ComEd powers facilities on 100 percent carbon-free energy from Constellation
Chicago-based ComEd now officially powers its facilities wholly with carbon-free energy, thanks to an hourly match supply arrangement with energy supplier Constellation.
Constellation was chosen following a competitive procurement ComEd kicked off for retail electric service. As a result, most of that energy is produced within ComEd’s existing service territory and will match the utility’s total energy usage on an hourly basis. It’s a first-of-its-kind arrangement for the state and will cover 54 facilities in northern Illinois, from corporate headquarters on down to special use facilities and substations.
“We are combatting climate change by making our electric grid more resilient and enabling the growth of renewables and electric vehicles, but just as importantly, we are leading by example by driving carbon emissions out of our own operations,” Gil Quiniones, CEO of ComEd, said. “As the largest electric company in Illinois, it is our duty to take full advantage of the opportunities now available to reduce the use of fossil fuels in our facilities to improve air quality in all of the communities where we operate and where our employees live and work.”
This will allow a clean energy match for ComEd’s approximately 65,000-megawatt hours of annual energy use, and the company will also purchase the associated environmental attributes. Building on that arrangement, ComEd also intends to reduce its carbon footprint by electrifying 30 percent of its fleet by 2025 and 50 percent by 2030. By 2030, it hopes to replace all light-duty vehicles with electric vehicles.
“We applaud ComEd for leading by example and demonstrating that hourly carbon-free energy matching is both achievable today and essential to mitigating the climate crisis,” said Jim McHugh, executive vice president and chief commercial officer of Constellation. “A growing number of large commercial and industrial customers are recognizing that matching clean energy production with when they are using their electricity represents the best path to reaching carbon reduction goals. Importantly, this agreement also affirms the critical role of nuclear energy in enabling the viability of hourly carbon-free energy.”
