AT&T plans to buy 155 megawatts of solar power from Dutch energy company Vitol, expanding the operator's green energy portfolio to 1.7 gigawatts and emphasizing the importance of collaboration in mitigating climate change.

The deal consists of two virtual power purchase agreements (VPPAs) to fund new solar energy projects in Maryland and Pennsylvania that AT&T expects will be operational by 2022 and 2023, respectively. In total, solar power generated annually from these projects will be equivalent to nearly 600,000 households worth of CO2 emissions.

In addition to growing the U.S. power grid's clean electricity capacity, the operator claims these projects will create up to 600 local construction jobs across both states.

“AT&T is investing in renewable energy because it is good for the planet and good for our business,” Joe Taylor, VP of global infrastructure optimization, said. “In addition to reducing our emissions footprint, deals like the ones with Vitol allow us to hedge against changes in energy costs and support economic development in communities we serve. It’s a win-win-win.”

According to Chief Sustainability Officer Charlene Lake, purchasing renewable energy to reach carbon neutrality is one piece of AT&T's three-part climate strategy. “Our other focus areas are delivering connectivity solutions to enable our business customers to reduce their emissions and building resilience to extreme weather for our business and our communities," Lake said, adding In all three areas collaboration with organizations like Vitol moves the needle of progress.

Aside from dealing with its own carbon emissions, AT&T also hopes to cut its customers' CO2 emissions by a gigaton before 2035 through its Connected Climate Initiative.

Announced last September, the initiative promotes the adoption of clean technology and AT&T’s connectivity services, which include 5G and IoT, to help customers and partners reduce their CO2 emissions. AT&T has already garnered support from several technology companies — including Microsoft and Equinix — in addition to AT&T Business customers, universities, and nonprofit organizations.

According to John Schulz, director of sustainability at AT&T, this collaboration is instrumental to the operator’s environmental efforts, and AT&T plans to add partner organizations to the initiative over time. “We absolutely hope this grows to drive the scale that we need,” he told SDxCentral in an earlier interview.

AT&T’s connectivity offers a “very strong” return on investment by helping companies bring a new product to market, drive efficiency, and/or lower costs within their operations, he explained, adding the program also educates members on how the carrier’s connectivity services can reduce emissions and meet environmental targets.

AT&T recently ranked No. 7 on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Green Power Partnership National Top 100 list, making it the highest-ranked telecom operator in terms of naturally-replenishing renewable energy usage. According to the EPA's most recent update of the list, AT&T uses 2.3 billion kilowatt hours of green power annually. However, only 18% of the operator's total power use is from sustainable sources.

Access to sustainable power can be challenging for telecom operators that require uninterrupted access to electricity over large geographies. As a result, many operators rely on fossil fuel-based electricity from local utilities to bridge the gap.

Many telecoms rely on VPPAs to fund the production of renewable energy by paying utilities to adopt solar and offset their fossil fuel-based power consumption. And while VPPAs aren't the silver bullet against climate change, they are a step in the right direction Gartner analyst Ed Anderson said.

While he’d rather see enterprises eliminate their reliance on fossil fuels rather than redirect carbon emissions, “any initiative that strives to improve the sustainability posture of any organization is a good thing,” he told SDxCentral.

Rival operator Verizon last month signed seven new renewable energy contracts, which pushed its projected capacity to 2.6 gigawatts and drove the operator closer to its 2035 net-zero operational emissions goal. According to Verizon, its 20 total VPPAs also position the operator to source and/or generate renewable energy equivalent to 50% of its total annual electricity consumption before 2025.