Tech giants Facebook and Google led the renewable charge in 2018 as global corporations broke clean energy records.
Corporations worldwide bought 13.4 gigawatts of renewable energy through long-term contracts, Bloomberg New Energy Finance reports. This more than doubled 2017 figures, shattering previous records.
Facebook Inc accounted for more than 2.6 GW of clean energy deals in 2018. This in fact outstripped Google, which was known as the world’s biggest corporate buyer of clean energy such as solar panel generated power.
Australia and India break Asia-Pacific clean energy records
According to Bloomberg, Asian-Pacific corporations signed a record 2 GW of clean energy Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) in 2018. This is more than the previous two years combined.
India (1.3 GW) and Australia (0.7 GW) account for these purchases.
Market subsidies and government renewable energy targets (RET) drove the global green energy boom, the report stated. As a result, the commercial renewable market has found its own momentum.
The cost of large-scale wind and solar energy has dropped so it is now often the cheapest source of electricity, Bloomberg notes.
Global companies collaborate on business RETs
Bloomberg claims collaboration among global corporations is boosting uptake of renewable energy.
It cites the RE100 targets as an example of this clean energy alliance. The RE100 campaign has 160 signatories committed to 100 per cent RETs. Company members are based in 23 different global markets.
Together these companies consumed around 189 terawatt hours of electricity in 2017 (189 billion kWh). This is close to Egypt’s annual electricity consumption.
The Bloomberg report says 13.4 GW of clean energy contracts were signed by 121 corporations in 21 countries last year, up from 6.1 GW in 2017.
As a result, corporations join utilities as the biggest buyers of renewable power across the globe.
Australia placed to break solar battery clean energy records
Apart from solar panel installations, Australia could also emerge as a solar battery leader. This is because battery storage prices are falling more quickly than expected.
Bloomberg predicts prices will fall by half through to 2030. Our battery storage market could then develop into a $1.7 trillion industry.
Greentech Media also forecasts the record-breaking impact of solar battery installations in 2019. This is because prices for solar panels and solar batteries like Tesla Powerwall 2 and Enphase are falling fast.
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