State of the Corporate Clean Energy Market

2019 proved a landmark year for renewable energy procurement by a class of nontraditional power buyers: corporations.

According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance’s 1H 2020 Corporate Energy Market Outlook, companies bought a record-shattering amount of clean energy through power purchase agreements last year, up more than 40% from 2018’s record. Put in context, 2019’s total—19.5 GW—was equivalent to more than 60% of all the renewable energy capacity added across the United States the entire year.

So why and how are these companies making the transition to clean energy? The why is increasingly clear. ESG commitments, paired with the compelling financial returns of renewable energy purchases, are driving procurement decisions in new ways. Buyers increasingly seek renewables as cost-competitive sources of new power generation that offer a hedge against price volatility seen in traditional energy options.

But for many power buyers, the how remains elusive. This white paper offers buyers a detailed look at the various renewable energy solutions available to fit diverse needs and priorities: power purchase agreements (PPAs; traditional and virtual), project investment, green tariffs, retail electric service, and environmental attributes.

In a remarkable year for renewable energy procurement, global energy research firm Wood Mackenzie named Apex Clean Energy the top corporate renewable energy provider of 2019 and, overall, the top wind power provider for commercial and industrial (C&I) customers to date.

Apex’s track record began in 2014—at the onset of the corporate renewable energy market in the United States—with IKEA’s first U.S. wind farm investment. Since then, Apex, as a 100% clean energy company, has worked with all types of power buyers and service providers to offer the breadth of renewable products and is therefore uniquely qualified to share best practices for buyers seeking to purchase on their terms and harness their internal expertise to achieve broad ESG goals. This report will help identify procurement strategies and resources that new and experienced energy buyers alike can use to help scale new projects and reach beyond their current energy solutions.