A major industrial gas company in Australia will shift its power use away from fossil fuels and instead meet nearly half its electricity needs across three states from solar.

BOC, owned by global gas and engineering company Linde, supplies speciality gases to large manufacturers, industry and oxygen to hospitals.

Under a 10-year deal, BOC – a major energy user – will draw enough electricity from the New England solar farm in New South Wales to meet 45% of its power needs across NSW, Victoria and Queensland.

An agreement signed with renewable retailer Zen Energy and generator Acen Australia is expected to cut BOC’s Australian emissions by 40% by 2035.

BOC’s shift to renewables follows a similar commitment by Rio Tinto, and comes as the federal Coalition is campaigning for increased access to more fossil gas.

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Theo Martin, the managing director of Linde South Pacific, which oversees BOC’s Australian operations, said the agreement was a “substantial initial step forward” that would support Linde’s global target to reduce direct and electricity-related emissions.

Martin said BOC had struck “a very competitive commercial rate” with Zen Energy. “We are absolutely on a mission to meet those emissions targets,” he said.

The switch to solar would also benefit BOC’s customers by reducing the carbon intensity of industrial gases, Martin said.

Anthony Garnaut, Zen Energy’s CEO, said attractive pricing under long-term contracts, customer demand for green products and investor scrutiny of corporate sustainability commitments were driving the shift to renewable power.

“This is the transition to renewable energy in action and at scale,” he said.

In March, mining company Rio Tinto signed a 20-year agreement to purchase solar and battery capacity for its Gladstone aluminium operations.

Hugh Sheehan, from Climateworks Centre, said major industrial companies were huge energy users – consuming roughly 44% of Australia’s energy and 40% of its electricity annually – which played a significant role in how the country’s electricity was managed.

“The decisions they make on where their power comes from are on a totally different scale to residential and small businesses,” he said.

He said companies such as BOC and Rio Tinto were acting in their best interests, seeing the economic opportunities and future-proofing themselves in a net zero future economy.