{"id":7856,"date":"2014-08-14T12:16:56","date_gmt":"2014-08-14T17:16:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/?p=7856"},"modified":"2014-08-14T16:13:39","modified_gmt":"2014-08-14T21:13:39","slug":"corporate-buyers-demonstrate-demand-for-renewables-now-its-time-for-the-market-to-catch-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2014\/08\/14\/corporate-buyers-demonstrate-demand-for-renewables-now-its-time-for-the-market-to-catch-up\/","title":{"rendered":"Corporate Buyers Demonstrate Demand for Renewables. Now it\u2019s Time for the Market to Catch Up."},"content":{"rendered":"
\"EDF<\/a>
Colin Krenitsky, 2014 EDF Climate Corps fellow for the Denver Housing Authority.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Last month, twelve major corporations announced a combined goal of buying 8.4 million megawatt hours<\/a> of renewable energy each year, and called for market changes to make these large-scale purchases possible. Their commitment shows that demand for renewables has reached the big time.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re proud that eight of the twelve are EDF Climate Corps host organizations: Bloomberg<\/a>, Facebook<\/a>, General Motors<\/a>, Hewlett Packard<\/a>, Proctor & Gamble<\/a>, REI<\/a>, Sprint<\/a> and Walmart<\/a>. The coalition, brought together by the World Wildlife Fund and World Resources Institute, is demanding enough renewable energy to power 800,000 homes a year. And while it’s great to see these big names in the headlines, they’re not alone in calling for clean energy: 60 percent of the largest U.S. businesses have set public goals<\/a> to increase their use of renewables, cut carbon pollution or both.<\/p>\n

Companies want renewable energy because it makes good business sense:\u00a0 it\u2019s clean, it diversifies their energy supply, it helps them hedge against fuel price volatility and it furthers their greenhouse gas reduction goals. Renewables are now the fastest-growing<\/a> power generation sector, and by 2018 they\u2019re expected to make up almost a quarter<\/a> of the global power mix. Prices of solar panels have dropped 75 percent since 2008<\/a>, and in some parts of the country, wind is already cost-competitive with coal and gas.<\/p>\n

Yet some market barriers persist in sourcing renewable energy. As Amy Hargroves of Sprint said, “we know that cost-competitive renewable energy exists but the problem is that it is way too difficult for most companies to buy.” Some utilities don’t offer renewable energy electricity options, or put limits on how much a firm can buy. And a patchwork of state regulations creates administrative hurdles for companies with facilities across the country.<\/p>\n

This shouldn’t be so hard. What the companies are asking for is reasonable and attainable. The Corporate Renewable Energy Buyers\u2019 Principles<\/a> call for change in six areas:<\/p>\n