We help organisations to learn new ways to procure electricity that is both renewable and sustainable.
For Australian organisations, a business-as-usual electricity purchasing model is no longer a smart or low-risk business strategy.
Wholesale and retail electricity prices have increased significantly across Australia in recent years due to a range of market factors. Electricity costs have become highly volatile and the future is hard to predict.
Meanwhile, renewable energy prices have fallen significantly, and are expected to continue to fall.
Driven by a desire to hedge against these factors, to demonstrate leadership and to improve social licence to operate, more and more Australian organisations are procuring renewable energy.
Australia’s energy market is complex and navigating the options can be challenging.
BRC-A exists to improve business understanding about renewable energy procurement options and how best to meet corporate sustainability and financial goals.
Learn more our history below, or about our Team, our Partners and our Market Advisory Panel.
Market barriers such as a lack of understanding about the complex energy market, policy uncertainty, high transaction costs, market volatility and a general lack of intimate knowledge of company power profiles, are some of the challenges faced by Australian organisations today.
Our history
Business Renewables Centre (USA) was launched in 2014 by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) as an initiative to address key market barriers to renewable energy procurement by corporations across the USA. BRC commenced with key founding members such as General Motors, Nestlé, Owens Corning, Salesforce and other large energy users looking to decarbonise and to benefit from a new method of renewable energy procurement.
In 2018, supported by RMI and BRC (USA), the Business Renewables Centre Australia (BRC-A) launched as an initiative of Climate-KIC Australia, Institute for Sustainable Futures (UTS) and WWF-Australia; with initial funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and the Victorian, New South Wales and Queensland Governments.
Over the past 4 years, we have worked intensively with Australian industry to deliver a complete suite of resources for the Australian market, building on the knowledge and tools developed by BRC (USA; now operating as the Clean Energy Buyers Association).
Now in 2022, BRC-A has delivered 20+ ‘how to’ resources and numerous training events (bootcamps and webinars) to Australian industry. Our members have supported over 6.5GW of renewable energy projects (and counting!), and 90% of all Australian renewable energy PPAs executed to date have involved a BRC-A member company.
Today, we are a member-funded initiative, continuing to drive corporate renewable energy procurement across Australia, delivering more resources and training to support the decarbonisation of Australian industry and electricity grids.
Frequently asked questions
The basics...
What is BRC-A?
What is BRC-A?
Business Renewables Centre Australia (BRC-A) is a member-based platform that streamlines and accelerates corporate purchasing of large-scale wind and solar energy and storage.
How can I get involved?
How can I get involved?
Do you provide lists of renewable PPA service providers and energy providers?
Do you provide lists of renewable PPA service providers and energy providers?
Technical
How many options are there for renewable electricity procurement?
How many options are there for renewable electricity procurement?
There are a lot of different contract options available from various providers, but in today’s market we identify eight broad options, from GreenPower purchased from your electricity retailer to Wholesale PPAs with a new solar or wind farm developer and other innovative options.
Not all options are available to all types of companies – there are a range of factors, including the size of your company energy use, that determine what you can access.
To learn more about these options visit our new Buyers Diagnostic Tool.
What is a renewable energy PPA?
What is a renewable energy PPA?
Explore more
Join us
Learn and connect with renewable energy buyers, energy providers and service providers across Australia.