DGA is currently accepting applications for our second spring internship program and we will be showcasing the incredible work of our former DGA interns who have gone on to pursue exciting careers.
David Gardiner and Associates hosted a discussion about how manufacturers are increasingly powering their operations with renewable energy. Our webinar on February 14, 2018 featured Rob Threlkeld, Global Manager of Renewable Energy at General Motors and Steve Skarda, Global Climate and Energy Leader for Procter & Gamble. The two panelists from major U.S. manufacturers discussed their companies’ leadership on renewable energy and how it fits with their business strategy. Read more
Earlier this week, the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) and the Information Technology Industry Council (ITI) released a memo in response to request from Minnesota Senator David Osmek for more information on how to improve Minnesota’s business climate through clean energy. The memo explains why Minnesota ranks 31st in the RILA/ITI Clean Energy Procurement Index—in large part due to the lack of policies that enable customer choice. Read more
By William Sherman, in collaboration with David Gardiner
In recent years, Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) have been the main avenue for large businesses to procure renewable energy and have received considerable attention in the United States. But companies have recently successfully argued the European Union (EU) should expand the corporate PPA market.
In December, Amazon, DuPont, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Unilever and other companies urged the EU to lift on all regulatory barriers (direct and indirect) to PPAs and to establish ambitious 35 percent renewables by 2030 target for member states.
Today, as part of its A Renewable America campaign, the Wind Energy Foundation released a David Gardiner and Associates report, “Transmission Upgrades & Expansion: Keys to Meeting Large Customer Demand for Renewable Energy.”
This report examines the need to expand and upgrade U.S. transmission lines to meet the significant renewable energy demand of large non-utility customers, especially from Fortune 500 companies. The report finds that:
By Courtney Arnett, climate and clean energy intern at David Gardiner and Associates
One of Michigan’s largest utilities, Consumers Energy, recently announced the creation of a new green tariff aimed at providing corporate customers with 100 percent renewable energy options. This action reflects Consumer Energy’s response to the rising tide of demand for renewable energy from Fortune 500 companies, including those in the manufacturing sector. It is a major step to seizing the economic development opportunity of providing renewable energy to corporate customers.
By David Gardiner, President of David Gardiner and Associates
This Fall, I participated in two clean energy conferences in the Great Plains: the 10th annual Nebraska Wind & Solar Conference and the 2017 Kansas Energy Conference. Those events provided a fresh reminder that renewable energy is becoming a dominant player in the breadbasket of America. Kansas produces 32 percent of its electricity from renewables, while Nebraska produces 16 percent. Read more
By David Gardiner, President of David Gardiner and Associates
On Manufacturing Day, as we think about how decisions made today will inspire future manufacturers, two recent events suggest it’s time for a new conversation about how we use renewable energy to make America’s manufacturers competitive.
First, our recent report demonstrates that manufacturers are increasingly powering their operations with renewable energy. Of the 160 large manufacturing companies reviewed in this report, 40 (25 percent) have renewable energy targets, of which 18 are for 100 percent renewable energy. Companies committed to this target include Anheuser Busch InBev, GM, Johnson & Johnson, Nike and the VF Corporation. And 132 companies (83 percent) have made public commitments to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, which many will do with renewable energy.
A new report from DGA—The Growing Demand for Renewable Energy Among Major U.S. and Global Manufacturers—finds that 83% of the largest manufacturing companies with a U.S. footprint have established greenhouse gas reduction targets and 25% of manufacturers have established renewable energy targets. Our analysis also finds that enabling access to renewable energy sources is a critical factor for a state’s attractiveness to these manufacturers and other large buyers of renewable energy. To that end, many manufacturers engage directly in energy policy advocacy in the states where they operate. The report finds that manufacturers lead every other sector in state renewable energy policy advocacy, representing nearly 40% of the corporate outreach to policymakers between 2015-2017. Read more
DGA is currently accepting applications for our fall internship program and all month, we will be showcasing the incredible work of our former DGA interns who have gone on to pursue exciting careers.
The first week, we are highlighting Andy Barnes, a former Research Assistant at David Gardiner and Associates. He worked at DGA during the summer of 2015, before completing his master’s program the following semester at Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA) where he received a Master of Environmental Science and a Master of Public Affairs. He went on to intern for the White House Council on Environmental Quality in the Office of Energy and Climate Change and then became a Policy Associate at the Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE), a coalition of businesses, trade associations and foundations from the energy efficiency, renewable energy, and natural gas sectors.