Commercial, Sourcing Renewables  -  January 25, 2021

36 top energy buyers call for clean energy transformation

A coalition of 36 American companies that represent the country's largest buyers of renewable energy, including Amazon, Facebook, Google, General Motors, Microsoft, Walmart, and PepsiCo, to name a few, released Jan. 25 a joint statement calling for the federal government to prioritize policies that accelerate the transition to a zero-carbon power sector. 

The Energy Buyer Federal Clean Energy Policy statement was organized by the Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance (REBA) and calls for the new Biden administration to prioritize the expansion of clean energy access as a way to recover from "pandemic-induced recession, climate calamities, and racial reckoning."

The policy points outlined in the statement include leveraging organized wholesale electricity markets for grid decarbonization, decarbonizing the grid for all through federal clean energy policy action, and supporting innovation to advance a resilient clean energy system.

“Walmart is on a path to become a regenerative company through our initiatives including targeting zero-carbon emissions across our operations without the use of carbon offsets by 2040,” Steve Chriss, Director of Energy Services at Walmart, said in a statement. “Clean energy resources are critical to reaching that goal, and we have set a goal to be powered 100 percent by renewable energy globally by 2035. The federal policies put forth by REBA will enable growth in renewable energy and progression to a decarbonized power grid while maintaining affordability and resilience for all American consumers."

The 36 companies that participated in the call-to-action statement represent more than $5.8 trillion in revenue and make up a significant portion of the American corporate landscape that announced 9.4 GW in large-scale renewable energy deals in 2019, equivalent to 80% of total capacity installed in the U.S. REBA claims that 250 global businesses have committed to using 100% renewable energy and than Fortune 1000 companies may represent as much as 85 GW of renewable energy demand through 2030.

 The full list of signatory companies is available along with the full statement from REBA.

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