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According to the IEA’s Renewables 2024 report, the world is set to add over 5,500 gigawatts (GW) of new renewable energy capacity between 2024 and 2030 – nearly three times the increase seen from 2017 to 2023.
Amid this surge in renewable energy demand, the corporate energy procurement landscape is undergoing a profound transformation to overcome the challenges and risks of clean energy management.
This article will explore key drivers behind renewable energy industry trends and future opportunities. We’ll also share our insights into how businesses can shape their corporate energy portfolios for a future of energy resilience and strategic advantage.
Understanding the Drivers & Challenges Behind Renewable Energy Trends
Before we explore emerging renewable energy industry trends and the opportunities they create for enhanced energy management, it’s important to understand key drivers that have shaped corporate energy portfolios.
100% Renewable Electricity Initiatives
What it is: As the push for 100% renewable electricity grows, businesses are embracing this renewable energy trend by joining initiatives like The Climate Group’s RE100, helping to speed up the shift toward zero-carbon grids.
Challenges and how it works in practice: The updated RE100 criteria, rolled out in January 2024, bring new challenges for companies.
Only about 59% of companies currently disclose the age or commissioning date of their assets, as many companies struggle to access this data.
Looking ahead, RE100 guidelines set for 2025 will require businesses to disclose the commissioning year for all assets—adding another layer of complexity to compliance and reporting. This is where the need for electricity data management arises, making it easier for businesses to manage their energy portfolios and achieve their RE100 commitments.
Flexidao’s platform offers a Clean Electricity Portfolio Management and Reporting solution, which centralizes all your electricity contract and certificate data to provide the proof needed for disclosure schemes like RE100 and CDP. The platform helps businesses to streamline reporting and increase oversight for risk mitigation and monitoring of targets and goals.
Availability and Access to Granular Electricity Meter Data
What it is: As corporations ramp up their clean energy commitments, accessing detailed, accurate meter data on electricity production and consumption becomes crucial for improving operational efficiency.
Many companies are increasingly investing in smart metering technologies to collect electricity data in real time. This data is captured at a very detailed level—down to hourly or sub-hourly granularity. It then feeds into an analytics platform that allows businesses to see exactly how, when, and where energy is being used.
Access to granular electricity data is essential for enhancing carbon reporting accuracy to align with evolving energy carbon regulations and voluntary initiatives, optimizing PPA performance monitoring and executing advanced clean energy approaches like a 24/7 carbon-free energy strategy or an emissions first approach.
Read more: Our latest whitepaper is an essential resource for corporate clean energy buyers looking to leverage granular data for better energy management.
Challenges and how it works in practice: Integrating this detailed data isn't without challenges. One major hurdle is the lack of standardization across metering devices and data protocols.
Many companies still rely on legacy systems that don't easily communicate with modern smart meters. This leads to data silos and gaps that make it hard to get a clear picture of energy use. On top of that, the massive volume of data can overwhelm existing systems, forcing organizations to invest in advanced data aggregation, standardization and analytics capabilities. If you want to find out how Flexidao can help you with your granular data challenges, don’t hesitate to reach out.
Carbon-Aware Energy Procurement
What it is: Along with energy markets, voluntary carbon markets (VCM) have been experiencing all-time high demand, whilst also dealing with increasing scrutiny by public opinion and sustainability experts.
This landscape has prompted some businesses to prioritize carbon-aware energy procurement by shifting their focus from procuring volumes of renewable energy to maximizing decarbonization impact. The approach integrates electricity purchasing with its real carbon impact by analyzing high-granularity, time- and location-specific data.
In doing so, carbon-aware energy procurement drives demand for more robust carbon reporting methodologies, standardization in energy certification, innovations in zero-carbon generation technologies, and the resulting electricity products that corporate buyers can purchase.
Additionally, today’s shift in renewable energy trends towards granular, market-based reporting helps to unleash the full decarbonization potential of corporate energy procurement by allowing companies to demonstrate their commitment to reducing emissions with more accuracy and transparency.
Challenges and how it works in practice: Businesses face a number of challenges when implementing a carbon-aware energy procurement approach. They must navigate the intricacies of global supply chains, manage diverse market conditions, and reconcile the complexities of operating within franchised organizations. Regulatory inconsistencies and the lack of standardized data further complicate efforts to accurately track and reduce emissions.
Corporate energy buyers typically follow two strategies: 24/7 carbon-free energy (CFE) and carbon-optimized energy procurement (emissions-first).
The 24/7 CFE approach aims to match the availability of carbon-free electricity with consumption on an hourly basis, requiring close collaboration with local policymakers and regulators to overcome market and regulatory barriers. This method is gaining mainstream traction through initiatives like the Climate Group’s 24/7 Carbon-Free Coalition, backed by industry leaders such as Google, AstraZeneca, and Vodafone (UK).
On the other hand, carbon-optimized energy procurement, also known as the emissions-first strategy, leverages granular datasets to quantify avoided emissions, providing a clear, standardized framework for evaluating decarbonization-driven investments.
By identifying when and where carbon-free electricity can have the greatest impact, the emissions-first strategy helps companies to maximize avoided emissions and make informed, high-impact energy purchasing decisions.
Together, these strategies address the challenges of complex supply chains, regulatory fragmentation, and data limitations, empowering businesses to optimize their clean energy procurement processes and enhance the accuracy of their sustainability reporting.
Emerging Renewable Energy Trends and New Opportunities for Better Energy Management
Now that we've explored the drivers and challenges shaping the current landscape of corporate energy portfolios, let's look ahead.
In the following sections, we'll dive into future trends in renewable energy and the opportunities they create for businesses looking for ways to streamline energy operations while advancing their decarbonization strategies.
De-risking Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) to Increase Corporate Demand
According to the IEA’s latest Renewables market report, corporate demand represents only 20% of the total PPA market. To meet decarbonization targets by 2040, corporate demand and participation will need to increase—but the risks associated with signing and managing PPAs remain a major barrier.
Key strategies and opportunities:
- Strategic alignment: Clearly define the value, objectives, and risks of PPAs early on to streamline decision-making. When contract terms and project scope align with your sustainability targets, you're setting up a foundation for lasting success.
- Early stakeholder buy-in: Engage key stakeholders and leverage robust market intelligence to tap into well-organized PPA marketplaces.
- Leverage technology to streamline operations: Use tools like Flexidao’s PPA Monitoring and Risk Management solution to tackle post-signature challenges like verifying volumes, forecasting generation, and enforcing contract terms. It empowers operational teams to minimize ownership risks and maximize the return on investment (ROI) of their PPA contracts.
This emerging renewable energy trend has spurred a wave of innovative solutions—from procurement advisory services to market intelligence platforms and advanced, liquid PPA marketplaces—designed to address these challenges head-on.
Granular Certificates (GCs) to Track Decarbonization Progress
Granular Certificates (GCs) are an emerging tool, which provide hourly specificity into when electricity is being produced. They can be used to match energy production and consumption down to the hour, which is much more accurate then the usual monthly or even annual matching that is common practice today. However, significant improvements are still needed to create a robust voluntary granular certificates market.
Key strategies and opportunities:
- Digitalizing registries: By moving from manual or outdated digital processes to fully digitalized platforms, the verification, tracking, and management of certificates become faster, more transparent, and less error-prone.
- Enhancing transaction infrastructure: Upgrading the transaction systems that handle certificate trading is vital for ensuring smooth, secure, and efficient market operations. Improved infrastructure reduces friction in certificate exchanges and helps create a more liquid market.
- Standardizing contracts: Establishing contract standards across Europe is key to facilitating interoperability between different markets and systems. It will simplify compliance, reduce administrative burdens, and foster greater confidence among market participants.
As part of this growing renewable energy trend, companies worldwide are already trialling GCs as a new instrument for exchanging energy and issuing bodies have been involved in these pilots, including our project with Microsoft, Eneco, and CertiQ.
What’s more, after the public endorsement from the European Association for the Cooperation of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E), voluntary GCs have been adopted in the European Parliament's position for RED III. Energy Tag has also launched the first Granular Certificate Scheme standard - a set of criteria those implementing Granular Certificate Schemes need to meet.
Scope 3 Decarbonization to Address Supplier Emissions
Rapid growth in technologies like AI is boosting electricity demand and driving up Scope 3 emissions—a major challenge for sustainability efforts. More companies are now zeroing in on their supplier emissions, especially those tied to indirect energy use (Scope 2).
Key strategies and opportunities:
- Supplier engagement: Encourage suppliers to monitor their energy consumption and actively manage emissions.
- EAC Utilization: Engage with vendors across the supply chain to purchase energy attribute certificates (EACs) and allocate them effectively to offset Scope 3 emissions.
- Leverage energy data and digital tools: Provide tools for improved tracking and allocation of EACs, empowering vendors to streamline decarbonization efforts across the entire supply chain.
This latest renewable energy trend on Scope 3 decarbonization presents an opportunity for companies to work closely with their suppliers. By uniting efforts to reduce emissions, businesses can not only meet their own sustainability goals but also drive cleaner energy practices throughout the supply chain.
Conclusion
Current practices in corporate renewable energy procurement and emissions accounting have already delivered impressive results in building robust clean electricity markets. However, the industry’s call for more precise clean energy management is driving renewable energy trends to evolve further.
Over the past decade, innovative approaches—such as carbon-aware procurement, harnessing granular electricity meter data, and ambitious 100% renewable energy initiatives—have transformed how businesses manage and source energy. These next-generation strategies leverage accurate energy and carbon data to achieve complete decarbonization in electricity sourcing, redefining corporate energy portfolios and setting new benchmarks for clean energy management and reporting.
At the same time, emerging renewable energy trends in de-risking PPAs, developing voluntary certificate markets, and reducing Scope 3 emissions are opening new opportunities for more efficient energy data management across the board.
Flexidao is committed to helping businesses unlock the full potential of corporate clean energy. Reach out to our experts today to learn more about how Flexidao’s data and digital tools can help you stay ahead in the energy market of tomorrow.
References
[1] IEA.org - Renewables 2024 - Analysis and forecasts to 2030
[2] Gov.uk - Energy Trends: December 2024
