Bain – Beyond The Megawatt, Aug 2023

The United States, along with other countries, is making significant progress in adopting clean energy as part of its power capacity additions. It is projected that in 2023, 82% of new utility-scale generating capacity in the US will come from clean energy sources. Energy customers and their partners have played a crucial role in this transition, voluntarily procuring over 68 gigawatts of new clean energy capacity since 2014. However, it is important to recognize that not all clean energy is the same. Leading customers and developers have the opportunity to support projects that not only contribute to climate goals but also align with environmental, social, and governance objectives. Incentives provided by legislation, such as the US's Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, as well as the European Union's REPowerEU plan, have created a sense of urgency to accelerate the clean energy transition. Incorporating environmental and social co-benefits (referred to as Beyond the Megawatt attributes) in clean energy procurement can help global corporate energy customers achieve sustainability and ESG goals, enhance brand value, improve competitiveness, and mitigate risks. A recent study conducted by The Nature Conservancy, the Clean Energy Buyers Institute, and Bain & Company found that the majority of US-based corporate energy customers and developers believe this approach will become the new standard in the next five years. To encourage the adoption of Beyond the Megawatt principles, various actions can be taken, including raising awareness, evolving clean energy project development processes, developing industry standards, monitoring readiness for certification, and advocating for policy and legislation that incentivize purpose-driven energy procurement. The white paper, authored by Miranda Domico, Ornella Nicolacci, and Bernhard Marschitz, provides insights into enabling factors to accelerate clean energy deployment and outlines four specific actions for clean energy customers, developers, and stakeholders to promote the adoption of Beyond the Megawatt principles. The authors acknowledge the contributions of other individuals and organizations involved in the research project.