August 2023 Volume 5

ENERGY

You would be surprised at how effectively the price competition triggered by the auction reduces your cost of going green. In many instances, the auction drives down supplier prices so much that the resulting savings can cover the cost of buying RECs; in others, a supplier aggressively trying to win your business may "throw in" the RECs for free. The same competitive dynamic holds true for our auctions involving renewable-asset-backed retail contracts. Ultimately, the Transparent Energy platform puts the renewable energy market to work for you, stoking competitive dynamics while giving you visibility into, and power over, your key sustainability purchases. Competition, visibility, transparency, control? These are the virtues of online auctions from Transparent Energy that put you in the driver’s seat so you can fulfill your CSR and ESG goals at the right pace and cost for your organization and its many stakeholders.

Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) and Virtual Power Purchase Agreements (VPPAs) – PPAs are long-term agreements contracted directly with new, large-scale wind and solar farms. In a PPA, a company commits to off-take part or all of a new renewable project – thus creating “additionality,” an attribute many companies crave for their CSR report – and directly uses the resulting energy. A VPPA is more of a financial hedge: it is a financially settled swap contract. As you learn more about these options, keep in mind that PPAs are complex deals and can take a long time to deliver (they require a new renewable energy-producing project to be developed, which can take years), so even if you are interested in pursuing one, you should consider layering in the purchase of RECs and leveraging the benefits of renewable-asset-backed retail contracts. Buy Renewable Energy Like A Pro Knowing what renewable energy products are available, and how they will advance your sustainability goals, is important, but once you have that knowledge you will need to transact. How you procure green energy matters! One common mistake to avoid: sole sourcing. That means never just buying a renewable-energy product without fielding competitive bids. Stoking competition for your renewable-energy contracts is how you gain leverage, which translates into better pricing, and ultimately ROI. Transparent Energy is an expert on maximizing competition for your purchase of renewables through the use of online auctions for RECs and renewable-asset-backed retail contracts, and our platform for transacting more complex PPAs. In a Transparent Energy-led online auction event, we will bring multiple suppliers into your procurement to bid live for your renewables purchase or project. For PPAs and VPPAs, we leverage our platform and extensive pool of project developers to maximize your choices and reduce costs. Let us take a closer look at buying RECs. If you need to buy RECs now, we can set up an auction for that. A more strategic approach would be to work with Transparent Energy to handle your entire electric or natural gas load and let us build the purchase of RECs or other renewable products into that procurement. For example, it is easy for us to set up an auction where multiple suppliers are bidding on a 12-month, 24-month, and 36-month traditional energy contract, and then run those same terms with 25%, 50%, 100% green via RECs.

If you are ready to explore, or execute on, buying renewables to help meet your company’s CSR and ESG goals, please contact Nancy at ngardner@ transparentedge.com.

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FIA MAGAZINE | AUGUST 2023 11