http://www.energyefficiencynews.com/articles/i/5375/?cid=3

 

The share of renewable energy purchased by companies has shown a modest increase from 14% in 2009 to 16% in 2011, according to the Corporate Renewable Energy Index (CREX).

 

CREX, which covers more than 300 companies that voluntarily purchase renewable energy, is drawn up by Bloomberg New Energy Finance for Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas.

The ranking is calculated according to the amount of renewable energy in MWh purchased during 2011 as a percentage of the company's total electricity purchase over the same period.

While most companies purchase very little renewable energy - nearly 30% of listed companies purchase less than 5% renewable energy - some 36 companies source all their electricity from renewables.

Those pioneers include retailer Kohl's, financial firm Ernst & Young UK and technology company Adobe Systems. News Corporation and Whole Foods have featured as leaders in their sectors in previous CREX indices.

The largest single consumer of renewable energy is Japanese company OJI Paper, which uses some 20.5 TWH - equal to New Zealand's total domestic electricity use.

Overall, consumer-facing companies like financial and consumer services and goods companies tend to be the biggest purchasers and users of renewable energy.

And European companies tend to be keener to purchase renewable energy than their US counterparts.

As well as buying in renewable energy, some 40% of renewable electricity purchases are now being made through direct investments in on-site generation. This trend is proving particularly popular in regions where grid supply can be limited such as in India and elsewhere.