The site of Google's most recent solar power deal in Taiwan. It will be the company's first such deal in Asia. Corporate power purchase agreements (PPAs) for renewable energy swelled to 13.4GW in 2018, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). The tally dwarfs the 6.1GW figure of 2017 with the US market dominating. Almost two-thirds of the global total for 2018 was contracted in the States (8.5GW). “Corporations have signed contracts to purchase over 32GW of clean power since 2008, an amount comparable to the generation capacity of the Netherlands, with 86% of this activity coming since 2015 and more than 40% in 2018 alone,” said Jonas Rooze, head of corporate sustainability for BNEF. Large entities such as Facebook and Google have led the way on corporate renewable energy procurement but BNEF noted an increase in smaller firms pooling their demand to secure competitive prices. “The aggregation model has heralded in a new generation of corporate clean energy buyers,” said Kyle Harrison, a corporate sustainability analyst for BNEF and lead author of the report. “These companies no longer need to tackle the complexities of clean energy procurement alone. They can share risks associated with credit and energy market volatility with their peers.” The report also highlights the growing impact of the RE100 programme. Companies sign up to commit to a switch to 100% renewable energy usage. Based on 2017 usage, the signatories currently have the same electricity demand as Egypt. Note: Data in this report is through 2018. Onsite PPAs not included. Australia sleeved PPAs are not included. APAC number is an estimate. Pre-market reform Mexico PPAs are not included. These figures are subject to change and may be updated as more information is made available. Source: BloombergNEF. Tags: corporate ppas, corporate solar, bnef, google, re100, us, affordable housing, pv power plants
Corporate power purchase agreements (PPAs) for renewable energy grew to 13.4 GW last year. In 2017, the figure was 6.1 GW, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). The US was responsible for two-thirds (8.5 GW) of 2018’s worldwide total. BNEF said 86% of the 32 GW of PPAs signed since 2008 had come since 2015, with over 40% just in 2018. Bigger companies such as technology rivals RE100 Google have been joined by increasing numbers of smaller businesses grouping to gain competitive prices. Working together in an aggregation model has helped navigate previous difficulties procuring clean energy.