Utilities, Sourcing Renewables  -  May 25, 2016

New interactive map guides corporates through renewable power options by state

Part of an ongoing effort to help drive corporate adoption of clean energy, The World Resources Institute unveiled a new, interactive map that compares renewable power options by state. 

The WRI's "Corporate Renewable Energy Strategy Map" intends to allow large electricity customers to easily figure out where they can buy affordable renewable power at the scale desired from local utility suppliers, the organization said in a May 23 blog post. The map outlines various solutions being offered by utilities and also relates them to each of the Corporate Renewable Energy Buyers Principles. 

The group wrote: 

When Facebook considers building a new data center, a top priority is finding renewable energy to power it. As Bill Weihl, Facebook’s Director of Sustainability, told reporters: "Access to clean energy is one of the key criteria that we consider when looking for new sites for data centers. We want to find places where ideally we can get 100 percent clean energy into our facility."

The rollout of the interactive map follows the recent alliance of a number of nongovernmental organizations, including WRI, and nearly 60 corporations into a group called the Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance. Thus far, Microsoft Corp. and Facebook Inc. have been the group's most vocal business members. 

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