Author: Amy Haddon shares her expertise in communications and corporate sustainability. We often receive the following question from clients, particularly as it relates to CDP reporting: What environmental claim(s) will we be able to make if we go 100% renewable, and what is the guidance from leading NGOs? Here is our typical response: When a company [...]
Originally posted on Smart Energy Decisions See if this sounds familiar: your company has set a goal on renewable energy or decarbonization, yet determining how to get there — and even more importantly, getting all your internal stakeholders to sign off on the solutions — is presenting a significant hurdle. At the Smart Energy Decisions [...]
Author: Hans Royal helps the largest institutions and corporations transition to renewable energy In the wake of our announcement that Renewable Choice has been acquired by Schneider Electric, we’ve received questions from the community about implications for service offerings for corporates, and in particular, whether we will maintain our independence as a renewable energy advisor. [...]
Author: Misti Groves works directly with project developers & purchasers to execute strategic customized contracting solutions. At industry events and in conversations with prospective clients, we hear this question often: what is a fixed-for-floating swap? A fixed-for-floating swap is a generic term for an advantageous financial arrangement between two parties whereby they agree to exchange [...]
In this Q&A, John Powers, VP of Strategic Renewables at Renewable Choice Energy, addresses the primary accounting considerations that commercial, industrial, and institutional (C&I) energy buyers face regarding power purchase agreements (PPAs). While we strive to provide the best and most up-to-date information, we’re advisors, not accountants or lawyers. None of the following is intended [...]
Author: Pete Dignan, President and CEO at Renewable Choice. At Renewable Choice, we take pride in our progressive business values. We have been a Certified B Corp for more than 4 years, which means that we measure and manage our social and environmental impacts. We are a purpose-driven business, committed to do our part in [...]
Making change isn’t that hard. That’s what I took away from the Colorado B Corp Leadership Development event (BLD) in Boulder last week (in addition to an outrageously hooked-up gift bag filled with B Corp products). While surrounded by other proud B Corporation employees, sharing their inspiring stories of using business as a force for [...]
Author: Amy Haddon Corporate clean energy purchasing has been dominating Q1 energy news. The recent uptick of organizational (i.e. non-utility) renewable energy buying via power purchase agreement (PPA) has garnered a lot of national attention. Electricity isn’t all that corporations are interested in getting cleanly; these organizations have also made public commitments to reducing their [...]
Data centers across the United States collectively consumed 91 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity in 2013. That number is poised to jump to 140 billion kilowatt-hours by 2020, according to the NRDC. And, while media attention focuses on high profile data center efficiency projects owned by innovative tech giants like Google and Facebook, small to mid-sized [...]
A Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) is a broad term which covers many types of contracts involving the purchase of energy between two parties. When we talk about renewable PPA deals, we're specifically talking about long-term, on- or off-site purchases of energy and RECs from a renewable energy project which is not yet built. Conversely, traditional power purchasing [...]
The world was rocked earlier this spring with Tesla’s announcement that it would begin marketing a stationary energy storage solution to both residential and corporate energy buyers. As we have identified in a previous post, the growth of renewables has been inhibited by issues with the storage and recycling of renewable energy. Tesla’s solution, however, [...]
Last week, Georgetown, Texas, population 56,000 and an hour north of Austin, announced that it has entered into a power purchase agreement (PPA) with solar giant SunEdison for a total of nearly 150 MW of clean energy. Combined with its 2014 purchase of 144 MW of wind power from EDF last year, the city has [...]
Within the past two weeks we’ve seen power purchase agreement (PPA) announcements from Google, Apple, Kaiser Permanente, and GM, that, when combined with an earlier announcement from Amazon Web Services, amount to nearly 600 megawatts (MW), or just shy of half of 2014’s total corporate PPA commitment. If you’ve been paying attention, you know that [...]
At the 11th hour in 2014, a lame duck Congress pulled a lame duck move, extending the Production Tax Credit (PTC) by a mere two weeks. The PTC grants tax relief to wind projects and can often be the difference between a project getting off the ground and not. Without it, there is real fear [...]
Last week, WRI released its anticipatedguidance on Scope 2 emissions. The new guidance provides greater clarity on emissions produced via purchased energy (in the form of electricity, steam, heating, and cooling), and specifically takes into account the various low-carbon means by which companies obtain their electricity, including power purchase agreements. The overall aim of the [...]
We’re delighted to share a new case study with you featuring our client Jackson Family Wines (JFW). The private, family-owned company operates under three core values that have formed the basis for its operations since it was initially founded by Jess Jackson 32 years ago:sustaining our lands, crafting our wines, and advancing the field. As [...]
Over the past decade, renewable technology has rapidly advanced, resulting in cheaper panels and turbines that also work more efficiently. These advances have led, in part, to the dramatic decline in the cost of solar and wind power production that has given rise to the grid-parity between brown and green energy. However, several fundamental problems [...]
Last week the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its list for the top 100 green power purchasers within the Green Power Partnership. The Green Power Partnership (GPP) is a voluntary program run by the EPA that recognizes companies across industries and institutions that invest in green power in order to reduce their environmental impact. Participation [...]
A recent initiative in the UK will soon provide local residents the opportunity to purchase shares in new renewable energy projects. With a mandate for renewable energy companies to offer at least 5% of the business to locals with a possible annual return rate of 6-9%, the initiative aims to garner further local support for [...]
Today is Halloween. Historically, this holiday marked the end of summer and the death of vegetation and often livestock, leading to its association with the scary denizens of the underworld: ghosts, goblins, and ghouls. While the holiday itself has become far more commercialized in recent years, the shortening days and chillier temperatures remind us that [...]
?????????????????????????????????????????? The culture of sustainability and responsible business practice in Europe has long provided a leading example for the rest of the world, and it is no surprise that the first law requiring non-financial disclosure from the private sector has come from Europe as well. On April 15th of this year, the European [...]
