US corp wind power buyers set annual record with contracts for 4,447 MW

Corporate customers in the US, whether commercial or industrial, have purchased a record 4,447 MW of wind power in 2019, bringing the total to 16,857 MW at the year end.

According to the first Wind Powers American Business report from the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), over 140 companies have now bought wind power in the US, with Google LLC topping the list, having contracts in place for 2,397 MW in total. Social media giant Facebook Inc comes second with 1,459 MW and is followed by Walmart Inc, AT&T Inc and Microsoft Corporation.

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Walmart in particular was also last year’s most active corporate wind power buyer as it signed contracts for 541 MW in total. AT&T contracted 460 MW and Facebook signed deals for 440 MW.

There were 19 first-time wind power buyers in 2019 among which McDonald’s Corp purchased the most -- 220 MW. Other notable first-time buyers are Sprint, Ford Motor Company, Crown Holdings Inc and Gap Inc.

AWEA’s report shows that, at end-2019, the technology sector accounted for 41% of all corporate wind power purchases in the country. The share of the retail industry amounted to 12%, while that of each of the telecommunications and food & beverage sectors was 9%. Other involved sectors include healthcare, automotive, industrial, oil & gas, consumer goods, financial, and entertainment.

For comparison, before 2015, technology and retail companies combined accounted for almost 80%.

AWEA expects the market to continue to expand over the next decade given the “tremendous” opportunity that is available for future procurement.