Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy recently hosted an electrification and sustainability discussion with four experts from energy-related industries. During the event, panelists including our VP of Sustainability, Jeanne-Mey Sun, explored the complexities of aligning investors, policy makers, and energy providers in the collective effort to decarbonize.
Electrification and climate change
One of the key factors in combatting climate change is electrification: transitioning from burning fossil fuels to electricity. There are more existing means to clean up electricity than combustion fuels, like geothermal, hydro, nuclear, solar, and wind.
America’s energy grid is a complex and vital system and demand continues to climb as we move toward powering many elements of daily life with electricity.
“In the last 12 months in the U.S., we consumed about 4 trillion kilowatt-hours of electricity, it's an astonishing amount, and it's growing,” said Carl Williams, Houston-based private investor focused on climate infrastructure.
Panelists acknowledged that electrification poses enormous challenges and requires coordination and trade-offs to meet demand. Although electrification is a complicated undertaking, power suppliers like NRG can help individuals and businesses implement renewable solutions to harness the myriad benefits of renewable power.
One of the event speakers, Todd Snitchler, is the President and CEO of EPSA, the Electric Power Supply Association.
“Our members are a key piece of that puzzle when it comes to advancing sustainability goals and supporting increased electrification. To date, power providers in competitive markets have delivered significant wins for American consumers, the reliability of our energy infrastructure and the environment,” Snitchler said.
National or regional approaches that unleash competition stimulate renewable energy innovation and market growth. Competition can also drive down renewable energy prices, accelerate deployment to meet demand, and improve grid resilience.
“We think competitive markets would truly empower every American in the United States to choose renewable power. We want to help customers achieve their sustainability goals with digital smart home technologies and clean, resilient energy,” said Sun.
Renewable technologies and raw materials
Do we have the technology or are further developments required to electrify and decarbonize?
For the United States or North America, Snitchler maintains that “most agree that we can get to 80% emissions reductions almost with the technology we have.”
Existing renewable technologies include wind turbines, hydroelectric dams, tidal wave devices, solar photovoltaics, geothermal heat pumps, and biofuel production, among others. Demand response and smart grid technologies that enable load shifting are also valuable tech.
However, some innovations are not commercially viable, yet. There are future solutions that will be developed over the next decades to help reach the net-zero target by 2050.
“We support a technology agnostic, all of the above approach. We do think that different circumstances will require a different portfolio of technologies and solutions,” said Sun.
The minerals and materials required to scale up renewable resources are often overlooked in analyses and predictive models. Michelle Foss, a Fellow in energy minerals and materials at Rice University, warned about the competing demands for non-fuel materials.
“I would point out that a wind turbine without blades is not much of a wind turbine. It turns out that solar PV without plexiglass doesn't really help either. These are essential components for these alternative energy technologies that will not work without them,” Foss said.
Her rule of thumb is “put materials first” to ensure that we have the chemicals, plastics, and minerals we need to build renewable infrastructure.
In addition to supply concerns, there are also questions about responsible sourcing. If extracting or producing raw materials for climate-saving technology causes environmental harm, it is not sustainable. Similarly, lifecycle considerations should ensure that renewable equipment is sustainably cared for from creation through end-of-life.
Sustainability in action
Electricity suppliers are in a unique position to innovate, invest in new technologies, and bring sustainable solutions to the market. As a corporate sustainability practitioner, Sun says the key to achieving success is to act.
“At every level, whether it's at a government, company, or more micro, it’s possible to be part of the solution and consider both climate risk and climate opportunity. We want climate opportunities to be part of our fundamental business model going forward.”
For example, NRG has spent the last decade plus building a sustainability framework and developing products and services that help achieve customer’s energy goals and reduce their environmental impact.
Other companies can take similar sustainability steps by electrifying vehicles, implementing efficiency programs, and sourcing renewable power.
Tell your sustainability story
Achieving sustainability goals also necessitates tracking and reporting.
“It’s incredibly important to be transparent in disclosing your climate strategy, your climate governance, your plans, and your actual progress to all of your stakeholders. That's something that is easy to do, even if it's to say we don't currently do something, but we're planning and it’s forthcoming,” Sun said.
NRG independently validates their goals and discloses their achievements across all the major sustainability frameworks. This helps communicate the strategy to stakeholders, particularly investors.
“These are some very tangible steps that every actor can take, whether you're a company or a city or a state or a country,” Sun said.
At NRG, we’re proud to be participating in this ambitious discussion and engaging in many of the issues discussed on the panel. See how we’re striving to build a more sustainable energy future.
