Airgas, an Air Liquide company, is purchasing wind power for an Air Separation Unit (ASU) in Cleburne, Texas, outside of Dallas, making it the first Airgas primary production unit to be powered with an energy mix that includes locally sourced renewable energy.
Airgas air separation unit
The ASU produces liquid argon, nitrogen and oxygen and will run on wind power mixed with other energy sources, cutting the overall carbon footprint by an estimated 15,840 metric tons per year. This is equivalent to the CO2 emissions associated with the electricity used by approximately 3,000 U.S. homes every year.
Airgas began receiving wind power at the Cleburne plant in November from a nearby subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources, LLC, the world’s largest generator of renewable energy from the wind and sun. Airgas is leveraging around 20 percent of the renewable wind electricity purchased through an Air Liquide Power Purchase Agreement announced in and planned for since 2018.
In addition to the renewable energy purchased for the Cleburne plant, Airgas is continuing to evaluate new local renewable energy sources for other ASUs in other markets as well. Airgas purchases unbundled Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) – certifying megawatt hours of electricity generated and delivered to the grid from a renewable energy source – for Air Separation Units operating across the United States.
Airgas will continue to increase its renewable energy mix for primary production units in contribution to Air Liquide Group efforts to reduce Scope 1 and Scope 2 CO2 emissions by 33 percent by 2035 on the path to carbon neutrality by 2050.
