2019 marks an important milestone for the renewable energy industry. From the invention of RECs in 1999 to the day corporate PPAs exceeded utility PPAs, the past 20 years has seen companies make remarkable progress toward sustainability and a low-carbon economy. Let's take a look back at how the past two decades of corporate renewables have helped transform the energy landscape.

1. https://hub.resourceadvisor.com/latest-perspectives/2020-checklist
https://hub.resourceadvisor.com/latest-perspectives/2020-checklist
https://about.bnef.com/blog/corporate-clean-energy-buying-surged-new-record-2018/
20 Years of
Renewable Energy
1999
2006
2008
2015
2014
2018
2036
Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) are
launched in California. To date, billions of
kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power have been
generated, traced, and certified through the trading of
RECs. RECs remain a core component of thousands of
organizations’ energy portfolios.
Whole Foods Market makes a public renewable
energy committment and announces their adoption
of 100% wind power. Their corporate wind energy deal
is the first of it’s kind, and it inspires a cascade of
corporate actions on renewables.
University of Oklahoma inks the first offsite Power
Purchase Agreement (PPA). Not long after, in 2009,
Walmart becomes the first corporate buyer to sign a PPA
with a 92 MW wind deal in Texas. Google quickly
follows with its first deal in 2010, and goes on to sign a
new PPA every year for almost a decade.
Corporate PPAs exceed utility PPAs. C&I buyers
invest in more than 3 gigawatts (GW) of new renewable
energy capacity, and Google alone purchases nearly
a gigawatt of new wind and solar projects—making
them the largest institutional buyer of renewable energy
in the world.
The RE100 officially launches at Climate Week NYC,
and the world’s most influential companies increasingly
begin to commit to 100% renewable energy. Less than
a year later, the Science Based Targets Initiative
launches with powerful global partners to support
corporates in the transistion to a low-carbon economy.
Cumulative global corporate PPAs surpass 30 GW.
The Americas lead the pack with a PPA volume over 21
GW since 2008. EMEA markets continue to develop
with over 6 GW of PPAs cumulatively, and APAC follows
with more than 4.5 GW.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC) estimates the impacts of global warming to
increase temperatures 1.5°C above pre-industrial
levels. However, with new technologies, tireless
innovation, and aggressive corporate engagement
opportunity remains to take bold climate action.
The corporate renewable energy market has made amazing strides
and growth has surpassed all expectations. As we head into 2019,
it’s exciting to reflect on the past twenty years and see how far
we’ve come.
What date are your renewable goals tied to?
Check out our 2020 Checklist to jumpstart your
renewable energy program and accelerate
progress to achieve your goals.