Commercial, Industrial, Sourcing Renewables  -  March 28, 2019

Facebook, Google, GM, Walmart and more to drive 60 gigawatts of corporate renewables

Google, Facebook, General Motors and Walmart are among a group of more than 300 companies who joined to launch the Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance (REBA), the largest group of corporate renewable energy buyers in the U.S. The group announced a target to add more than 60 gigawatts of new corporate renewables online by 2025.

The new membership organization will span diverse industries and businesses, whose leadership circle alone represents annual revenues of $1 trillion and over 1% of US annual electricity consumption (48 terawatt-hours).

"Every enterprise—whether it's a bakery, a big-box retailer, or a data center—should have an easy and direct path to buy clean energy. Ultimately, sourcing clean energy should be as simple as clicking a button," said Michael Terrell, head of Energy Market Strategy, Google, and REBA's first board chair.

 “REBA's vision of tomorrow's energy marketplace is simple and powerful: a resilient carbon-free energy system where every organization has an easy and cost-effective path to buying renewable energy,” according to the statement, adding that commercial and industrial energy users were responsible for more than 2 billion tons of GHG emissions from energy use in 2018. Mitigating these emissions is part of the reason why over 70% of Fortune 100 companies have set GHG emissions reduction targets or renewable energy purchasing goals.

"Today's REBA launch demonstrates that large energy buyers from across every sector are committed to doing their part to solve this problem," said Rob Threlkeld, global manager, Sustainable Energy/Supply Reliability at General Motors.

Membership is available to nonresidential energy buyers, clean energy developers and other service providers. The association aims to open energy markets and offer greater choice for corporate energy buyers, focusing on innovations in policy, markets, and technology as well as educational training.

REBA was originally founded in 2014 as a partnership between four NGOs—Rocky Mountain Institute, World Wildlife Fund, World Resources Institute, and Business for Social Responsibility.

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