Corporates Send Strong RE Signal To Europe

Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon, Danone, BT, Heineken, Novartis and IKEA are on the list of more than 100 corporates that have signed the RE-Source Declaration, calling for removal of barriers to renewable energy procurement. The declaration of the RE-Source Platform was published at the RE-Source 2018 event that took place on November 20 and 21, 2018 in Amsterdam.

The RE-Source Platform is a coordinated effort by SolarPower Europe, WindEurope, The Climate Group and CDP (RE100) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). It describes itself as the ‘first and only’ multi-stakeholder platform in Europe that brings together interests of buyers and sellers to explore the potential of a new and promising financing stream for renewable energies.

Through this declaration, corporates are calling on European governments to make it easier to invest and directly source renewable energy by removing all regulatory and administrative barriers to corporate sourcing of these clean energy sources.

The RE-Source Platform’s other demands include:

• Greater clarity and certainty on the long-term ownership of Guarantees of Origin (GOs), crucial for corporates to prove they are buying renewable electricity
• Enabling a wide range of procurement models and market products from on and offsite solutions to multi-corporate renewable PPAs, so as to minimize risks and maximize participation
• Enabling companies to sign cross-border renewable energy transactions to maximize opportunities to deploy cost-effective renewable energy solutions

“Corporate sourcing of renewable energy plays a key role in accelerating Europe’s clean energy transition,” said Microsoft’s Renewable Energy Strategist Vanessa Miler. Adding, “The demand from corporates is clear. With the Renewable Energy Directive having been passed, we look forward to a regulatory framework further enabling corporate PPAs to allow more investments in renewable energy, taking us ahead in our journey towards a greener Europe,” she said.

According to the RE-Source Platform, industrial and commercial consumers account for around half of the European continent’s energy consumption today. In 2017, these consumers signed for on-site corporate sourcing representing 1.7 GW renewable capacity.

Europe has already seen corporates signed renewable PPAs worth 6 GW that account for billions in investment and thousands of jobs, of which nearly 2 GW has been contracted in 2018 alone. However, the bulk of this business takes place in the US these days.

Under the RE100 initiative, 155 member companies representing $4.5 trillion combined revenue have pledged to procure 100% renewable energy, with European companies taking the lead (see 37 Corporations Sourcing Over 95% RE Globally). Bloomberg New Energy Finance believes 67 European Union based members of RE100 are expected to be using 70 TWh of renewable energy annually by 2030, up from 30 TWh in 2017.