Ripple teams with Nelnet on $44M solar investment

The joint investment will fund solar energy projects throughout the U.S. as crypto firms try to reduce the industry’s carbon footprint.

Crypto-powered digital payment service Ripple has made a $44 million joint Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investment with Nelnet (NYSE: NNI) Renewable Energy into one of Nelnet’s solar energy funds, the firms announced Monday.

• Ripple will be the majority investor in the tie-up, which will fund solar energy projects throughout the United States.

• The solar projects financed by the joint venture are estimated to offset over 1.5 million tons of carbon dioxide over 35 years, or about the same amount of carbon dioxide emissions from consuming 154 million gallons of gasoline, according to the companies.

• “Guaranteeing a clean energy future is a major priority across every industry, not only to drive future economic growth but also to ensure a more sustainable world. As the adoption of cryptocurrencies and blockchain continues to grow, it’s evident that the technology will underpin our future financial systems,” said Ken Weber, Head of Social Impact at Ripple, in a press release. “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.”

• The carbon footprint of the crypto industry is a longstanding concern, and this isn’t the first eco-focused partnership for Ripple. Ripple is part of the Crypto Climate Accord, whose goal is to make the crypto industry run on 100% renewable energy by 2030.

• Last year, the nonprofit Energy Web launched a decentralized approach to decarbonizing the grid and tapped Ripple as its first partner.