Nearly 100 corporates have signed a declaration calling on European governments to make investing and directly sourcing renewable energy easier.
The declaration calls on policymakers to remove all regulatory and administrative barriers to corporate sourcing of renewable energy, as required by the recently enacted Renewable Energy Directive, so the early success can be replicated more broadly.
Corporates are asking for greater clarity and certainty on the long-term ownership of Guarantees of Origin (GOs), said to be crucial to know they are buying renewable electricity.
Additionally, the governments are requested to enable a wide variety of procurement models and market products, from on and offsite solutions to multi-corporate renewable power purchase agreements (PPAs) to minimize risks and maximize participation, WindEurope said.
The companies are also seeking to be allowed to sign cross-border renewable energy transactions in order to maximize opportunities to deploy the most cost-effective renewable solutions.
“Corporate sourcing of renewable energy plays a key role in accelerating Europe’s clean energy transition. The demand from corporates is clear. With the Renewable Energy Directive having being passed, we look forward to a regulatory framework further enabling corporate PPAs to allow more investments in renewable energy, taking us ahead in our journey towards a greener Europe,” said Vanessa Miler , Renewable Energy Strategist at Microsoft.
The declaration was signed at this year’s RE-Source event, Europe’s platform for corporate renewable energy sourcing.
According to the alliance, RE-Source aims to bring the number of corporates buying renewable power from 100 to 100,000, which can only be done by increasing awareness and removing policy and market barriers that constrain the growth of renewables in many European markets.
The European Parliament recently completed the approval of the EU target to have at least 32% of electricity produced by renewable energy by 2030.