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Corporations purchased a record of 23.7GW of clean energy in 2020, up from 20.1GW in 2019 and 13.6GW in 2018, according to new research published by BloombergNEF (BNEF). The increase came despite a year devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic, a global recession and uncertainty about US energy policy ahead of the presidential election.
BNEF finds in its “1H 2021 Corporate Energy Market Outlook” that clean energy contracts were signed by more than 130 companies in sectors ranging from oil & gas to big tech. Underpinning the market is surging stakeholder interest in corporate sustainability and expanding access to clean energy globally.
Kyle Harrison, BNEF senior associate and the lead author of the report, commented: “Corporations faced a wave of adversity in 2020 – internal corporate functions were disrupted on the outset of the pandemic, and many companies saw revenues plummet as global economies buckled. Question marks before – and after – the US election further complicated long-term decision-making for companies. To not only maintain, but grow, the clean energy procurement market under these conditions is a testament to how high sustainability is on many corporations’ agendas.”