Starbucks has partnered with Nexamp, a US-based community solar provider. Through this collaboration, Starbucks will serve as a long-term renewable electricity buyer, facilitating the deployment of over 40 megawatts of solar energy across Illinois communities. This addition of six new community solar projects to Nexamp’s expanding Illinois portfolio will deliver substantial electricity savings to more than 1,100 local residents within the ComEd and Ameren utility regions.
Beyond the environmental and economic benefits for local communities, these solar farms will create significant employment opportunities and advance Nexamp’s workforce development efforts in Illinois. The construction and operation of these projects are expected to generate several hundred new jobs, including positions for participants in Nexamp’s new fellowship programmes.
Nexamp is partnering with organisations such as City Colleges of Chicago, the Chicago Urban League, Uplift Community High School, 22C, and other Future Energy Jobs Act (FEJA) training organisations to lead workforce development initiatives across diverse communities.
“Starbucks is committed to our environmental promise to give more than we take, and we have a long history of renewable energy projects that bring clean energy to more communities,” said Michael Kobori, Starbucks chief sustainability officer, adding, “We’re proud to support Nexamp’s efforts to bring community solar into areas where it can have the most impact and make savings opportunities available to community members.”
Nexamp CEO Zaid Ashai said, “Community solar is a perfect way for retailers to make progress on their own sustainability goals while also playing a role in the build-out of renewable energy resources that have the ability to directly benefit their own customers. That was the case with Starbucks, which shares our vision of equitable access to community members.”
Starbucks will receive a portion of the renewable electricity credits for supporting Nexamp’s projects in Illinois, while the rest of the capacity will be allocated to local residents and businesses through the Nexamp community solar programme. Both Nexamp and Starbucks plan to expand this initiative to additional locations nationwide in the future.
Construction on these solar projects has commenced, with the first expected to come online in 2025.