Working towards a sustainable environment



Google, Facebook and Walmart are amongst the businesses to commit to bringing more than 60GW of renewable energy online in the US through the Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance (REBA).




Participants of REBA account for 95% of all large-scale corporate renewable energy deals in the US to date

Participants of REBA account for 95% of all large-scale corporate renewable energy deals in the US to date

Announced late last week (28 March), REBA has committed to creating 60GW of renewables in the US by 2025. The Alliance will seek to accelerate the uptake of clean energy in the country, as 6.2GW of corporate renewables deals were issued in 2018.

“Every enterprise—whether it’s a bakery, a big-box retailer, or a data centre—should have an easy and direct path to buy clean energy. Ultimately, sourcing clean energy should be as simple as clicking a button,” Google’s head of energy market strategy and REBA’s first board chair Michael Terrell said.

Launched in 2014 by NGOs the Rocky Mountain Institute, WWF, World Resources Institute, and Business for Social Responsibility, REBA consists of more than 150 energy firms and 200 corporate energy buyers.

Membership is available to non-residential energy buyers and clean energy developers. The Alliance will seek to drive more options for corporate energy purchases, ranging from procurement deals to onsite technology.

Participants of REBA, which also includes General Motors, Disney, Citi and Johnson and Johnson, account for 95% of all large-scale corporate renewable energy deals in the US to date.

New Green Deal

REBA’s 60GW commitment arrived in the same week that US senators voted unanimously to reject proposals for a national New Green Deal, that would see the US shift away from fossil fuels, to be replaced with renewable sources.

Senators voted 57-0 against the proposal, orchestrated Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, that would set out long-term legislation to transform the energy sector and grow the economy through clean energy and decarbonisation investments and job opportunities.