it’s a great example of sustainability driving direct business value creation while reducing our climate impact.”

In 2023, solar power generation from the Aulander Holloman solar plant will exceed 190,000 megawatt hours – enough to power more than 25,000 households, or the equivalent of the emissions from more than 29,000 passenger cars.

Fifth Third is building on its commitment to renewable energy by installing solar panels on 20 new financial centers in late 2023 and into 2024. These projects are located in communities across North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Florida. In total, Fifth Third now has 24 outlets, generating up to 80% of its annual electricity needs in some locations.

Fifth Third’s use of solar energy, combined with internal efforts to reduce energy consumption, has helped the bank reduce the company’s grid-based energy consumption by more than 40%. This is one of Fifth Third’s six operational sustainability goals adopted in 2022. To date, the bank has achieved two of the six goals and is making significant progress toward the remainder.

“These targets are the most aggressive operational sustainability targets we have had to date,” Pratik said. “They maintain our focus on critical areas of operational sustainability while demonstrating our continued leadership in the financial services industry.”

More information about Fifth Third’s sustainability strategy can be found in the bank’s 2023 Sustainability Report.

About Fifth Third

Fifth Third is a bank as long on innovation as it is historic. Since 1858, we’ve helped individuals, families, businesses and communities thrive through smart financial services that improve lives. Our list of firsts is extensive and continues to grow as we explore the intersection of technology-driven innovation, dedicated people and focused community impact. Fifth Third is one of the few U.S. banks to have been named one of Ethisphere’s World’s Most Ethical Companies for several years. With a commitment to caring for our customers, employees, communities and shareholders, our goal is not only to be the nation’s best-performing regional bank, but also to be the bank people value and trust most.

Fifth Third Bank, National Association is a federally chartered institution. Fifth Third Bancorp is the indirect parent of Fifth Third Bank and its common stock trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “FITB.” Investor information and press releases are available at www.53.com. Deposit and lending products are offered by Fifth Third Bank, National Association. Member FDIC.

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Fifth Third Bancorp stock was down $1.5 billion at the time of the news release. -0.97 % to 38.11EUR at the Tradegate fair (September 4, 2024, 6:58 PM).