Ripple has partnered with Nelnet renewable energy to launch a $44M fund for the carbon-negative crypto industry, this million-dollar investment fund aims to finance solar energy projects throughout the United States.
Ripple, a blockchain payments company, has announced a $44 million environmental, social, and governance (ESG) joint venture with Nelnet Renewable Energy, a fintech company, to support the development of environmentally friendly solar energy programs across the United States.
According to the release, the new fund will offset approximately 1.5 million tons of carbon dioxide over the next 35 years, which is comparable to the annual energy use of 180,635 residences.
The S&P Global Ratings evaluation board awarded Nelnet Inc. an E1 ESG accreditation in March 2021 for the former’s $9.9 million solar tax equity fund.
The initiative involves providing financial support for the construction of four photovoltaic solar installations in Upstate New York.
The project was graded on three environmental priorities: transparency, governance, and mitigation, and received scores of 88, 86, and 80, respectively, out of a possible 100.
Ken Weber, Ripple’s head of social impact, talked about the environmental precedent that the partnership with Nelnet could set for the rest of the market:
“We’re excited to work with Nelnet as we pursue our commitment to reduce the carbon footprint of financial services globally and to deliver on the promise of a carbon-negative cryptocurrency industry.”
Weber told Cointelegraph in October 2020 that Ripple is environmentally concerned about purchasing carbon offsets and adopting sustainable products and services, as well as investing in carbon-removal technology. At the same time, the corporation announced its aim to achieve carbon net-zero status by 2030.
Ripple joined the Crypto Climate Accord in April 2021, an initiative inspired by the Paris Climate Agreement that has brought together a group of 20 companies from the crypto, finance, technology, and energy sectors to rally behind the goals of transitioning all blockchains to 100% renewable energy by 2025 and making the crypto space carbon-neutral by 2040.
