A group of some of the world’s largest corporations, including Amazon, Google, IKEA, and Microsoft, have backed an industry call for the European Union to eradicate the barriers to corporate renewable energy sourcing and Power Purchase Agreements, or PPAs.
The call was made via an open letter signed by over 50 corporations organized under the RE-Source corporate platform, a European alliance of stakeholders representing clean energy buyers and suppliers for corporate renewable energy sourcing backed by SolarPower Europe, WindEurope, RE100, and WBCSD. The letter, addressed to Maroš Šefčovič, Vice-President for the Energy Union, and Miguel Arias Cañete, Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, calls on the European Union to “address barriers to corporate renewable energy sourcing to ensure a cost-effective energy transition.”
The letter (PDF) is signed by some of the world’s largest corporations, including Amazon, Facebook, Google, Heineken, Microsoft, and 3M, as well as some of the world’s largest energy companies and manufacturers, including Ørsted, GE Renewable Energy, Enel, Engie, Iberdrola, First Solar, and Hanwha Q Cells.
The call comes as European Members States are finalizing their National Energy and Climate Plans, which are due by the end of the year, which detail the policies required for each Member State to help implement the EU Clean Energy Package and reach the EU’s 32% renewable energy target by 2030. According to the authors of the letter, corporate renewable energy PPAs are vital for achieving this target. However, even though the EU has mandated Member States identify and remove any existing administrative barriers to the development of corporate renewable PPAs, only two of the draft National Energy and Climate Plans even mention corporate renewable PPAs, while, according to RE-Source and the companies behind the letter, “none comply with the agreed legislation.”
“We urge you to prioritize the removal of regulatory barriers to corporate renewable PPAs as part of your upcoming recommendations to Member States on their draft National Energy and Climate Plans, so that the potential of corporate PPAs can be realized,” write the authors of the open letter. “These recommendations must be clear, actionable, and country-specific. Getting this right could unlock significant corporate demand for green electricity. The RE-Source Platform is also publishing a set of general policy recommendations as input to this process.”
The letter comes hot on the heels of a warning from the European Court of Auditors claiming that the EU’s clean energy goals are at risk of failure if Member States are not monitored more closely. Specifically, the lack of any binding national targets (as compared to a regional, EU target) risks the larger target being achieved.
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