Corporate GPM Guide 1: Business Case, Challenges, and Steps Forward

Green, renewable energy sources offer U.S. companies the opportunity to stabilize energy costs, diversify energy sources, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and strengthen customer relations. To help corporations explore renewable energy opportunities, the World Resources Institute (WRI) has created the “Corporate Guide to Green Power Markets” series. The series is based on WRI’s experience with the Green Power Market Development Group, a commercial and industrial partnership dedicated to building corporate markets for green power. The Guide’s installments discuss various aspects of corporate markets for renewable and clean energy sources, including:

• The business case for green power

• Major renewable technologies including wind, solar, biomass, and landfill gas (for electricity and for direct use)

• Innovative procurement strategies and project evaluation tools

• Case examples of corporate experiences with green power

• Policy actions for addressing market obstacles.

This first installment, Introducing Green Power for Corporate Markets: Business case, challenges, and steps forward provides an overview of green power including:

• Factors underlying the emergence of green power markets in the U.S.

• Potential benefits of green power for commercial & industrial energy users

• Challenges facing green power

• Steps companies can take to address these challenges.

About this series The Corporate Guide to Green Power Markets is designed to help corporations understand, explore, and evaluate renewable energy opportunities. Published by the World Resources Institute, the Guide consists of a series of installments that will explore different aspects of corporate markets for green power, including:

• The business case for green power
• Major green power technologies including biomass, landfill gas (for electricity and for direct use), and wind
• Strategies for corporate procurement of green power and methods for evaluating green energy opportunities
• Policies for addressing obstacles to the creation of a robust corporate market for green power.

Installments will include useful tools, strategies, and case examples of corporate experiences with green power. The series will be based on WRI’s experience with the Green Power Market Development Group. Installments will be published approximately every quarter over 18 months (starting July, 2002). If you would like free hardcopies of installments to be mailed to you, please complete the mailing form.