Banking on Renewables: Inside a Milestone Renewable Energy Deal

Goldman Sachs became the first U.S. bank to sign a large-scale, off-site renewable energy PPA for a 68 MW wind project in Pennsylvania. The bank utilized a virtual PPA structure within the PJM grid to align clean energy generation with its U.S. consumption while managing commodity risks through its J. Aron business. This deal supports the firm's goal of 100 percent renewable electricity by 2020 and a target of $150 billion in clean energy investments by 2025.

• Goldman Sachs signed a virtual power purchase agreement (PPA) to facilitate the development of a new 68 megawatt (MW) wind farm in Pennsylvania, making it the first U.S. bank to contract for the entirety of a new renewable energy project.
• The bank selected a virtual PPA structure within the PJM grid to match generation with consumption and manage power market risk without adding operational complexity. The PJM market was chosen because it is large, liquid, and lacks the high level of renewable saturation that causes negative pricing or curtailment in other regions.
• To manage basis risk (price differences between the wind farm and consumption locations) and shape risk (mismatches between generation and consumption profiles), Goldman Sachs leveraged the commodity risk management infrastructure of its J. Aron business, which acts as a market maker in basis swaps.
• The transaction is part of a broader environmental strategy that includes a target to reach 100 percent renewable electricity for global consumption by 2020 and a goal to provide $150 billion in clean energy financings and investments by 2025.

APA

Porter, M. (2017). Banking on Renewables: Inside a Milestone Renewable Energy Deal. RMI. https://rmi.org/resources/banking-renewables-inside-milestone-renewable-energy-deal/

Chicago

Porter, Mark. Banking on Renewables: Inside a Milestone Renewable Energy Deal. RMI, 2017. https://rmi.org/resources/banking-renewables-inside-milestone-renewable-energy-deal/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Porter |first1=Mark |title=Banking on Renewables: Inside a Milestone Renewable Energy Deal |publisher=RMI |date=30 June 2017 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/banking-renewables-inside-milestone-renewable-energy-deal/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{porter2017banking, author = {Porter, Mark}, title = {{Banking on Renewables: Inside a Milestone Renewable Energy Deal}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2017}, month = jun, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/banking-renewables-inside-milestone-renewable-energy-deal/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }