FB, Google, GM and many more Join Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance

Top technology and manufacturing giants in the US like Google, Facebook, General Motors and Walmart, along with over 300 other companies, have launched the Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance (REBA) yesterday —the largest group of corporate renewable energy buyers in the USA.

REBA will work as a trade organization that will help companies take advantage of new ways to purchase clean energy. The goal is to support the construction of new green power projects by striking renewable energy deals pioneered by companies like Google’s Alphabet and Walmart.

Through last year, companies signed enough corporate renewable deals to support nearly 16 gigawatts of new renewable energy capacity in the U.S., however REBA plans to bring more than 60 gigawatts of new renewables online in United States by 2025.

Highlights:

• Corporations and nonprofits are creating a new trade group to make it easier for companies to buy clean energy.
• The Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance will help firms take advantage of new deal structures that allow them to directly support clean power projects.
• REBA aims to grow the market for corporate renewable deals from nearly 16 gigawatts today to 60 GW by 2025.

The new membership organization now includes diverse industries and businesses, whose leadership circle alone represents annual revenues of $1 trillion and over 1% of US annual electricity consumption (48 terawatt-hours).

“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,” said Michael Terrell, head of Energy Market Strategy, Google, and REBA’s first board chair.

According to REBA, they want to create “tomorrow’s energy marketplace is simple and powerful: a resilient carbon-free energy system where every organization has an easy and cost-effective path to buying renewable energy.” Commercial and industrial energy users were responsible for more than 2 billion tons of greenhouse gases from energy use in 2018. Mitigating these emissions is part of the reason why over 70% of Fortune 100 companies have set greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets or renewable energy purchasing goals.

“Today’s REBA launch demonstrates that large energy buyers from across every sector are committed to doing their part to solve this problem,” said Rob Threlkeld, global manager, Sustainable Energy/Supply Reliability at General Motors.

Also, membership is available to non-residential energy buyers, clean energy developers and other service providers. The association aims to open energy markets and offer greater choice for corporate energy buyers, focusing on innovations in policy, markets and technology as well as educational training.

“Never before has such a diverse group of organizations, from every industry, come together to form an association with a single, market-focused, mission-driven vision of a zero-carbon energy future,” said REBA’s inaugural CEO and former US Air Force executive, Miranda Ballentine.

REBA was originally founded in 2014 as a partnership between four NGOs—Rocky Mountain Institute, World Wildlife Fund, World Resources Institute, and Business for Social Responsibility.