Research — 9 Mar, 2023
Renewable energy corporate leaderboard, 2018-2027
By Tony Lenoir
The top 10 U.S. corporations by contracted renewable energy have accumulated a green energy portfolio of more than 52 GW, or about two-thirds of the total tracked by S&P Global Commodity Insights for U.S. corporate off-takers, up about six percentage points from year-ago levels.
The corporate renewables leaderboard reflects the scale and business model of the top players across the U.S. technology and telecommunications sectors — global in nature and relying heavily on energy-hungry datacenters. That said, the ranking may also denote first-mover advantage; if so, prolonged momentum is likely to occur as laggards raise their game to bring their renewable portfolios up to speed.
For example, renewable energy capacity contracted by manufacturing, also a significantly energy-intensive sector, accounts for only 7% of the total tracked by Commodity Insights. But the category — which includes auto manufacturers, appliance-makers and defense contractors — grew at the fastest pace among all designated sectors in the past 12 months, according to our 2023 corporate renewables update.
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As of writing, Amazon.com Inc. remains head and shoulders above the competition. In the past 12 months, the company widened its gap from the rest of the pack, contracting more than 8 GW of additional renewable energy capacity. About 74% of this increment is through deals with U.S. projects. Amazon's total contracted renewable capacity now stands at more than 20 GW, of which more than 13 GW is situated in the U.S.
In a web posting Jan. 31, 2023, the online retail and web services behemoth said its recent green energy deals bring the company closer to powering its operations via 100% renewable energy by 2025, five years ahead of its original target. In 2019, Amazon co-founded "The Climate Pledge," which commits signatories to achieving net-zero emissions by 2040.
On the other hand, Amazon is not a member of RE100 — an initiative that brings together international businesses committed to 100% renewable electricity. That said, six of the top 10 U.S. corporations by tracked contracted renewable energy capacity are participants: General Motors Co., Google (Alphabet Inc.), Meta Platforms Inc., Microsoft Corp., T-Mobile US Inc. and Walmart Inc. Combined, this group has a little over 25 GW of corporate-tied renewable capacity, putting Amazon's tally into perspective.
Note that our leaderboard analysis from 2018 through 2027 is based on partnering developments' actual and expected online years, not when the tracked agreements were signed. With Amazon topping the charts in online year 2022 with 7.9 GW, more than 61% of the company's overall contracted renewable energy is scheduled to become operational in 2023 and beyond.
Typically, renewable energy projects are seen through to completion. Potential derailments, however, are not entirely improbable, particularly in the context of global trade flows being sizably affected by the risk of tense international relations. The U.S. remains heavily dependent on imports for materials and components found in solar and wind projects. Some of these materials, including copper, are also needed for high-voltage transmission lines, of which thousands of additional miles will be needed to accommodate the fast-expanding renewable generation fleet.
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Regulatory Research Associates is a group within S&P Global Commodity Insights.
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Adam Wilson, Chris Allen Villanueva and Joseph Reyes 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.