Global Momentum on Power Purchase Agreements: Putting Alberta in Context

Source: Carson Fong | · BUSINESS RENEWABLES CENTRE-CANADA · | June 15, 2023

While we are always ready to highlight the exciting push to 10 gigawatts (GW) of corporate procurement in Canada, we thought this month’s blog would be a great opportunity to look abroad for some context. Across the globe, corporate procurement in renewable energy continues to explode. Driven by the ambition of corporations to drive down their scope 2 emissions, the expansion of renewable energy is a global and local success story. 

Since 2014, corporate organizations have been purchasing renewable energy through power purchase agreements (PPAs) in Canada. These PPAs are long-term contracts that secure wind or solar energy for a company while providing revenue that helps build large wind and solar projects. However, nearly all of this – 2.5 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity – has been purchased in Alberta. The rest of Canada has so far been left out of the action. 

Is Alberta ahead of the curve, or just ahead of Canada? 

It turns out that much of the world looks like Alberta regarding corporate renewable energy procurement. In 2022 alone, 37 GW of renewable energy capacity was acquired through PPAs.1 Alberta accounted for just one per cent of that. The United States led the way with 14 GW, more than the next five countries combined – India, Saudi Arabia, Australia, United Arab Emirates and Spain. The Asia Pacific region more than doubled corporate purchases compared to the previous year, with 4.6 GW of renewable energy capacity purchased, led primarily by India and Australia.