Global corporate purchases of clean energy declined for the first time in almost a decade in 2025, falling 10% to 55.9 gigawatts (GW), according to a new report from BloombergNEF (BNEF). The slowdown reflects shifting market dynamics, including rising power prices and increasing policy uncertainty, as well as a growing divergence in buying behavior between large technology companies and other corporate entities.
The dominance of a handful of tech giants was particularly pronounced in 2025, with Meta, Amazon, Google, and Microsoft accounting for 49% of all global clean energy procurement. Meta and Amazon together contracted 20.4 GW, including 4.7 GW of nuclear power, signaling a growing appetite for firm, dispatchable renewable energy sources. Whereas Meta focused its activity in the United States, Amazon was the most active buyer in both Europe and Asia Pacific.
The United States remained the largest market for corporate PPAs, reaching a record 29.5 GW of deals. However, this growth was largely driven by these major technology firms, while activity from smaller companies waned amid rising project costs and policy concerns. The number of unique corporate buyers in the US dropped by 51% year-on-year, to just 33, indicating a shrinking pool of active participants.
In Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, corporate PPA volumes decreased by 13% in 2025, to 17 GW, falling back to 2023 levels in Europe. The increasing prevalence of negative power prices is eroding the economic viability of standalone solar and wind projects, prompting buyers to seek hybrid solutions that combine different energy sources and storage capabilities.
The Asia Pacific region also experienced a decline, with volumes dropping to 6.9 GW from 10.7 GW the previous year, largely due to slowdowns in India and South Korea. Procurement strategies are diverging within the region, with countries like Japan demonstrating increasing sophistication in corporate PPA adoption, while others, such as Malaysia, remain reliant on regulatory support for growth.
“Corporate clean energy buyers are operating at two different speeds,” said Nayel Brihi, a corporate energy analyst at BNEF and lead author of the report. “Large tech buyers are venturing into bigger deals and frontier technologies, while smaller companies are grappling with power market realities. Some buyers in newer markets are just familiarizing themselves with the concept of offtake agreements altogether. For the market to return to growth, we will demand to witness clean, firm power supply options such as co-located solar and storage delivering at scale, and at competitive prices.”
Engie emerged as the leading developer in 2025, securing 3.6 GW of contracts globally. Developers offering clean, firm power solutions are gaining prominence, with seven of the top ten sellers engaging in contracts for co-located solar and storage, hybrid solar and wind, or nuclear PPAs. These “baseload-like” products accounted for 5.2 GW of activity.
Regulatory changes are also influencing corporate clean energy procurement. Updates to the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol – the global standard for corporate carbon accounting – propose stricter requirements for Scope 2 emissions reporting, potentially mandating hourly tracking and more precise geographical boundaries for electricity purchases. Under an hourly tracking regime, claims of 100% renewable energy usage will become more difficult to substantiate for many buyers.
Corporate buyers are already responding to these anticipated changes, with 5.8 GW of co-located and hybrid deals finalized in 2025. As battery storage costs continue to fall, these deal structures are expected to become increasingly common in corporate procurement strategies. BNEF’s 1H 2026 Corporate Energy Market Outlook builds on previous reports tracking trends in corporate energy strategy, monitoring publicly disclosed and directly submitted offsite corporate clean energy deals that meet specific criteria.
