U.S. corporations break 4-GW renewable energy record

Large U.S. companies are acting on renewable energy goals at a record pace. Through August of this year, they have already procured nearly 4 GW of utility-scale wind and solar capacity—breaking the previous full-year record, set in 2015, by nearly 750 MW. But the transmission infrastructure pipeline is likely not sufficient to meet corporations’ future low-cost clean energy needs. And as a new report highlights, if major renewable energy consumers want to ensure the lowest-cost clean energy is available for their future energy purchases, they need to start participating in the transmission planning processes.“Companies buying affordable clean energy today are benefiting from yesterday’s transmission plans,” said John Kostyack, executive director of the Wind Solar Alliance, which produced the new report. “To meet their sustainability targets for the next decade, and to make low-cost renewable power accessible for themselves and other customers, they need to join efforts to jump-start a new era of transmission planning.”The report, “Corporate Renewable Procurement and Transmission Planning: Communicating Demand to RTOs May Yield More Low-cost Options,” points out that more than 100 U.S. corporate buyers—members of the Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance — have set a goal of purchasing 60 GW of new U.S. renewable energy capacity by 2025. So far, since 2013, the companies have procured just over 13 GW of renewable power.