Transforming corporate clean energy commitments into action

在唐纳德特朗普总统宣布退出巴黎气候协议的日子里，超过1,200多个城市，国家，大学和公司宣布，“我们还在。”These pledges, which former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), include commitments by over 260 corporations, including PepsiCo and Walmart, to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in line with the latest science.

That was the backdrop for this year'sREBA Summit在VERGE 17，超过400多个能源领导人聚集在一起讨论机会，通过围绕公司采购清洁能源的挑战来讨论机会和工作。（Reba代表可再生能源买家联盟。）

与会者在硅谷事件表示the 66 percent of Fortune 100 and about 50 percent of Fortune 500 companies that have made public sustainability commitments. Similarly, over 100 corporations have committed to RE100, a coalition to source 100 percent renewable energy, and 100-plus companies are ready to transact through the企业可再生能源中心（BRC）。

这些承诺表明，事实上，我们是还在。但我们现在必须从“意图”转变为“行动”。这样做不仅需要在美国的前瞻性领导，而且可再生能源买家了解可再生能源的经济学，以做出正确的选择。

Purchasing renewables is often the easiest and most meaningful way to address sustainability and stability.

General Motors is a prime example of this. During the REBA Summit, itannounceda new 200-megawatt wind energy deal that will power its manufacturing plants in the Midwest and bring the company's renewable energy coverage up to 20 percent of all electricity use in 2018. To replicate its success, here are three factors that businesses should consider when turning commitments into results:

1.企业承诺影响电力市场

由于许多原因，美国周围的公司正在加强对可再生能源的投资。董事会，股东和消费者要求企业应对可持续性。竞彩足球app怎么下载不仅是购买可再生能源，通常是最简单而最有意义的方法，而且还可以帮助公司通过更大的稳定性和可靠性来控制他们的能源期货。许多公司希望锁定风浪和太阳能价格，并抵御升高化石燃料成本。

This push from corporations for renewables is driving the market. For example, Appalachian Power in coal-rich West Virginia is shifting toward wind and solar, and has closed three coal-fired plants in recent years. This came about in part as a result of a summit meeting that its parent company, American Electric Power (AEP), held with corporations including Walmart, Facebook, Hilton and Procter & Gamble. According to a recentNew York Times article, "Those companies stressed that if they were going to expand their businesses in AEP regions, they would need access to low-carbon energy."

As more companies turn their pledges into action, they are sending an important market signal to power producers, regulators and policymakers that clean energy is valued and markets should adjust accordingly. With over 7.5 gigawatts (GW) of renewables capacity being sourced directly by corporate buyers, this demand for more clean power isn’t going away anytime soon.

2.企业行动影响位置

我们历史上低天然气价格抑制在美国的电价。可再生能源与天然气竞争，这是如此便宜，甚至煤炭无法竞争。但尽管有风和太阳能成本have fallen 40 percent and 64 percent自2008年以来，分别在批发电力市场上分别在批发电力市场上运行煤炭植物 - 这表明它与廉价天然气竞争的费用是多么挑战。

即使是可再生能源在这种环境中仍然取得成功，也可以立即在线上网的风力或太阳能可能导致拥堵，需要缩减，并且在某些情况下，影响国家在该国某些地区的可再生能源的经济学。这意味着任何希望投资于新的可再生能源项目项目的人必须充分考虑竞争气体资产或有限传输基础设施等区域风险。在一天结束时，公司需要想象像房地产一样的可再生能源：这是所有关于地点，位置，位置。

3. Corporates must understand the economics

Renewables are competitive on cost in many parts of the country, but that doesn’t mean that each individual deal or power purchase agreement will be economically viable. In deregulated wholesale markets, where companies can support putting new renewables on the grid, buyers face an economic puzzle that is constantly changing.

To make an economic argument for purchasing renewables, buyers must not only consider the cost of energy, but also evaluate the relationship between the fixed cost they will pay and the floating market price they will receive.

好消息是，许多公司正在投资教育和专业知识，以发展对电力市场的制度理解。从谷歌这样的经验丰富的球员到市场上的新进入者，如家具制造商Seelcase，拥有知识渊博的能源团队是迈向可行的可持续性实践的关键步骤。竞彩足球app怎么下载武装那些具有正确工具的人也很重要。在其作为非营利组织的作用中，BRC致力于帮助开发诸如其诸如此之类的工具市场分析平台, which helps users quickly evaluate hypothetical wind or solar facilities at over 4,000 locations across the country by estimating both the fixed costs that a buyer might expect to pay and the floating market prices a buyer could expect to receive based on real market data. Equipped with knowledge and analysis, companies successfully can complete economically smart renewable energy deals.

底线：是全球领导的时候

The United States is facing a critical economic juncture. There will be fewer leadership opportunities in a clean energy industry that is seeing more demand — not less — from the most significant multinational companies around the world.

为了捕捉到这一企业可再生能源需求和可再生能源成本下降的最大经济增长，美国必须承诺在国内和国际上的气候和能源问题上的前瞻性立场。随着特朗普离开巴黎气候协议，公司和城市正在占用空白，但政治领导仍然在全球议程中留下了真空，这导致了不同的全球竞争力。

在一个recent testimony对于美国参议院能源和自然资源委员会，BRC表示，“可再生技术的成本曲线继续下来，而没有美国的领导，公司和投资者自然会在其他地方寻求更具活力和不断增长的市场。”

Economic investment in clean energy also includes investing in the overall power infrastructure. Markets right now are relying on an antiquated electric system, which is one reason we’re seeing price pressure. Investing in infrastructure, such as building more high-voltage transmission lines, coupled with investing in newer technologies, will bring about lower costs and more jobs in the long run than replacing aging fossil fuel plants.

各种规模的公司在现场屋顶太阳能中发挥作用 - 从可再生能源的大量非现场采购，宣传和公共支持可以使能让新的，不断发展的能源系统有益的政策。企业已经为这一新行业提供了强大的声音。然而，现在是时候超越声乐支持，并开始意图进入行动。