Social, environmental justice grow as renewable RFP requirements, says LevelTen Energy

LevelTen Energy released its Q1 2021 PPA Price Index, which includes the latest wind and solar prices for North America and Europe on the world’s largest renewable PPA marketplace. LevelTen also released the results of its Marketplace Developer Survey showing that corporate preferences for social and environmental justice are shaping the trajectory of the renewable industry.

“We’re seeing a rapid rise in corporate offtakers incorporating environmental and social justice preferences — and even requirements — into their RFP processes.,” says Rob Collier, VP of Developer Relations at LevelTen Energy. “The majority of developers are beginning to rise to this challenge and look into their internal practices, and those of their supply chain partners, to increase transparency and promote equity throughout various aspects of project development.”

Over half of respondents said they’d been asked “how they went above and beyond in terms of their land use practices, and about their own company’s diversity statistics.” Around one-third had been asked to report on the presence of human rights protections in their supply chain, and about the use of recyclable project materials. Another 27% were asked about their organizational GHG emissions.

Below are the key findings from the U.S.:

• Solar prices continue to climb: Solar prices have risen by an average of 15% YoY. In Q1, solar prices rose an average of 2.6% to $31.36 per MWh compared to Q4 2020.

• Wind PPA prices reverse a long rising trend: After four quarters of increases, wind prices dropped by 6.2% to $30.19 per MWh compared to Q4 2020.

• Developers respond to buyer preferences for equity: 68% of developers say they are working to improve their practices and tracking related to social and environmental justice as a result of PPA off-taker preferences.

Tags: LevelTen Energy, PPAs