Sunshine grows coffee and tea — and, along with other renewable energy sources, it powers Starbucks stores around the world. Starting in 2015, Starbucks purchases enough renewable electricity to power 100% of North American company-operated stores as part of its ongoing commitment to give more than it takes from the planet.

The company’s sustainability goals include verifying 10,000 Greener Stores globally by 2025. In the US, this portfolio of stores has saved Starbucks over $60 million in operating costs annually, including 30% water savings and 30% energy reduction in company-operated stores. As of April 2025, Starbucks verified more than 9,000 Greener Stores.

A Starbucks store is verified as a “Greener Store” when it meets robust standards across eight environmental impact areas. For example, a classical Virginia-style home, recognized by the Virginia Beach Historic Preservation Partnership and built circa 1832, was relocated to the Hickman Shopping Center and transformed into a Starbucks Drive Thru. It exemplifies adaptive reuse, operates on 100% renewable electricity, uses water-saving native plants, and incorporates renewable materials in its design.

To support the continued growth of the Greener Stores effort, Starbucks sought a renewable energy virtual Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). They turned to LevelTen Energy to help find and evaluate the projects that best fulfilled the pricing, location, size, and preference requirements of Starbucks and its offtake partners.

In addition to the environmental benefits, the Concho County PPA also supports social and community benefits. The project is located in an energy community as defined by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The energy community provision provides increased tax credits for clean energy projects located in areas with a history of fossil fuel industry activity, aiming to incentivize a transition to renewable energy in those communities.
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The contract includes ongoing financial support for the Renewable Agriculture Inclusion for Underrepresented People (RAIN-UP) program. RAIN-UP provides resources, support, and opportunities for workforce development, and introduces socially disadvantaged farmers, ranchers and landowners to the benefits of renewable energy. RAIN-UP was founded by Darrick Eugene at High Road Energy Marketing LLC, a minority entrepreneur-owned, utility-scale renewable energy developer. This PPA is the first program to provide ongoing support to RAIN-UP.
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RAIN-UP will use the funding provided by this PPA for its ongoing programs to preserve family land ownership, increase economic self-sufficiency, spark economic development and promote generational wealth. Their strategy includes partnering with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI) to promote workforce development and expand the pool of land suitable for renewal development. RAIN-UP will educate these landowners on how to benefit from siting renewable energy projects on their land, including the benefits of agrivoltaics like co-locating PV modules with crops, livestock grazing or beekeeping. The organization will also evaluate a select number of the sites for renewable energy development.
 
“RAIN-UP’s mission is to identify, evaluate, certify and create a market for socially disadvantaged farmer and rancher land and other potential sites that have been historically overlooked,” said Darrick Eugene, founder of RAIN-UP. “This PPA and the ongoing support of Workday, Starbucks, and our partners will allow us to strategically pursue the highest economic use of these lands while preserving family land ownership and increasing wealth,” he said. “This provision shows Starbucks and Workday’s ongoing commitment to investing not only in the environment, but also helping create a robust economy that maximizes human potential,” Eugene said.

Starbucks has a long history of supporting renewable energy. In 2020, Starbucks announced an innovative agreement with Terra-Gen, facilitated by LevelTen Energy, to virtually procure 5.5 megawatts of battery storage capacity and 24 megawatts of solar energy from Terra-Gen’s Edwards Sanborn Solar and Storage project. Starbucks is the first corporation to execute this type of financial agreement for utility-scale storage, produced in coordination with LevelTen and EnergyGPS. This innovative type of contract provides corporate buyers the economic benefits of storage and delivers developers a guaranteed revenue stream, enabling a more practical method for storage project financing. The Edwards & Sanborn solar-plus-storage project in California came online in January 2022 with 875MWdc of solar PV and 3,287MWh of battery energy storage system (BESS) capacity – the world’s largest at the time of opening.

“Starbucks, Workday, and its collaborators set a strong example of what it means to stay committed in a rapidly evolving energy market,” said Rob Collier, Senior Vice President, Marketplaces at LevelTen Energy. “Given how quickly the market is changing right now, it took perseverance to remain committed to getting this deal done. This deal required constant collaboration and more than a few cups of Pike Place. We’re proud to help power Starbucks’ Greener Stores goals,” he said.

If you are a buyer interested in how LevelTen can find your perfect PPA or a developer looking to reach those buyers, contact info@leveltenenergy.com.