Corporate demand for renewable energy increasing
The Advanced Energy Economy (AEE) found a significant increase in demand for renewable energy among companies throughout the United States.
Reports established in 2016 Corporate Advanced Energy Commitments demonstrate that 71 of Fortune 100 companies have set targets for renewable energy or sustainability. This is up from the 60 reported two years ago. Of the 215 Fortune 500 firms committed to renewable energy or sustainability, 22 have committed to using renewable energy to power all of their operations.
AEE reported that state regulatory obstacles may make obtaining renewable energy extremely challenging or even impossible in some circumstances. Companies such as Apple, Microsoft and Facebook that have resources and experience have been able to garner arrangements with local utilities to allow them to purchase new renewable energy for their electricity demands. These arrangements may not be available to smaller companies without the big name backing.
“Companies are committed to purchase renewable energy one way or another—it’s just a question of where and how, and that’s a race every state should want to win,” Malcolm Woolf, senior vice president of policy and government affairs at AEE, said. “Clearly, this trend isn’t going away. States that make it easier for companies to purchase renewable energy will be rewarded with new economic development, tax revenues and jobs.”
Another report published by the Center for New Energy Economy at Colorado State University (CNEE) explored pathways for state energy markets to meet the growing corporate demand. The report explains corporate challenges for procuring renewable energy, but also presents several opportunities states could capitalize off those corporate commitments.
“We’ve found that partnering with utilities and governments in states like Virginia, Wyoming and elsewhere can bring new energy to the grid in a way that helps our business and the state,” Rob Bernard, chief environmental strategist for Microsoft, said. “But there’s more work still to be done to accelerate the pace of this progress.”
