Constellation strikes deal with ComEd to power its facilities with nuclear energy

Constellation Energy has reached an agreement with Chicago-based utility ComEd to power all 54 of ComEd’s offices and facilities with locally-produced nuclear energy.

This deal makes ComEd the first investor-owned electric utility in the nation to power its facilities with 100 percent clean energy produced at the same time and place it is consumed. It is similar to a deal Constellation and Microsoft reached to power one of its Virginia data centers with nearly 100 percent carbon-free nuclear energy.

“Matching clean energy production to the time and place a customer uses it is the only way we will truly achieve zero carbon emissions across our economy,” Joe Dominguez, president and CEO of Constellation, said. “Following this summer of record-shattering weather, it’s clear that hourly matching needs to become the standard within our industry for the U.S. to have any reasonable shot at reaching its 2050 climate goals and preventing the worst effects of climate change. Our agreements with ComEd and Microsoft show that American businesses want a better approach to carbon accounting, and that nuclear energy is key to delivering it.”

ComEd’s hourly carbon-free energy purchase will match its anticipated electricity use of about 65,000 megawatt-hours.

“ComEd is committed to doing everything possible to help Illinois achieve its goal of 100 percent clean energy by 2050, and that includes reducing the use of fossil fuels and lowering carbon emissions at our own facilities in every hour of every day,” Gil Quiniones, CEO of ComEd, said. “Constellation’s 100 percent hourly matching carbon-free energy solution provides an important tool to address the challenges of climate change.”

Hourly matching represents an evolution in the clean energy transition. Currently, most companies purchase annual renewable energy certificates (RECs), which represent units of clean energy produced by a solar or wind facility. For example, a manufacturer in Virginia could buy enough RECs in April in Iowa to match its annual energy use and then claim its operations in August run on clean energy. In reality, those RECs represent energy that was produced halfway across the country at a different time of day and year.  While the sale of RECs has spurred renewable energy investment, it has also incentivized developers to build those facilities in places that already have significant wind and solar resources. This leaves other parts of the country short of clean energy options.

In 2022, Constellation and Microsoft addressed that imbalance by developing an advanced software and analytics solution to help companies match their energy use every hour of the day with locally produced carbon-free electricity. Microsoft subsequently became the first customer to use the technology.

“Our work with Constellation is part of what we hope will become a movement for businesses of all kinds to transition to truly carbon-free operations,” Adrian Anderson, general manager of renewable and carbon-free energy at Microsoft, said. “We are pleased to see that more companies are choosing hourly matching as part of their sustainability strategy.”