The Environmental and Energy Study Institute, the House Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus and the World Resources Institute sponsored a Congressional briefing on building corporate markets for renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind, geothermal and biomass, and for other clean energy technologies, such as fuel cells. The briefing addressed the challenges that large commercial and industrial corporations face when trying to procure green power and will discuss ways policymakers can help lower these barriers. This information was particularly timely as the House and Senate prepare for conference committee deliberations on their respective national energy bills. The briefing allowed attendees to hear first-hand from companies about their green power procurement experiences. Representatives Mark Udall (D-CO) and Zach Wamp (R-TN) provided opening remarks.

The potential growth of corporate markets for green power is vast and the potential benefits are significant. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the industrial and commercial sectors account for 54 percent of total U.S. energy consumption and 48 percent of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions. Yet non-hydro, non-wood sources of green power currently comprise less than one percent of corporate energy consumption. Many major U.S. corporations, however, are increasingly demonstrating a growing commitment to green power and to reducing the environmental impacts of their energy use. For example, DuPont has made a commitment to source 10 percent of its global energy needs from cost-competitive renewable energy resources by 2010.

Green power offers multiple benefits not only to the corporations who invest in renewable energy, but also to energy security, the economy and the environment. Benefits include:

• Emissions reductions of greenhouse gases and criteria pollutants, such as NOx, SO2, and mercury;



• Protection against potential costs associated with future environmental regulation;



• Stable fuel prices (e.g., geothermal, wind and solar power require no fuel);



• Positive stakeholder relations;



• Diversification and decentralization of energy supplies;



• Reduced reliance on imported fuels;



• Economic growth from domestically produced energy, especially in rural communities.

In 2000, the World Resources Institute and Business for Social Responsibility convened the Green Power Market Development Group (the Group) as the first commercial and industrial partnership dedicated to building corporate markets for green power. Members of the Group include Alcoa Inc., Cargill Dow LLC, Delphi Corporation, DuPont, General Motors, IBM, Interface, Johnson & Johnson, Kinko’s, and Pitney Bowes. The Group is working to transform energy markets to enable corporate buyers to diversify their energy portfolios with green power and thereby help address climate change. Representing an estimated 8 percent of total corporate energy use in the United States, the Group seeks to develop corporate markets for 1,000 megawatts of new, cost-competitive green energy capacity, which is enough electricity to power 750,000 homes, by 2010.

Working closely together over the past two years, the World Resources Institute and these 10 companies have:

• Conducted research on green power technologies, applications, and suppliers;



• Mapped renewable resource locations and corporate facility demand;



• Reviewed and facilitated green power project negotiations; and



• Developed innovative analytical tools to build the business case for green power.

To date, several policy options have been identified that could accelerate growth in corporate green power markets and renewable energy development:

• Streamlined interconnection procedures and non-discriminatory pricing that account for the unique characteristics and desirability of green power sources;



• Efficient and transparent emissions markets to fully appreciate the environmental attributes of green power and make these technologies valued in the marketplace;



• Emissions accounting and reporting standards; and



• Extension and expansion of green power tax incentives to cover a variety of renewable energy technologies and to maximize private sector investment in green power.