Large companies’ procurement deals for new renewable power capacity in the U.S. jumped last year to their highest level at 10.6 gigawatts, the Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance (REBA) said.
Why it matters: Big corporations have emerged as an important driver of new solar and wind power projects as costs have fallen and they look to meet sustainability pledges.
The 10.6 GW in REBA’s database of large buyers’ deals is about 13% higher than 2019 and far above the 1.5 GW of annual procurement in 2016.
Driving the news: Amazon was the biggest contractor of new capacity last year at roughly 3.2 GW, with the rest of the top 10 seen in the chart above. Overall, 35 corporate buyers announced 98 deals last year, REBA said.
How it works: While the trend is upward over the years, the company-by-company activity levels move around.
- In 2019, Facebook was the top U.S. dealmaker, followed by AT&T.
- Overall, the tech industry has been a major player in this arena.
Of note: The REBA data tracks procurement from off-site, utility-scale projects and onsite developments over 20 megawatts.
It captures various kinds of deals, including power purchase agreements, direct ownership, and tax equity investments.
Go deeper:
- The rise of corporate renewables
- How tech went big on green energy (Financial Times)
