January 27, 2021

Energy Customers Call for Grid Decarbonization and Increased Access to Wholesale Electricity Markets

Holland & Knight Energy and Natural Resources Blog
Brendan H. Connors | Stephen J. Humes | Mark C. Kalpin
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Some of America's largest energy customers issued an unprecedented policy statement, advocating that the federal government implement ambitious policies to modernize the electric grid, expand access to organized wholesale electricity markets and transition toward a carbon-free economy.

The statement was organized by the Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance (REBA), a member-based organization that represents and advocates on behalf of many of America's largest energy buyers. Collectively, the statement's signatories represent more than $5.8 trillion in revenue and more than 13.5 million employees across the U.S. economy.

In the statement, REBA and its fellow signatories specifically advocated for three key federal policy strategies:

  • Leverage organized wholesale electricity markets for grid decarbonization. Improve existing wholesale markets and expand wholesale markets to achieve least-cost, efficient clean energy deployment.
  • Decarbonize the grid for all. Take swift action to harmonize and update the current patchwork of clean energy policies.
  • Support innovation to advance a resilient affordable clean energy system. Increase federal funding for clean energy technology research, development and demonstration.

To date, American businesses have executed contracts for the purchase of nearly 30 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy from new generation projects, and more than 250 global businesses have pledged to obtain 100 percent of the energy needs from renewable sources. These "net zero" initiatives are fully consistent with the announced priorities of the Biden Administration – which call for the decarbonization of the United States economy by 2050 – and enactment of REBA's requested policy strategies are expected to make it easier for American businesses to meet their ambitious goals.

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