{"id":13406,"date":"2018-08-16T08:58:14","date_gmt":"2018-08-16T12:58:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/?p=13406"},"modified":"2020-01-05T07:41:04","modified_gmt":"2020-01-05T12:41:04","slug":"how-corporations-bypassed-the-politics-to-lead-on-clean-energy-in-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/?p=13406","title":{"rendered":"How Corporations \u2018Bypassed the Politics\u2019 to Lead on Clean Energy in 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

.. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT .. <\/p>\n

An article by Julia Pyper for Green Tech Media<\/a> (reprinted as non-commercial use)<\/p>\n

From mega wind purchases to rooftop solar arrays to electric truck orders, companies of all sizes are stepping up to act on climate.<\/p>\n

When President Trump announced plans to withdraw <\/a> from the Paris climate accord attention quickly turned to corporate America. Would business leaders forge ahead in the fight against climate change in the absence of federal backing?<\/p>\n

In 2017, at least, the answer is yes.\u00a0<\/p>\n


\n\"\"<\/a><\/center><\/p>\n

As of December 12, when heads of state joined to commemorate the second anniversary of the Paris Agreement, 327 major corporations, worth a cumulative $6.5 trillion, had committed to matching their emission reduction plans with the Paris goals through the Science Based Targets <\/a> initiative. Another 864 companies have stated their intention to adopt a science-based target within two years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

These companies hail from some 50 countries and 70 sectors, including finance, chemicals, food processing, technology hardware and more. Companies headquartered in the U.S. make up 20 percent of the group and have made the greatest number of climate commitments to date, despite uncertainty surrounding the American government’s participation in the Paris accord.<\/p>\n

In addition, some 1,700 U.S. businesses from every state and of varying sizes — from Walmart to Wild Joe\u2019s Coffee Spot in Bozeman, Montana — have signed the \u201cWe Are Still In<\/a>\u201d declaration. The initiative, which also includes cities, statehouses and college campuses, was intended to demonstrate America\u2019s enduring commitment to delivering on the promise of the Paris Agreement.<\/p>\n

Apple, for instance, issued a $1 billion green bond <\/a> in June, shortly after Trump announced his exit from the climate deal, which CEO Tim Cook tried to convince the president not to quit<\/a>. This is the tech giant\u2019s second green bond, following a $1.5 billion offering <\/a> that came in response to the Paris Agreement last year. Proceeds from the green bond sales will be used to finance renewable energy and energy efficiency projects at Apple facilities.<\/p>\n

In another significant development this year, Walmart launched Project Gigaton, which asks its suppliers to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 1 gigaton by 2030. That amounts to the equivalent of taking more than 211 million passenger vehicles off of U.S. roads for an entire year.<\/p>\n

Walmart is \u201cbypassing the politics\u201d to focus on driving down emissions internally and in its supply chain, said the company’s Chief Sustainability Officer Kathleen McLaughlin, speaking at the New York Times\u2019 ClimateTECH conference in late November. There is a business case for supporting sustainable agriculture, combating deforestation, reducing waste and purchasing renewables, she said. Cost savings is one, but there\u2019s also the potential for business-model innovation, improved product quality and increased sales revenue.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn light of the withdrawal from the Paris accord\u2026I wouldn\u2019t say the political winds are favorable to the climate agenda right now,\u201d McLaughlin said. \u201cBut we\u2019re trying to make it practical and favorable just from a common-sense point of view.\u201d<\/p>\n

Walmart signed the We Are Still in pledge, she added, because \u201cwe think we need to show the rest of the world that there is still a critical mass of American companies of states and cities working on this, to drive [climate action] forward.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

New recruits to the 100 percent group<\/strong><\/p>\n

As part of their climate action plans, 119 companies have committed to sourcing renewable energy for 100 percent of their operations through the RE100 initiative<\/a>. That’s up from 56 members a year and a half ago.<\/p>\n

Schneider Electric is the latest company to commit to 100 percent renewable electricity through\u00a0RE100, with a 2030 target date. The European multinational also pledged to double its energy productivity by 2030, from a 2005 baseline, through an initiative called EP100<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cWhen it comes to the climate, I\u2019m neither an optimist nor a pessimist — I\u2019m an activist,\u201d said Schneider Electric Chairman and CEO Jean-Pascal Tricoire, in a statement. \u201cProsperity and energy are intertwined.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other recent additions to the RE100 list include Est\u00e9e Lauder, Kellogg, DBS Bank and Clif Bar. Citi Group also made the 100 percent renewables pledge in September, on top of the company\u2019s vow to finance $100 billion in clean energy, infrastructure and technology projects.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, French utility EDF Group recently committed to transitioning to electric vehicles by 2030 through EV100, a new initiative that seeks to make electric transport \u201cthe new normal.\u201d All three initiatives — RE100, EP100 and EV100 — are led by the international nonprofit organization The Climate Group.<\/p>\n

The increasing cost-competitiveness <\/a> of lithium-ion batteries has made electric trucks, and shorter-haul vehicles in particular<\/a>, an attractive investment for many companies. UPS, for instance, currently owns 120 electric trucks in the U.S. and more than 140 of them abroad. In New York City alone, UPS is planning to convert up to 1,500 tucks to EVs by 2022.<\/p>\n

To support its electrification goals UPS recently placed advance orders for the newly introduced Tesla Semi<\/a>. PepsiCo<\/a>, Walmart and several others have also preordered the Tesla truck, which is scheduled for delivery in 2019.<\/p>\n

It took Walmart a decade to double the fuel efficiency of its trucking fleet in an attempt to reduce fossil fuel use and cut costs, but the company still uses an enormous amount of fuel, said McLaughlin. The company is excited to pilot the Tesla Semi and other electrified platforms because “we envision a world where our fleet is run completely on renewable energy and we think this is an exciting step that allows us to experiment with that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

With electric trucks either on the market or expected from manufacturers such as BYD, Daimler, Volvo, Tevva Motors, Chanje <\/a> and several others, corporate customers will soon have lots of options to buy electric. The rise of electric trucks coupled with exponential growth in the number of passenger EV models has made a campaign like EDF Group\u2019s commitment to EV100 achievable.<\/p>\n

The biggest corporate deals of 2017<\/strong><\/p>\n

EDF hasn\u2019t only been active on cleantech internally. Like many other energy companies, EDF has also played a growing role in serving others in the corporate sector this year.<\/p>\n

In late November, EDF Renewable Energy, a subsidiary of EDF Group, announced a deal to supply Google with 200 megawatts of wind energy generated from the new\u00a0Glaciers Edge Wind Project\u00a0<\/a> in Iowa. Glaciers Edge is the third deal EDF RE has done with Google, and it is expected to come on-line in December 2019. Once complete, the wind farm will help\u00a0Google reach its goal <\/a> of purchasing enough renewable energy to match its consumption for global operations.<\/p>\n

Google also signed agreements in recent weeks for wind-generated electricity from Avangrid\u2019s\u00a0Coyote Ridge\u00a0 and\u00a0Tatanka Ridge\u00a0wind farms in South Dakota, both of which are 98 megawatts, as well as 140 megawatts from the 300-megawatt\u00a0Red Dirt site in Oklahoma. The cumulative 536 megawatts Google purchased from U.S. wind farms in November puts the company\u2019s total renewable energy procurement to date above 3 gigawatts.<\/p>\n

These wind deals are just the latest in a long list of corporate renewable energy procurements this year. While 2017 won\u2019t be record-breaking, it will be the second-best year for corporate renewable deals, according to the Rocky Mountain Institute\u2019s Business Renewables Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“Sustainable companies, led by tech giants and other leading Fortune 100s, are moving forward on their clean energy commitments,\u201d Jacob Susman, head of origination for EDF RE, wrote in an email. This comes despite uncertainty around federal tax implications and the potential for new solar tariffs. According to Susman, \u201cthis is a testament to the value, risk mitigation, and societal and environmental benefits they perceive from adding renewables to their portfolios.”<\/p>\n

Notable deals include Anheuser-Busch\u2019s virtual power-purchase agreement with Enel Green Power for 152.5 megawatts of the 298-megawatt Thunder Ranch wind farm in Billings, Oklahoma. The renewable energy produced under the PPA is equivalent to meeting 50 percent of Anheuser-Busch\u2019s total electricity needs in one year, which is enough renewable electricity to produce more than 20 billion 12-ounce servings of beer annually. The Anheuser-Busch agreement marks a significant step toward delivering on parent company AB InBev\u2019s global commitment <\/a> to secure 100 percent of purchased electricity from renewable sources by 2025.<\/p>\n

JPMorgan Chase, which recently committed <\/a> to facilitating at least $200 billion in clean financing over the next eight years, signed a 20-year PPA with NRG for a 100-megawatt wind project this year as part of the bank\u2019s commitment <\/a> to cover all of its power needs with renewables by 2020. While JPMorgan does not disclose how much power that amounts to, it will have to cover the real estate footprint of more 5,500 properties in 60 countries. To reach that goal, the company is also evaluating on-site solar options on up to 1,400 bank-owned retail buildings and 40 commercial buildings worldwide.<\/p>\n

At the same time, America\u2019s biggest bank is cutting energy use at its 4,500 U.S. branches <\/a> through the use of new energy management and digital technologies. Chase is partnering with GE\u2019s Current to install sensors, software and lighting controls that will help bank branches reduce electric and gas consumption by 15 percent. The company also continues to offset 100 percent of emissions generated by employee air travel on an annual basis. Collectively, these actions put JPMorgan Chase on track to reach its goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 50 percent below 2005 levels by 2020.<\/p>\n

Kimberly-Clark also made some big commitments to clean energy in 2017, with the corporation\u2019s first major renewables agreement to buy 245 megawatts and 1 million megawatt-hours of electricity from two new wind projects in Texas and Oklahoma. In October, Amazon made a splash <\/a> with its largest wind farm announced to date.<\/p>\n

The next frontier of corporate purchasing: Smaller buyers<\/strong><\/p>\n

Industry giants with household names are currently leading the way with renewable energy purchases, but the corporate clean energy market is starting to diversify and appeal to smaller players.<\/p>\n

(Continued in right column)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Question for this article:<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n

\n

Are we making progress in renewable energy?<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

(Continued from left column)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe next frontier of corporate purchasing is for corporate buyers with smaller appetites to increase their renewables contracting in a meaningful way,\u201d said EDF\u2019s Susman.
\nExpanding markets to these smaller players has proved to be a challenge, however.<\/p>\n

In an interview earlier this year<\/a>, Patrick Flynn, director of sustainability at Salesforce, pointed out that in the commercial renewables sector \u201cgrowth is driven by a handful of large, experienced corporations\u201d and the top priority should be to \u201clower barriers to entry\u201d for other companies.<\/p>\n

While many companies are choosing to bypass federal politics to act on their climate agenda, policy innovation at the state and local level continues to be critical for the commercial renewables sector. That\u2019s true for companies of all sizes, but it\u2019s especially so for smaller businesses that are more price-sensitive.<\/p>\n

In regulated markets, utility green tariff programs <\/a> are an emerging option for corporate customers. As of September, 17 green tariffs in 13 states <\/a> have been proposed or approved since NV Energy put forward the first green tariff in 2013, according to the World Resources Institute.<\/p>\n

Green tariffs come in different forms and flavors. Puget Sound Energy, for instance, launched the first subscriber-style green tariff to be used by retailers and small governments in April. While most existing green tariffs are designed to enable a single, new and very large customer to contract for an entire renewable energy project, PSE\u2019s Green Direct program <\/a> allows existing customers to contract for a more modest portion of a big clean energy project, which could enable smaller corporate players to participate.<\/p>\n

In North Carolina, a July law <\/a> reintroduced a Green Source Rider Program that allows corporations, the military, and the University of North Carolina to purchase renewables. The same law, HB 589, also legalized third-party leasing of renewable energy systems, which could be a viable option for the business community.<\/p>\n

If companies don\u2019t get the policy arrangement they want, regulated utilities risk losing corporate customers. Pressure from large corporate buyers is spurring utilities in the heart of coal country <\/a> to find renewable energy solutions — despite President Trump\u2019s calls for a coal renaissance. In Nevada, casinos such MGM and Wynn Resorts are leaving the grid to buy clean energy from outside suppliers, and now the state is considering deregulation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Other parts of the country, a different set of policy solutions has cropped up. San Francisco Public Utility Commission’s\u00a0CleanPowerSF program<\/a>, for instance, helped Salesforce to source 100 percent renewable energy for its two office towers in San Francisco in August.<\/p>\n

In deregulated markets, where most clean energy deals have been done to date, corporate buyers have more flexibility in their renewable energy purchasing options. But even here policy remains central. In all states, renewable energy targets, net metering policies, utility rate schedules, permitting processes, government incentives and other policy elements affect how easy or hard it is for companies of various sizes to purchase renewable energy.<\/p>\n

Hospitals get active on renewable energy policy<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a testament to the role policy plays, healthcare providers in Ohio recently sent a letter <\/a> to state lawmakers calling on them to stand behind the state\u2019s clean energy standards and correct restrictive wind siting requirements<\/a>. The letter asks for a \u201ccomprehensive approach to\u00a0Ohio\u2019s energy policy\u201d that would \u201cvalue innovative technologies that institute energy efficiency and demand response as a resource and expand the deployment of advanced energy technologies that curb energy costs to consumers.\u201d<\/p>\n

After several years of policy uncertainty, Ohio\u2019s renewable energy and efficiency mandates were officially reinstated late last year<\/a>. This year, the issue cropped up again<\/a>. In March, the Ohio House of Representatives passed a bill <\/a>to make the mandates voluntary. The legislation has since been taken up by the Senate, and Senate President Larry Obhof has said he\u2019ll advance the bill <\/a> in January.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, there\u2019s an ongoing debate in Ohio around the need to subsidize coal and nuclear plants.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat both the advanced energy industry and healthcare providers would like to see from lawmakers is a move to put innovative technologies on a level playing field with some of the other incumbent technologies in the state, basically allowing competition to thrive,\u201d said Ray Fakhoury, state policy associate at Advanced Energy Economy, which helped to facilitate the Ohio energy policy letter.<\/p>\n

Large companies like Kaiser Permanente and Partners HealthCare have made sizable investments in renewables in recent years, but healthcare providers have generally taken a cautious approach to renewables. There\u2019s hesitancy to make the upfront investment when healthcare needs are so high and some concern around disrupting hospital operations during installation. But the sector is starting to see a shift.
\nBecause hospitals are the second most energy-intensive facility type <\/a> in the U.S., renewables present a significant cost savings opportunity for the sector. Hospitals also need power around-the-clock and stand to benefit from clean energy microgrids in the event of an outage. Recent disasters such as the Boston bombing attack and Hurricane Harvey have underscored the need for uninterrupted electrical service at hospitals, according to a recent report <\/a> sponsored by Ameresco.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re now seeing hospitals get involved [in renewables] in a more active way, because pushing for access to a diverse portfolio of resources is something they\u2019re interested in and Ohio is a state they\u2019re looking to,\u201d said Fakhoury.
\nSigners of the letter include the\u00a0Cleveland Clinic, the\u00a0Ohio\u00a0Hospital Association\u00a0Energy and Sustainability Program, and the CEOs of Mercy Health, Mount Carmel Health System, and Tri-Health. Energy business leaders signing the letter include executives from First Solar, Apex Clean Energy and Siemens.
\n
\nSmall commercial solar remains tricky<\/strong><\/p>\n

Of all companies, purchasing solar is the biggest challenge among the smallest players. Small and medium-sized businesses have traditionally been a \u201cno man\u2019s land<\/a>\u201d for solar installers.<\/p>\n

Between 2012 and 2016, commercial solar installations were virtually flat due to project financing challenges, lengthy development timelines and heavy reliance on incentives.
\nAccording to GTM Research, commercial solar hit its highest year of installations in 2016 as the market experienced demand pull-in in response to two impending regulatory deadlines on solar-friendly rate structures came in California and the qualification period for obtaining the full SREC value in Massachusetts. These factors continued to drive deployments in 2017, but growth is expected to drop in 2018 and only grow incrementally over the next five years.<\/p>\n

Legal fees and complex contract negotiations create substantial transaction costs for commercial project developers and owners. Customer acquisition is time-consuming and highly localized. And attractive financing is only available to a subset of the market. Small and medium-sized businesses don\u2019t enjoy the investment-grade credit that the Fortune 100 companies do.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s still high interest in this market segment, however. Entities such as NextEra, NRG, AES and Duke\u2019s REC Solar <\/a> are active in the commercial solar space and competing to provide comprehensive low-carbon energy packages for customers.<\/p>\n

Commercial solar asset owners are also taking more control <\/a> of their projects from the outset, rather than acquiring projects at a later date. Taking more control can eliminate speed bumps\u00a0like having to repeat due diligence on project financing, according to GTM Research solar analyst Michelle Davis, author of the\u00a0Commercial Solar Asset Ownership\u00a0<\/a> report. This trend could increase commercial solar installation volumes and concentrate the market beyond 2017.
\n
\nGoing global<\/strong><\/p>\n

While there\u2019s still a huge opportunity to tap into the commercial renewables market in the U.S., most of the larger, mature buyers are now starting to direct their attention elsewhere.<\/p>\n

According to the Business Renewables Center, North America accounted for more than 75 percent of global corporate PPAs through August 2017. But markets in South America, Europe and Asia have the potential for significant growth.<\/p>\n

A recent report <\/a> by the Rocky Mountain Institute found that new opportunities for companies to use cleaner power in China could increase the country\u2019s wind and solar capacity by 40 percent over 2016 levels by 2020. China is already the global leader on renewable energy deployment, but it currently offers few scalable options for companies to use 100 percent renewables.<\/p>\n

But things are starting to change.<\/p>\n

China is undergoing its most significant electricity reform in a generation, according to the report. As a result, the number of options for corporate buyers is increasing. In March 2017, for instance, the government established ground rules for community solar, opening a new mechanism to procure local power for companies without sufficient rooftop access. RMI identified eight other new and existing pathways to expand corporate renewable energy procurements in China.<\/p>\n

In some cases, policies and market dynamics in countries outside of the U.S. are better than those that exist within the U.S.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Walmart, for instance, has a goal to reach 100 percent renewables across its global network, and currently sits around 25 percent renewable today. But in the U.S., that number is actually closer to 12 percent, due to \u201cthe regulatory environment, pricing environment, infrastructure, technology and so forth,\u201d said McLaughlin.<\/p>\n

Because large corporations have such large international footprints, they can\u2019t afford not to lead on climate action or they could miss out on a business opportunity.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re a global company, we operate all around the world, and so wherever we can, we like to have that certainty that there\u2019s a level playing field wherever we operate,\u201d said Todd Brady, director of global public affairs and sustainability at\u00a0Intel, on a panel at ClimateTECH. \u201cI think that makes a strong business case for staying in the Paris Agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n

The World Resources Institute identified three things company leaders can do push global climate action further in 2018: show up and speak up at high-level events, align their corporate climate goals with countries\u2019 climate goals, and meet with ministers to help break down silos within and between governments, leading to a more cohesive policy framework.<\/p>\n

At the COP23 climate conference in November, U.N. Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres\u2019 had a message for businesses: \u201cI am asking you to misbehave.\u201d He called for companies around the world to disrupt “business-as-usual” and urge governments to ramp up their climate action plans. Hundreds of businesses, in the U.S. and abroad, have accepted the secretary\u2019s challenge. Now, the world will be watching for them to follow through.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

.. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT .. An article by Julia Pyper for Green Tech Media (reprinted as non-commercial use) From mega wind purchases to rooftop solar arrays to electric truck orders, companies of all sizes are stepping up to act on climate. When President Trump announced plans to withdraw from the Paris climate accord attention quickly turned … Continue reading How Corporations \u2018Bypassed the Politics\u2019 to Lead on Clean Energy in 2017<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[76,91,10],"tags":[11,5],"class_list":["post-13406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-global","category-north-america","category-sustainable","tag-global","tag-north-america"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13406"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13406\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english.cpnn-world.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}