Renewable energy corporate leaderboard: 2016-2025

Big Tech dominates the corporate renewable energy space as contracted capacity approaches 60 GW. The evolution of the top 10 U.S. corporations by cumulative capacity, which account for nearly 60%, or 34.9 GW, of the total tracked by S&P Global Commodity Insights, shows Google (Alphabet Inc.) long occupying the top spot, before relinquishing the corporate-tied renewable energy crown to Amazon.com Inc. after 2021.

This analysis relies on partnering developments' actual and expected online years, not when inventoried agreements were signed. For instance, Amazon's contracted renewable energy capacity comes in at a cumulative 1.5 GW via projects that came online through 2020. It rises to 3.2 GW when adding capacity contracted with 2021 plants and it jumps to 7 GW when capacity tied to 2022 solar and wind farms is thrown into the mix. Only deals with identified project online years are included.

The top 10 corporate renewable leaderboard includes Apple Inc., Amazon, Facebook (Meta Platforms Inc.), Google and Microsoft Corp. Combined, the tech companies have a cumulative 24.3 GW of contracted wind, solar and storage capacity by 2025. Search and advertising giant Google leads the pack from 2016 through 2021, with either Amazon or Facebook in its wake throughout most of this period. Amazon seizes the top-spot baton when cumulative capacity incorporates 2022 projects. The global online retailer and cloud services provider extends its lead markedly once planned capacity tied to 2023, 2024 and 2025 is included.

The evolution of the leaderboard suggests that Google spearheaded the corporate transition to renewable energy in its initial stages. With its 502-MW power purchase agreement with MidAmerican Energy Co.'s Highland Wind (Wind VIII & IX Project) in Iowa, Google continues to boast the largest corporate renewable deal by contracted capacity, based on specifically identified contracts. In 2020, Google announced its intentions to power all of its global facilities on 100% carbon-free energy around the clock by 2030. In a blog posted April 20, 2021, Google claimed it "matched 100% of its global electricity use with purchases or renewable energy" for a fourth straight year in 2020.

Facebook's utility-scale renewable energy portfolio stands at just over 6 GW, with nearly two thirds of this green capacity contracted with solar plants. Notable Facebook solar deals include 227 MW with Colbert County Solar Project 2 (Muscle Shoals) in Alabama. The project is owned by Ørsted. The social media leader also has 150-MW power purchase agreements with Origis Energy USA Inc.'s Golden Triangle II (MS Solar 6) Solar + Storage project in Mississippi and Dominion Energy Inc.'s Hardin Solar Energy Center Facility in Ohio. On the green tariff front, Facebook's largest deal is with NextEra Energy Resources LLC's Elora (Lincoln County Solar Project), also for 150 MW. Green tariffs make up 55% of Facebook's green energy portfolio.

^{Regulatory Research Associates is a group within S&P Global Commodity Insights.}

^{S&P Global Commodity Insights produces content for distribution on S&P Capital IQ Pro.}

^{Chris Allen Villanueva contributed to this article.}

^{This article was published by S&P Global Market Intelligence and not by S&P Global Ratings, which is a separately managed division of S&P Global.}