Federal Higher-Impact Carbon-Free Electricity Procurement

The memo advocates for a shift from traditional renewable energy procurement to a 'higher-impact' approach that matches electricity consumption with carbon-free generation on an hourly and regional basis. It argues that this method better incentivizes the deployment of firm carbon-free resources and energy storage, leading to greater actual carbon reductions than traditional annual matching. The authors recommend that the Biden Administration set targets for federal facilities to achieve 100% round-the-clock carbon-free electricity consumption.

• Higher-impact carbon-free electricity procurement is defined by four key features: matching consumption with clean electricity in the regional grid where the buyer is located (location), matching consumption at an hourly level (time), using an expansive definition of "carbon-free electricity" including nuclear and fossil with carbon capture and storage (eligible technology), and focusing on the carbon-free content of electricity actually consumed at each facility (consumption-focused).
• Traditional procurement methods, which rely on annual matching and Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), often incentivize purchasing the cheapest renewable MWh regardless of where or when the electricity is consumed, which may not result in the greatest carbon reduction.
• A diverse carbon-free portfolio is significantly more effective at reducing emissions than solar or wind alone. For a representative 1 MW corporate office in the ERCOT region of Texas, solar and wind reduced emissions by 57% and 64% respectively, while a diverse portfolio reduced emissions by 97%.
• The federal government is the world's largest electricity purchaser, consuming approximately 53.8 million megawatt hours (MWh) in 2019, of which only 8.6% (4.6 million MWh) were counted as renewable resources.
• Adopting higher-impact procurement can accelerate the commercialization of advanced carbon-free technologies and energy storage, create American jobs, and encourage private sector buyers to adopt similar high-impact strategies.
• The authors recommend that the Biden Administration direct agencies to use all available procurement tools to achieve 100% hourly carbon-free electricity consumption as soon as possible, with interim targets and annual progress reporting.

APA

Clean Air Task Force (n.d.). Federal Higher-Impact Carbon-Free Electricity Procurement. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/21092426/Federal-Higher-Impact-Carbon-Free-Electricity-Procurement-Memo.pdf

Chicago

Clean Air Task Force. Federal Higher-Impact Carbon-Free Electricity Procurement. n.d. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/21092426/Federal-Higher-Impact-Carbon-Free-Electricity-Procurement-Memo.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Clean Air Task Force |title=Federal Higher-Impact Carbon-Free Electricity Procurement |url=https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/21092426/Federal-Higher-Impact-Carbon-Free-Electricity-Procurement-Memo.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{cleanairtaskforcendfederal, author = {{Clean Air Task Force}}, title = {{Federal Higher-Impact Carbon-Free Electricity Procurement}}, publisher = {Clean Air Task Force}, url = {https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/21092426/Federal-Higher-Impact-Carbon-Free-Electricity-Procurement-Memo.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }