Almach, a London-based renewable energy strategy consultancy, announced Tuesday the launch of Re-search, a new online renewable energy procurement platform that provides access to renewable energy projects.
'Launched today and developed by Almach, the RE-search (www.re-search.online) portal links large corporate energy users, including government agencies, local councils and other public sector organizations, with renewable project owners/developers,' the company said in a press release.
According to the statement, the new portal, with a mission 'to create liquidity and improve transparency' in the market, offers 'a quick and easy energy procurement tool that identifies and secures long-term renewable energy supply via corporate Power Purchase Agreements and short-term solutions through renewable energy certificates (RECs)'.
Juan Pablo Cerda, managing director at Almach, whose clients include Liberty Global Group (Virgin Media), Pizza Hut and the Mexican government, said the Re-Search portal 'accelerates and simplifies the renewable energy procurement process for major energy users'.
'Based on our experience of working with corporate energy buyers, we identified a need to provide a clear, transparent view of renewable energy projects available around the world, whilst helping corporates reduce the costs and complexity of their clean energy sourcing and meet their sustainability and climate change policy objectives,' Cerda said.
According to the company official, the free-to-use portal will allow corporates to filter out projects that do not meet their specific requirements, be it size, start date, technology or location.
'This effectively creates a shortlist of relevant projects, saving buyers' time and resources by connecting them with those developers that can deliver what they need,' he added.
For corporate buyers who require a formal market tender, the RE-search platform also offers a simplified request for information process that will 'dramatically' reduce the time and cost of undertaking a formal market assessment.
-Supporting renewable energy developers
'Equally important, Re-search supports renewable energy developers to showcase their projects in one place, creating the liquidity and transparency that is currently missing across many global energy markets,' Almach said.
'With the removal of government subsidies in key markets, the ability to have a simple, reliable platform to connect with corporates is increasingly a key factor to a project's success,' it added.
-Connecting large end energy users and developers
Cerda said the portal provides a solution to 'a lack of meaningful data around buying trends available to developers, so this, coupled with direct feedback on the competitiveness of their offering, is very valuable information'.
-Access to RECs and renewable energy data insights
'To enhance the RE-search offering, Almach has partnerships with [emission reduction projects developer] South Pole and [energy consultancy firm] Cornwall Insight to provide data, access to RECs and future energy price benchmarks,' the statement said.
'This will allow businesses to quickly build the business case for renewable energy procurement and make informed decisions,' it added.
Renat Heuberger, CEO at South Pole, said they were pleased to partner with Almach to offer a wide selection of RECs from many countries through the RE-search platform.
'By gathering PPA and REC solutions in one place, RE-search provides corporates with a streamlined and flexible approach to meeting their renewable energy needs in almost any country in the short and long term,' he added.
By Hale Turkes
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr