Covid-19 Curbing Corporate Deals for U.S. Clean-Energy Projects

Corporate appetite for clean electricity in the U.S. is waning as the Covid-19 pandemic upends energy consumption and reshapes the way people work.

Renewable power contracted by U.S. corporations and public institutions this year will probably fall short of last year’s record-high 13.6 gigawatts, according to a report Tuesday by BloombergNEF. Through July, procurement of clean energy stood at 4.3 gigawatts, down from 6 gigawatts at that point last year.

The slump comes as corporations and public institutions -- recent drivers of renewables’ growth in the U.S. -- are using less energy and rethinking their carbon footprints with the ...