Earth Day sees electric utilities remaining focused on a cleaner future
Wednesday marks a half-century since Earth Day was launched in 1970, and the U.S. electric power industry is taking the opportunity to spotlight the concerted collective efforts that have raised energy efficiency and expanded the use of renewable energy while also cutting the emissions of greenhouse gases from power plants.
Nearly 40 percent of the nation’s electricity comes from carbon-free sources, and over the past eight years, more than half of new electricity generation capacity was wind and solar. According to data supplied by the U.S. Energy Information Administration this week, the electric power sector installed nearly 23,000 megawatts of new generating capacity in 2019. This new capacity was primarily in onshore wind, natural gas-fired, and solar photovoltaic technologies.
“This Earth Day … we celebrate how our industry’s vision – giving our customers an energy future that is cleaner, smarter and stronger than any they have known – is becoming a reality,” Brian Wolff, executive vice president of Public Policy and External Affairs for the Edison Electric Institute (EEI), wrote in the EEI publication “Electric Perspectives.”
Wolff noted an aggressive remixing of fuel portfolios in recent years had EEI’s investor-owned electric company members on track to reduce emissions by at least 80 percent below 2005 levels by 2050. Further, nearly 40 EEI member companies have announced long-term carbon reduction goals, with many setting a net-zero by 2050 goal.
At the same time, electric companies are driving the creation of an electric vehicle-charging infrastructure that will slash the tailpipe emissions in the transportation sector. “The benefits of the clean energy transformation are apparent across the nation, and they will continue to unfold over the coming years,” he said.
It’s the type of good news that would typically make a great presentation on Earth Day, but is made more challenging by current global events. Utilities are instead on a war footing against COVID-19 with plant operators working extended shifts and warning residents to respect social distancing when coming in contact with repair crews in the field busy restoring power after severe storms.
Despite the lack of public Earth Day gatherings that will be taking place nationwide as an overabundance of caution and some direct “stay-at-home” orders from state capitals keeping people off the streets and out of the parks, electric companies are taking a number of steps to underscore their clean energy initiatives:
• Hawaiian Electric used the occasion to release its 2019-2020 sustainability report, which was highlighted by a remarkable surge in rooftop solar installations on the islands. The company is also on track to have 30 percent of its customer sales coming from renewables by the end of the year. “As the report was being completed, we were seeing the first effects of the coronavirus pandemic,” said President & CEO Scott Seu. “It’s likely this will change the timelines for completion of many renewable energy projects being planned. Even with this new challenge, we remain fully committed to decarbonizing our energy system.”
• Gulf Power marked a milestone this month when the Blue Indigo Solar Energy Center in Jackson County, Florida, began generating zero-emissions energy for customers. With more than 300,000 tracking solar panels, Gulf Power’s first owned and operated solar energy center is capable of producing 74.5 megawatts of energy, enough to serve about 15,000 homes annually. “As we observe Earth Day this week, we’re celebrating Gulf Power’s first owned and operated solar energy center, which brings us one step closer to our goal of making Northwest Florida a leader in clean solar energy,” said Gulf Power President Marlene Santos.
• Florida Power & Light Co. announced major progress on the company’s plan to install 30 million solar panels by 2030 with the recent completion of six new solar energy centers and four more scheduled to enter service beginning in May. Those 10 new solar centers represent 745 megawatts of new solar capacity.
• Black Hills Energy in Colorado went ahead with its annual “Earth Day trees” giveaway, which since 2014 has resulted in 6,686 trees being planted around the region. Residents go online to claim one of the young 3-to-4 foot trees, which will be delivered to their new homes in the coming weeks. “Our partnership with the Arbor Day Foundation in the Energy-Saving Trees program offers us the opportunity to promote the cleaner air, energy savings and the other benefits you gain by planting the right tree in the right place,” said Vance Crocker, Black Hills Energy’s vice president in Southern Colorado.
Meanwhile, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) used the run-up to Earth Day to announce $2 million in grants to local utilities so they can bolster their own support of non-profits that are helping their communities weather the pandemic. “In the spirit of public power, we are honored to partner with local power companies to address the unprecedented challenges facing those we serve,” said Jeannette Mills, TVA executive vice president and chief external relations officer.
The utility industry’s efforts over the years to increase the role of renewables and reduce emissions has paid off in the eyes of the public. A survey of 69,620 utility customers carried out by the analytics firm Escalent showed an increasingly positive image of the industry in the first quarter of 2020. Even the independent-minded millennial generation rated utilities among the leaders in “environmental dedication.”
“Customers say utilities are responding well through initiatives and programs that help create a cleaner planet,” said Escalent Senior Vice President Chris Oberle. “Measuring environmental dedication is now essential to doing business, as Wall Street investment houses are tying utility environmental stewardship to utilities’ financial performance.”
Moreover, there has been some concern among industry observers about the effect the COVID-19 pandemic and its accompanying economic downturn will slow down the growth of renewable generation in the near term, but Earth Day 2020 will be a reminder that it’s a vision that is still aggressively being pursued.
