At GreenBiz 23, Salesforce announced it will purchase 280,000 megawatt hours (MWh) of renewable energy certificates from small, distributed energy projects over the next eight years. This move aims to speed up clean electricity access in emerging markets while maintaining Salesforce’s commitment to match 100% of its electricity usage with renewables. Powertrust, an aggregator of high-impact renewables worldwide, will assist Salesforce, leveraging Distributed Renewable Energy Certificates (D-RECs) to support small-scale, distributed renewable projects.
Distributed renewable energy projects can provide necessary electricity access and help reduce emissions worldwide. Unfortunately, emerging countries have largely been excluded from corporate purchasing due to difficulties in aggregating and certifying multiple small-scale projects. Salesforce’s D-RECs purchase will concentrate on non-traditional markets, delivering social and environmental benefits to communities.
The projects will include a solar-powered microgrid in Brazil, a solar-powered microgrid in Nagaland, an eastern state in India, a solar and storage installation at a hospital in Sub-Saharan Africa, and a solar microgrid in the Borneo region of Malaysia. These projects will be located in schools, hospitals, public service facilities, or disadvantaged communities and deliver on the UN Sustainable Development Goals outcomes.
Megan Lorenzen, who leads power sector decarbonization for Salesforce, noted that nearly 95% of corporate renewable energy purchases occur in North America and Europe, which needs to change to ensure the rest of the world is not left behind.
The move towards net-zero emissions requires annual investments in clean energy to expand to $1 trillion by 2030, a 3x increase from current levels. This investment must include mobilizing billions of dollars per year towards new clean energy infrastructure in emerging markets to ensure equitable access to electricity.