Why Your Company Should be Procuring Green Energy

Following a number of natural gas bans in California, the Boston area, and Seattle, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced in February of this year that his administration will aim to end the use of natural gas and fuel oil in buildings by 2040. Meanwhile, one part of the Biden administration’s energy policy involves ending natural gas use in the U.S. within 15 years. That said, now is the prime time to begin procuring green energy at your company.

In this article, we’ll explore the benefits of procuring green energy, discuss your options for green energy, list some helpful resources, and finally explore how EnergyWatch can assist your company in procuring green energy and managing it.

The Benefits of Procuring Green Energy

Whether you are a company, facility, school, or government, procuring green energy is beneficial in myriad ways:

• Dramatically reduce your carbon footprint
• Meet personal emissions goals (like net zero) and comply with any government emissions caps
• Serve as part of a sustainability management plan
• Diversify energy supply and reduce dependence on fossil fuels
• Support green energy development and new jobs in the sector
• Protect against future electricity price increases and volatility
• Generate customer, investor, or stakeholder loyalty and employee pride
• Create positive publicity and enhance your organization’s public image
• Demonstrate civic leadership in the fight against climate change

Options for Procuring Green Energy

There are a number of ways to acquire green energy, including:

• Generating renewable energy on-site via distributed energy resources like solar PV panels, geothermal heat pumps, battery storage, etc.
• Purchasing green energy through renewable energy credits (RECs) that represent the technology and environmental attributes of electricity generated from renewable resources.
• Purchasing renewable energy from an electric utility through a green tariff program, where a small premium is paid in exchange for electricity generated locally from green power resources.

Six Helpful Resources for Procuring Green Energy

1. A Guide to Purchasing Green Energy and RECs
   Options, Considerations, and Samples Projects from NREL
   This guide outlines ways to procure green energy from other parties.
2. Selecting a Customized Green Power Approach
   EPA’s Supply Options by Category
   This chart offers an overview of the various options for procuring green energy, such as project-specific supply options and retail supply options.
3. Green Power Procurement, Supply Options, and How to Maximize Benefits
   Guidance from EPA’s Green Power Partnership
   This guide provides information about the green energy procurement process, different green energy supply options, benefits of green energy purchasing, as well as information on how to capture the greatest benefit from your purchase.
4. An Overview of EPA’s Green Power Partnership Program
   The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Green Power Partnership program provides partners with a framework that includes credible usage benchmarks, market information, technical assistance, and public recognition to companies and other organizations that use green power.
5. Screening Tool to Identify Green Power Supply Options (XLSM File)
   The Green Power Supply Options Screening Tool is designed to assist organizations in identifying possible green power supply options that are available to them based on their organizational details as well as federal, state, and utility policies.
6. EPA’s Renewable Energy Procurement Samples and Templates  
   EPA has collected example materials including templates, RFPs, contracts, and more that can help guide green power procurement efforts.

How EnergyWatch Can Help with Green Energy Procurement

It’s not always transparent for your company to know if it’s receiving value from the supplier, broker, or consultant they are currently working with.  We suggest working with an individual or firm that is impartial, truly understands the markets and has your best interest in mind. An EnergyWatch consultant can help simplify the energy economics and identify potential opportunities for commodity savings.

The process of understanding and managing all the moving parts of energy procurement is complex and tedious, but it is necessary in order to make strategic energy purchases.  Your energy procurement strategy needs to align with overall facility operations, and your energy rate consultant should understand how to structure contracts for demand-supply optimization.  Proper structure and timing of electricity supply contracts can result in hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional supply-side savings / or cost avoidance. EnergyWatch makes it easier by providing market expertise and ensuring supply contract decisions are optimized for future operations at your facility. To learn more about how EnergyWatch assists with energy procurement, watch our webinar, Managing Supply Rates for 2021 Budgets.  In addition, EnergyWatch’s energy and sustainability management software, WatchWire, tracks all aspects of your contract performance to ensure your green energy investments are paying off.