As part of its efforts to boost renewable energy use by businesses around the world, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has today launched a global company survey questionnaire on the corporate sourcing of renewables. The information from the survey, which was launched at the Eighth Clean Energy Ministerial during the Corporate Sourcing of Renewables Day, will feed into IRENA’s forthcoming REmade Index, the first global reference index on voluntary corporate renewable energy purchasing for all end-uses. The REmade Index report – due out later this year – will recognise companies sourcing renewables, highlight latest trends and provide recommendations to accelerate the trend.
“Whether making direct investments in renewable energy, signing corporate PPAs or buying renewable energy certificates, the remarkable set of commitments and actions we are seeing in the corporate sector on renewables is a clear sign that the business case for renewable energy is stronger than ever,” said IRENA Director-General Adnan Z. Amin.
“These achievements from companies around the world are only the beginning of what companies can do to help accelerate the energy transition. As this trend continues, global interest in identifying and removing market barriers and sharing best practices, both in the public and private sectors, will only grow. By mapping out global efforts and potential for corporate sourcing in decarbonising the global energy mix, the REmade Index is designed to do just that,” Mr. Amin added.
IRENA’s initial work on corporate sourcing shows that that the drivers for corporate procurement are changing. With the business case for renewables firmly established, many companies outside the energy sector are turning to renewable energy, not only out of corporate social responsibility but as a result of sound business decisions based on costs, profitability and security of supply.
"Since our first power purchase agreement in 2010, Google has signed 20 different renewable energy purchasing deals in 5 countries totaling 2.6 GW. However, we’re not yet able to purchase renewable energy everywhere we have significant operations, as we are limited by policy and regulatory hurdles in some markets," said Michael Terrell, Head of Energy Policy at Google. "We’re very excited that IRENA has begun this effort to take stock of policy frameworks around the world with a view to unlocking markets for corporate renewable energy sourcing."
Findings from the corporate survey, which is being launched today, will be compiled along results from the already completed survey amongst IRENA member states. The responses indicate that while many countries wish to facilitate the voluntary demand for corporate sourcing of renewables and recognise its potential, today’s enabling frameworks do still not sufficiently take into account the needs and drivers for companies to invest in renewables.
“We have seen continued wind and solar energy technology cost reductions in recent months, with record-low auction results from different regions of the world,” said Thorsten Herdan, Director General for Energy Policy, German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. “In many areas, the business case for corporates to source renewables has further improved. With the Clean Energy Ministerial’s Corporate Sourcing Campaign, we have initiated important work, supported by IRENA and further partners from civil society and business, to better understand and to improve the market and regulatory framework conditions for corporate sourcing.”
The REmade Index is being developed in support of the Clean Energy Ministerial’s Corporate Sourcing of Renewables Campaign, launched at last year’s Ministerial in San Francisco with the objectives of advancing the business case for the corporate sourcing of renewables and identifying and implementing policy recommendations and best practices. The Campaign also aims to increase corporate commitments on renewables, and to recognise and incentivize the implementation of those commitments.
The REmade Index is also supported by the IRENA Coalition for Action, a multi-stakeholder coalition to support the accelerated deployment of renewables worldwide.