GM is a corporate leader in renewable energy purchases for its US operations Photo: AP

First-time buyers driving US corporate solar, wind market

First-time buyers dominated US corporate purchases of renewable energy in 2015, which more than tripled to a record 3.44GW from a year earlier, according to the Business Renewables Center (BRC) at the non-profit Rocky Mountain Institute.

25 February 2016 16:33 GMT Updated 25 February 2016 16:33 GMT

By Richard A. Kessler in Fort Worth

Last year, more than 20 companies announced major renewable energy deals led by Google with 729MW.

“Google continues to dominate the market. We expect more to come from them,” says Lily Donge, a principal at RMI and head of the BRC, in a BRC blog posting.

Fifteen deals involved first time-buyers totaling 2.29GW led by Amazon with 538MW. Other notable entrants were Equinix, which provides carrier-neutral data centers and internet exchanges to enable interconnection, with 330MW; Owens Corning, 250MW; Dow Chemical, 200MW, and Procter & Gamble, 165MW.

The

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First-time buyers driving US corporate solar, wind market