Unlocking The Corporate Energy Consumers’ Power At REBA


04/10/2019

In a first ever scale, over 300 companies ally to buy “60 gigawatts of corporate renewables by 2025”.


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Dailycsr.com – 10 April 2019 – A consortium of three hundred plus companies, including Walmart, Facebook, Google and General Motors have come together and started the “Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance”, in short REBA, which marks the “largest group of corporate renewable energy buyers” in the U.S.
 
REBA aims to work for unlocking the market so that organisers can purchase renewable energy with the hope of brining over “60 gigawatts (GW) of new renewables online” in the U.S. by the year of 2025.
 
Moreover, the new association has offices in Colorado, and Washington, DC which will be a “membership organization” that will include “diverse industries and business types” for the ones whole “leadership circle alone” contributes to “$1 trillion” revenues annually, “millions of jobs, and more than 1% of U.S. annual electricity consumption”. As the Head of Google’s “Energy Market Strategy” as well as the First Board Chair at REBA, Michael Terrell:
“Every enterprise—whether it’s a bakery, a big-box retailer, or a data center—should have an easy and direct path to buy clean energy. Ultimately, sourcing clean energy should be as simple as clicking a button”.
 
REBA holds a simple yet powerful future vision for the energy market which is resilient and free of carbon and every organisation has “an easy and cost-effective” access to renewable energy purchase. In order to achieve this dream, present barriers that impose restriction on clean energy access will need to be abolished. For example, in many U.S. regions, the electricity market’s function mimic seventy five year old model.
 
However, we can observe a reduction in the “clean energy costs” over the decades along with an evolving preference of the customers. At present, price is not an issue as the “historic cost declines” in the renewable market only underscores its cost-effective nature. The barriers to renewable market currently lie in its market accessibility, which happens to hold us back.
 
In order to fight the impending threats of climate change is it important for us to provide easy accessibility to “corporate renewable procurement”. In 2018 alone, industrial as well as commercial energy users contributed over two billion tons of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. It is to mitigate these carbon footprint, more than seventy percent of the “Fortune 100 companies” have put forth “greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets or renewable energy purchasing goals”.
 
In the words of the Global Manager for “Sustainable Energy/Supply Reliability” at General Motors, Rob Threlkeld:
“The REBA launch demonstrates that large energy buyers from across every sector of the U.S. economy, large and small, are committed to doing their part to solve this problem. At General Motors, we are proud to be a founding member”.
 
Corporate consumers can collectively alter the energy market scenario, while REBA’s forum will provide platform for the companies to collaborate and “drive a sustainable future”. General Motors also informed that:
“Membership is available to any nonresidential energy buyer, as well as clean energy developers and other service providers committed to carbon-free energy”.
 
Here is a list of key services that will be offered to the association members, as mentioned by General Motors:
Educational programs, tools and training to help companies prepare to buy clean energy at scale. Policy advocacy for corporate renewable energy buyers and their brands, supporting policies that promote access to clean energy in the U.S. Research, data and communications to support market growth and the evolution of electricity systems around the world. International coordination via a network of supporting corporate renewables organizations to expand access to renewables in key global markets.
 
While, Miranda Ballentine, the Inaugural chief executive of REBA as well as an ex- U.S. Air Force executive, added:
“Never before has such a diverse group of organizations, from every industry, from every sector, come together to form an association with a single, market-focused, mission-driven vision of a zero-carbon energy future. Large energy buyers have the power to move markets.”
 
Furthermore, Walmart Inc.’s Director of Energy Services, Steve Chriss said:
“We commend REBA and its members for their advocacy of policy solutions that seek to create more accessible pathways for consumers of all sizes to buy renewable energy. These efforts will play a critically important role in pursuit of meeting the 60 gigawatt goal that REBA members have set.”
 
 
References:
3blmedia.com