Corporations Rally to Streamline Renewable Energy Procurement

Salesforce, Hilton San Francisco Union Square, Arup, Autodesk and Genetech are the latest signatories on the Corporate Renewable Energy Buyers’ Principles, reports Greenbiz.

Many of the companies that have signed onto the Buyers' Principles are aggressively purchasing and investing in renewable energy; however, onsite projects often only meet a small percentage of their total energy needs. To meet their remaining energy needs, they need renewable energy through the grid, but companies can’t always buy renewable energy directly from the grid.

The Buyers’ Principles outline what companies need from the marketplace to get access to more renewable energy:

1. More options for procuring renewable energy.
2. Cost competitiveness between traditional and renewable energy rates.
3. Access to longer-term, fixed-price renewable energy.
4. Access to new renewable power projects or programs that help drive new projects.
5. Increased access to third-party financing options, as well as standardized and simplified processes, contracts and financing for renewable energy projects.
6. Opportunities to work with utilities and regulators to expand choices for buying renewable energy.

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the World Resources Institute (WRI) launched the Buyers’ Principles in July 2014 with 12 major companies. There are now 34 signatories. In total, these companies need more than 20 million MWh of renewable energy to meet their near-term goals.

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