The Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance (REBA) hopes to be responsible for bringing more than 60GW of new renewables online in the US by 2025.
It plans to offer a range of initiatives to promote this aim, including educational programs, tools and training, lobbying, research and data and a communications campaign.
It will also "coordinate expansion of access to renewables in key global markets through an international network of companies supporting clean energy".
Its leadership, including Google, represents annual revenues of €1 trillion, millions of jobs, and annual energy usage of 48TWh — more than 1% of US electricity consumption, the alliance said.
REBA said cost is no longer a barrier to most companies that wish to source renewable energy.
According to a study released earlier this week, around three quarters of the US’s operational coal fleet could be replaced by new wind or solar PV projects within a 56km radius at a saving to energy consumers.
Instead, a lack of access is the main barrier to companies sourcing clean energy, REBA claimed.
"Every enterprise — whether it’s a bakery, a big-box retailer, or a data centre — should have an easy and direct path to buy clean energy," said Michael Terrell, head of Google’s energy market strategy, and REBA board chair.
"Ultimately, sourcing clean energy should be as simple as clicking a button."
Last year, non-utility buyers purchased a record amount of wind power in the US, according to analysis by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA).
In total, long-term power purchase agreements were signed for 4.2GW of wind power capacity in 2018.
