Renewable energy sourcing by US-based corporates set for record high in 2019

The biggest growth market for corporate PPAs in H1 of 2019 was the US. Image: US Air Force 

Published by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF), the Corporate Energy Outlook report states that corporations, globally, signed contracts to purchase 8.6GW of clean power between January and June 2019, up from 7.2GW during the same period in 2018.

The US was confirmed to continue dominating this growth, with 5.95GW of deals having been secured in the first half of 2019. This means that the country accounted for 69% of all activity during this period.

“Companies are once again flocking to Texas – historically the largest corporate procurement market in the country – where 40 per cent of the activity in 2019 has occurred,” the report states.

Indeed, big-name brands with solar or wind generation facilities in Texas include the likes of Target, Facebook, Google and Nike.

However, the BNEF report also noted that the Chinese corporate renewables market is now poised for rapid growth – largely due to the Chinese government’s development of new legislation that will require large companies to meet a proportion of their energy consumption with power from solar or wind. This policy framework will be complemented by moved which will make it easier for businesses to sell excess generation from their own onsite or offsite arrays, either directly to other firms or back to the grid.

In contrast, BNEF dubbed progress in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) as “underwhelming as a whole”, with just 950MW of contracts having been completed during the first half of 2019. 300MW of these deals were signed in the Nordics – a region which BNEF claims “typically sets the pace for Europe”.

The good news is that, globally, BNEF believes corporates are well on track to surpass their 2018 renewables sourcing record of 13.4GW this year. This figure takes into account power purchase agreements (PPAs) only and does not cover onsite generation.


edie Explains: Corporate Power Purchase Agreements (CPPAs)

Those looking for more information on which organisations are most suited to adopting CPPAs,and what the business benefits of doing so are, now have access to a free edie explains guide on the topic. 

The guide includes an industry viewpoint provided by Ørsted, and a CPPA case study focused on a partnership between the Danish energy giant and Northumbrian Water. Download it for free here. 


Sarah George

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