African Energy
21
IRENA drives corporate
renewable energy
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has launched a
global company survey on the corporate sourcing of renewables. This
is part of the organisation’s efforts to boost renewable energy use by
businesses around the world.
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
that source renewables, highlight latest trends, and
provide recommendations to accelerate the trend.
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.”
“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,”
Amin added. Findings from the corporate survey, which is being
launched in June 2017, will be compiled along with results
from the already completed survey among 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 still do 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.”
IRENA’s initial work on corporate sourcing shows 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 also 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 five countries totalling 2.6GW.
However, we are not yet able to purchase renewable
energy everywhere we have significant operations, as 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 incentivise 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. PA
“Whether making direct investments in renewable energy,
signing corporate power purchase agreements, 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 g eneral Adnan Z Amin.
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July 2017 Volume 23 I Number 5