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Corporations have purchased 7.2GW of clean energy so far in 2018, already surpassing last year’s record 5.4GW, according to Bloomberg NEF’s 2H Corporate Energy Market Outlook published today.
Some of the key findings from the report include:
- 4.2GW, or 60%, of global corporate energy procurement has come from the United States, already establishing a record year.
- New industries are entering the market, including telecommunications and manufacturing. Companies are increasingly working with utilities in regulated markets through special programs known as green tariffs. At the same time, companies are leveraging aggregation models to pool their electricity demand together, which has opened the door for smaller companies to buy renewable energy.
- Facebook has been the largest corporate buyer thus far in 2018, purchasing over 1.1GW of clean energy. AT&T is the second largest buyer with 820MW, and aluminum manufacturers Norsk Hydro and Alcoa follow with 667MW and 524MW, respectively.
- The current 140 RE100 signatories consume an estimated 184TWh of electricity cumulatively. In order to meet their renewable energy targets by 2030, BNEF estimates they will need to purchase an additional 197TWh of clean energy. If this were to be met entirely with PPAs, it could catalyze an additional 100GW of solar and wind build globally.
- 2018 is also a record year for corporate procurement in Europe. Companies have purchased 1.6GW of clean energy this year, up from 1.1GW in 2017. Aluminium manufacturers Norsk Hydro and Alcoa Corp make up 75% of this activity, signing deals in Norway and Sweden. These companies are primarily motivated by the opportunity to lock into a fixed, long-term price for clean energy, rather than sustainability initiatives.
Source: Bloomberg NEF
