Renewable power purchase agreements (PPAs) struck by European corporations soared to 8GW in total in 2019, an advocacy consortium reports.
The 2.5GW yearly rise was down largely to the continent’s expanded solar and wind capacity, particularly offshore, according to figures released by the RE-SourcePlatform, a grouping of WindEurope, SolarPower Europe, and the RE100 group of major users, including Amazon and Google.
Wind accounted for 85 per cent of Europe’s off-site deals by value, centred on wind-rich nations such as the UK, Sweden and Norway.
Solar made up 30 per cent by volume of all clean PPA deals, says the report. Landmark contracts for PV in 2019 included Amazon’s 199MW in Spain, Google’s 160MW deal in Denmark, and rail operator SNCF’s 143MW in France.
Citing its 2019 survey of 1,200 firms in six countries, authors of the report ‘Risk Mitigation for Corporate Renewable PPAs’ found stabilising energy costs remained the biggest motivation for deals, cited by 92 per cent of respondents.
Europe still lags America where renewable PPAs are becoming ‘commonplace’, the report notes. The US total last year of 16GW in corporate clean power deals was four-fifths of the 2019 world total.
Intended as a toolkit for purchasers seeking guidance and expertise, the report’s authors stress it is not a comprehensive database of all clean power deals. But it should educate “corporates…who are increasingly looking at ways in which they can reduce the impact of their own operations on the environment”.
More on the report here.
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