Utilities serving large new load corporate customers are increasingly turning to new gas, and even keeping old coal plants online. The discrepancy between the pledges of large customers and the actions of their host utilities are sharp. Big customers often claim that they’re facilitating renewable energy, but many either just buy unbundled renewable credits, or contract with inexpensive wind and solar in a different part of the country. Increasingly, large customers site data centers and manufacturing facilities where they can find interconnection without regard to their host utilities emissions, or intention to reduce emissions. And so utilities with zombie coal plants and gas plants in the queue are getting new customers, and our climate goals are in peril. 

Big Tech companies building Data centers must show leadership to support the system services that integrate and balance renewable energy, like energy storage, transmission upgrades, and demand-management.

We lay out three pathways to accomplish these goals:

• Build Local Clean Energy: Large energy customers should look to procure around-the-clock clean energy (also called “24/7 carbon-free energy”) through direct or sleeved power purchase agreements, or work with their utilities to build comprehensive green energy tariffs that allow customers to meet their energy and capacity needs with zero emissions resources;
• Be Accountable: Large energy customers should engage in utility regulatory proceedings to ensure that their host utilities conduct good planning, procure clean energy, and are held accountable for outcomes that serve the interests of both large and small customers;
• Drive Better Standards:Large customers can advocate for broad, binding clean energy standards that meet rigorous emissions targets, align the interests of all electricity customers, and ensure that there is no leakage to other customer classes or geographies.