RE100, an initiative bringing together businesses committed to 100% renewable energy, urged governments to remove regulatory impediments to corporate clean energy procurement, claiming that regulatory barriers are impeding the business world’s shift to net zero emissions in its latest report.
RE100 now has 349 members across the globe.
According to the report, strong demand for renewables from corporates in Asia has contributed to its membership growth over the past year, with nearly two-thirds of sign-ups in the last 12 months coming from Asian companies. However, it warned that Asian markets had also been identified as regions where procuring renewables was proving the most problematic, with 27 members citing impediments to acquiring renewables capacity in South Korea, as well as 24 enterprises in Japan and 22 in China.
More than half of RE100 members said they had “serious difficulty” procuring renewables in the markets they worked in around the world. Firms identified limited renewable electricity supply, a lack of procurement possibilities, and lofty costs as the top three challenges stopping them from meeting their clean energy goals.
Australia, China, Russia, and Saudi Arabia, which have traditionally relied on fossil fuels, are among the most difficult clean energy procurement markets for firms, according to the survey.
Climate Group and CDP, organizations that lead RE100, have warned that governments and businesses must work together to overcome the challenges identified in the report, saying that the initiative's rapidly expanding membership demonstrates a significant private sector hunger for clean energy.
“The report's findings send a strong message to governments that corporations are investing in renewable energy at scale, not just in Europe and North America, but also in the Asia-Pacific region,” said Sam Kimmins, the Climate Group's head of RE100. “While more has to be done, and more quickly, the year-over-year improvements in our members' data are heartening indication that corporate demand for renewables is increasing.”
According to the disclosure report, RE100 members currently get approximately 45% of their electricity from renewable sources, up from 41% in 2020. Meanwhile, 61 members said they get 100% of their electricity from renewable sources, accounting for 46 TWh of electricity use.
The report also shows that corporate interest for power purchase agreements (PPAs) is gradually increasing, with direct offtake agreements with energy generators accounting for 28% of renewable electricity sourced by members in 2021, up from 26% in the preceding year.
Andrew Glumac, CDP's senior manager of renewable energy, asked more corporations to join RE100 in 2022, saying that as the group grows, it will be able to exert more influence on legislators.
