RE100 Renewable Electricity Procurement Methods

Are you looking to increase the impact of your REC sourcing? Companies are redefining the impact of unbundled RECs and EACs by focusing on procurement that drives investment in new renewable infrastructure and aligns with their energy use from a geographic and timing perspective. Here are 6 procurement criteria that can elevate impact: 1. Source EACs from newly built or not-yet-built renewable energy facilities. Companies can target facilities commissioned within the last few years, instead of the last 15 years (the current RE100 standard) or even seek out facilities that haven’t become operational yet but that are expected to be operational by the time the RECs are needed (pre-COD). 2. Facility-Specific Attribute Purchase Agreements (APAs) A 10-year contract for EACs from a specific renewable energy facility provides most of the advantages of a PPA or vPPA, without the price risk and complexity. Identifying and contracting EACs from a specific renewable energy facility can more directly link a company’s procurement and the renewable electricity it’s purchasing. If the facility is newer, it reinforces claims of environmental impact. APAs are typically structured as multi-year contracts (e.g. 2-10 years) that offer meaningful benefits to the developer as well as the purchaser but don’t require 15-20 years of risk and complex contractual negotiations. Additionally, they can be structured in most country markets, including markets where PPAs or vPPAs would be challenging due to regulatory or other constraints. 3. Geographic Specificity EACs sourced from specific regions, such as where a company’s operations are located, or where the grid carbon intensity is highest, enables buyers to align environmental impact with operational presence or help lower grid emissions where they are highest, in each case generating positive local impacts. 4. Emissionality Focus Procurement from high-carbon-intensity grids can maximize avoided emissions per MWh. 5. Granular 24/7 Procurement Matching renewable energy generation to hourly electricity consumption sends market signals to increase supply of renewable power during periods of lower supply, such as at night in regions with higher solar concentration. 6. Sign Multi-Year Purchase Contracts (2-10 Years) Most companies procure unbundled EACs on a year-by-year basis but forward commitments provide revenue certainty to project developers by giving them greater revenue certainty, which can enable financing and aid in long-term planning. Longer-term commitments can also benefit corporate buyers by locking in pricing, which enhances budgeting stability, while reducing the level of effort for corporate renewable energy procurement teams. If you’d like to know more about any of these, feel free to reach out. This is a topic I’ve been learning a lot about lately. Photo by Antonio Garcia

Earlier this week, Microsoft shared that we reached our milestone of matching 100% of our annual global electricity consumption with renewable energy. Today, I'm sharing what global progress looks like at a local level. Partnerships are the engine of progress. We work closely with renewable energy developers around the world to help bring new clean power onto the grid. One of the most important tools we use to do this is a Power Purchase Agreement, or PPA. A PPA is a long-term agreement where an organization like Microsoft commits to buying electricity from a renewable energy project at a set price. For us, this provides a predictable source of clean energy. For the energy developer, it provides long-term revenue they can count on. That reliable revenue also helps developers secure additional financing to build new projects, like solar energy, that might not otherwise get built. In this way, PPAs don’t just buy clean power, they help expand new renewable energy capacity. Through these agreements, we’ve contracted 40 gigawatts of renewable energy to date. Each PPA is different, shaped by local geography, regulations, and community priorities. In our latest Source blog, we’re highlighting six examples of these partnerships, from a solar project in Illinois that supports agricultural programs and job training for students, to a women‑run wind farm in rural Brazil. Read more about these partnerships and the communities they support: https://lnkd.in/gmHvrusZ

Renewable energy projects have a financing problem. Banks won't even talk to them without guaranteed buyers, But here's what's changing the game : A solar farm might generate power for decades, but if there's no committed buyer, lenders see it as too risky. No financing, no project. The renewable energy sits unbuilt. Meanwhile, companies have carbon commitments and need clean electricity. But they can't build their own solar farms or negotiate with every developer independently. Resulting in billions in renewable projects stuck and companies unable to access clean energy. The gap between supply and demand keeps both sides paralyzed. Power Purchase Agreements solve this. A Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) is a long-term contract where a buyer commits to purchasing electricity from a renewable generator at a fixed or indexed price, typically for 10-20 years. Developers get revenue certainty. Banks approve financing. Projects get built. Buyer locks in clean energy at a predictable price plus renewable energy certificates for carbon accounting. Simple mechanism. Massive impact. In 2023, 36 GW of renewable PPAs were signed globally. Corporate PPAs account for over 50% of deals, led by Amazon, Microsoft, and Google. By 2030, corporate PPAs are projected to hit 100 GW. But these barriers kept most companies out: → Long contracts felt risky in unstable markets → Regulations around energy procurement stayed murky → Solar and wind didn't match when companies actually needed power → Small businesses couldn't navigate the complexity Until these startups stepped up: LevelTen Energy tackled price volatility. Largest PPA marketplace connecting 500+ developers with corporate buyers, providing price benchmarks and risk analytics. REDEX solved regulatory complexity. Digital platform helping corporates navigate open access and cross-border clean energy procurement. ReNew addressed generation mismatch. Hybrid solar-wind-storage PPAs aligning with corporate demand, mitigating 4 million tonnes of carbon. Zeigo simplified SME access. Platform making PPA contracting accessible for mid-market companies previously locked out. Clean energy procurement is moving beyond tech giants. Digital marketplaces, standardized contracts, and hybrid PPAs are turning exclusive corporate deals into scalable infrastructure. Projects that couldn't get financed now have buyers. Companies that couldn't access clean energy now have options. Would your company sign a 10-year contract for clean energy if the price was predictable and lower than grid rates? And that's day 9, of Climtober - 31 days demystifying climate solutions, one topic at a time. Come back tomorrow for Day 10 and by November 1st, you'll understand this landscape better than most people working in it. Building climate solutions but struggling to explain why they matter? Check the pinned comment - I help founders turn complex tech into stories that drive real adoption.

🔍 Did you know that Renewable Electricity—through RECs—can be procured on behalf of others? As companies deepen their climate strategies, a growing number are exploring how to reduce Scope 3 emissions by helping their suppliers and customers transition to renewable electricity. According to guidance from the U.S. EPA and the GHG Protocol issued in 2022, it’s possible to: ✅ Purchase and retire Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) ✅ Allocate them to value chain partners (e.g., suppliers, tenants, or customers) ✅ Enable those partners to lower their market-based Scope 2 emissions ✅ Reflect those reductions in your own Scope 3 inventory This approach is already in use by organizations like Google and Iron Mountain, who support energy transitions across their ecosystems. In fact, nearly 44% of RE100 members are engaging their supply chain on renewable electricity. But as with any evolving practice, it raises thoughtful questions: What are the checks needed to avoid double counting? How do we balance cost-sharing between buyers and suppliers? Does this drive long-term structural change—or offer a temporary reduction path? At its core, this model invites a broader perspective: climate action not just as a corporate footprint, but as a shared responsibility across the value chain. 📢 Can this type of renewable procurement become a scalable part of Scope 3 strategy? #Scope3 #RECs #GHGProtocol #CarbonAccounting #RenewableElectricity #Sustainability #Decarbonization #ClimateStrategy #ValueChainEngagement

RE100 recently released their comprehensive 2024 Annual disclosure report, one of the most in-depth looks we have into corporate renewable energy procurement. (https://lnkd.in/evzFKqVt) 4 charts, 4 insights: 1️⃣ Over 300 companies and 500 TWh under the RE100 banner, that brings great visibility to show that companies want renewables. 2️⃣ Globally, companies claim to be 53% renewables. Europe = 83%, North America = 65% figures for Asia are lower. 3️⃣ Globally, PPAs make up only 27% of renewable procurement. Unbundled EACs remain the primary sourcing method, and these are often unmatched in time and space to actual electricity demand. PPAs have decreased as a share of RE100 procurement for the second year in a row, access issues in APAC markets may play a role here, highlighting the important of maintaining pressure to open up more challenging markets.  4️⃣ In North America, PPAs are the primary sourcing method while in Europe and Asia EACs and contracts with suppliers dominate. While some argue that  today’s clean energy accounting rules favour PPAs - the evidence shows they remain a relatively small share of overall procurement and are below 50% in all regions.  RE100 is and will remain an important campaign to move companies toward purchasing more renewables. Yet as renewables become a significant share of the electricity mix, it’s also important to look under the hood and drive towards more accurate and impactful claims - in particular ensuring that renewables being claimed can actually be consumed with deliverable market boundaries and hourly matching. Climate Group’s new 24/7 Carbon-free Coalition (https://lnkd.in/et9fp4nR) helps companies get on the journey to hourly matching and brings greater credibility to their clean energy claims. PPAs which focus on hourly matching and deliverability, offer more hedging benefits and will incorporate storage which remains niche in today's renewable procurement products. Suppliers will also be encouraged to shift their portfolios to ensure they can deliver green supply to customers when and where they need it, not just when it’s produced. This is an example of the natural evolution of norms and standards - as global grids are transformed by renewables, we now need a new set of rules to ensure their continued integration around the clock - today’s rules are not built for that challenge, tomorrow’s rules should be.

Renewable power purchase agreements can also be used by cities to procure electricity from wind and solar. Energy Cities & Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP) just launched a new hands on guide for cities who want to do this. A power purchase agreement (PPA) is a contract used by a purchasing entity to procure electricity from a project developer. This contract specifies the volume and price of the energy purchased and the duration of the agreement. “Renewables PPAs” specifically procure electricity from renewable energy projects, such as wind and solar PV and are typically signed for durations between 5 and 20 years. By having visibility on future revenues, the developer can more easily finance the construction and operation of the generating facility while the purchasing entity can benefit from low and stable electricity prices, while progressing towards its environmental objectives. While these types of contracts are normally concluded between two private companies, they have recently started to be used by municipalities as an instrument to foster renewable energy deployment at local level. Following the energy price crisis of 2022, the European Commission promotes PPAs and has made it possible for Member States to de-risk renewable PPAs, for example by setting up state-backed or private guarantee schemes. Led by Sara Giovannini & Bram Claeys. https://lnkd.in/gqndurbv

Recent draft guidelines by CERC on Virtual Power Purchase Agreements (VPPAs) mark a significant and forward-looking step in the evolution of India’s electricity market. This is a thoughtful combination of hedging, CfD-style (contract-for-difference) settlement, power exchange (PX) participation, over-the-counter (OTC) contracting, and renewable energy certificate (REC) transfer, all neatly woven into a coherent framework. It offers an innovative and flexible route for designated consumers to meet their renewable consumption obligations (RCO) without physical delivery. As with any new market instrument, implementation aspects such as contract standardization, financial settlement, curtailment handling, certificate transfer, registry coordination, and transparent tracking will get streamlined over time. A commendable and bold initiative that reflects the growing maturity of India’s electricity market. 🇮🇳 #VPP #India #Market https://lnkd.in/dNAqjC-V

As companies pursue decarbonization targets, 24/7 clean power purchase agreements (PPAs) are playing an increasingly important role. With their unique ability to provide constant green power, time-matched to demand, these next-level PPAs are helping to unlock investment in nascent technologies and scale their deployment—especially combined with advances in storage and flexible generation. As part of "RE100" - a global corporate renewable energy initiative - more than 400 companies, with a combined annual power demand of over 500 TWh, have committed themselves to 100% renewable power consumption. Against this backdrop, certain energy-intensive data center hyperscalers have gone a step further than the RE100 commitment, promising to time-match demand and generation; these companies are driving the move to 24/7 clean PPAs. This segment is becoming more relevant by the day. Global data centers are powered by 500-600 TWh (~1-2% of the total global power supply), McKinsey analysis shows that this could increase 3-4x by 2030, representing >2,000 TWh. Substantial new (clean) generation capacities are needed to cover these consumption requirements. For example, if half of the 2030 global power consumption linked to hyperscaler data centers were to be powered by renewables, the necessary dispatchable generation, such as long-duration energy storage (LDES), would amount to 65-85 GW—roughly the size of the total installed power generation capacity of a country such as Poland or Vietnam. With the emergence of 24/7 clean PPAs, maximizing returns requires capabilities not typically found in renewable developers and operators, who traditionally focus on technical and engineering excellence. 24/7 clean PPAs demand sophisticated trading, structuring, and risk-management capabilities. This article provides more details on the 24/7 clean PPA trend and the associated capabilities required. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eKmPdTbh