Retail PPAs for small energy buyers

Purpose

The purpose of this guide and the three supporting videos are to provide an overview of the options for small to medium sized businesses buying between 500 megawatt-hours and 50 gigawatt-hours of electricity per year. The guide defines a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), describes where and when to get a PPA, different pricing models, group buying and presents case studies on successful organisations that have completed PPAs. The below videos focus on different sections of the guide and are split in the following ways:

1. Building a Business Case
2. Procurement Process
3. Buyers Group

Target audience

You don’t need any prior knowledge to read this guide or to understand the below recording as these resources are targeted towards those with an interest in renewable energy procurement but lack the expertise. However, to get the most out of it it’s best you:

• Understand your company’s annual electricity use.
• Consider your company’s main goals for procuring renewable electricity. For example, managing electricity bill fluctuations or reducing carbon emissions.

Download the Guide

1. Building a Business Case

The below video covers the following topics:

• Why companies procure renewable energy via Retail PPA.
• Benefits & limitations.
• Small-to-medium energy buyer examples from industry.
• Key factors to consider – load size, tenancy.
• Hear from industry.

 

2. Procurement Process

The below video covers the following topics:

• Different types of Retail PPAs with case studies to illustrate how they work in practice.​
• Navigating internal support challenges.​
• Common challenges.​
• Best practice.​
• Industry experience first-hand.​

   

3. Buyers Group

The below video covers the following topics:

• What is the opportunity for buyer groups.
• Why do companies buy in a group. ​
• Benefits, challenges and how to manage them.​
• Buyer group case studies.​

 

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the City of Sydney, CitySwitch and Sustainable Destination Partnership for their leadership in supporting the creation of these resources. We would also like to thank:

• Jared Ingersoll, former Sustainability Lead, Canva.
• Ben Waters, Co-Founder, Presync.
• Stuart Pearce, Director Environment & Climate Action, Bupa.
• Liam Henderson, Senior Sustainability Officer, City of Melbourne.