Carbon-Free Chronicles: The essential round up of news and reports relating to 24/7 clean energy for August 2024

Carbon-free chronicles: the essential round up of news and reports relating to 24/7 clean energy

We constantly see more content, education, reports, news and announcements shared on the topic of certificate management, 24/7 carbon-free energy and clean energy sourcing. Here we highlight the best news and reports alongside our own regular insight articles from August 2024.

What we’re reading

News outlets headline the complexities of Big Tech’s carbon emission claims

• Calculating carbon emissions is a complex task, but getting it right is critical to ensure companies and governments are on the right path towards net-zero targets. Accurate reporting is especially important for Big Tech, the world’s largest energy consumers, some of which already claim to be 100% powered by carbon-free energy (CFE).
• Articles from the Financial Times, The Verge, and Bloomberg are bringing these complexities into public discourse. Under the current emissions reporting system, companies can equally use their voluntary, “market-based” emissions (using energy attribute certificates, EACs, from any point in a year) or actual, “location-based” emissions for marketing purposes, misleading consumers and investors.
• With the rise of AI, tech companies’ emissions are rising from increased electricity usage. While some data centers have collocated renewable energy generation, many companies are still reliant on unbundled EACs to match electricity consumption with CFE. With forward prices of unbundled US Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) averaging under $5 since 2022, they no longer provide enough revenue to finance new supply of renewables, and are therefor relatively ineffective at greening US grids.
• To fix these issues, the Greenhouse Gas Protocol is undertaking a revision of its corporate standards and guidance. Big Tech companies such as Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Meta are pushing for two, so far separate electricity matching approaches — (1) location and time based, and (2) emissions focused.
• Research shows geographic and 24/7 matching approaches consistently and significantly reduce grid-related emissions over time. See research from TU Berlin (1, 2) and Princeton University (3, 4). Including additionality in procurement decisions and supporting clean tech innovations can further green US and global electricity grids.

Clean Transition Tariffs: A new carbon-free procurement option for utilities and large corporates

• In partnership with Fervo Energy and NV Energy, Google unveiled its newest carbon-free energy procurement tool, the Clean Transition Tariff (CTT). The tariff aims to solve the cost restrictions of emerging technologies for utilities and align corporate decarbonization goals with utility incentives.
• By creating a new rate structure for large consumers (those with >5 MW of monthly electricity demand), utilities can leverage corporate funding to build out clean, firm generation, without passing development costs on to ratepayers.
• The tariff is designed to support a wide range of technologies, from grid-enhancements to virtual power plants, allowing utilities to uniquely stack technologies for the highest impact in their region.
• The first CTT is expected to be approved by the Nevada Public Utility Commission by the end of 2024, and is hoped to serve as an example for similar tariffs at other utilities.

Supporting adoption of Long-Duration Energy Storage through multiple pathways

• With it’s multiple applications and strong emission reduction potential, Long-Duration Energy Storage (LDES) is essential for achieving high levels of renewable energy in the grid and enabling 24/7 carbon-free energy supplies. Sustainable Energy for All published a new report outlining measures to enhance the adoption of LDES.
• The report makes 11 distinct recommendations, two of which focus on hourly matching, and are highlighted here.
• First, LDES technologies enable 24/7 carbon-free energy by ensuring a reliable supply during renewable energy intermittency. Thus, to support the growth of LDES, governments should mandate hourly matching of carbon-free electricity consumption. One such example is Ireland’s Climate Action Plan, which requires large electricity consumers to adopt hourly matching.
• Second, to quantify hourly matched supplies and emission reductions from LDES, granular electricity and emissions tracking systems are needed. Providing accessible and transparent emissions data gives grid operators, utilities and consumers the value information needed to incentivize investment into storage technologies.

Balancing clean hydrogen deployment and carbon emission impacts in the US

• Continuing on last month’s coverage of the US Treasury Department’s proposed Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit (45V), multi-stakeholder pressure is weakening the probability of a three pillar policy. This article from The Breakthrough Institute delves into the recent events and possible implications.
• While the goal of the tax credit is to spur the development of a US clean hydrogen industry, regulations must also mitigate production emissions — hydrogen production can create more emissions than its consumption displaces.
• Analyses differ on the impact of more stringent or looser production requirements on emissions, as well as industry development. The article suggests maintaining two of the three pillars — deliverability and hourly matching — to balance development and emission impacts.

What we’re writing (and saying)

Hourly matching, transparency and traceability with TotalEnergies Gas & Power

• We’re happy to share our partnership with TotalEnergies Gas & Power (TGP), one of the largest suppliers of gas and electricity to businesses in the UK.
• With improved EAC management supported by our software, TGP is able to offer enhanced green energy transparency, traceability and hourly matching to its customers. Additionally, customers receive monthly reports detailing their consumption levels, matching scores, and carbon content information, among other details.

Upgrade your EAC management and trading with Granular Energy’s upstream features

• While existing ETRM systems are great at managing electricity, gas, and other commodity deals, they often fall short when it comes to EAC trading.
• Our expanding product features cater specifically to this need, helping utilities manage multiple EAC systems, reduce the risk of errors and double counting, and improve workflow efficiency. Learn all about the new comprehensive capabilities in our recent blog post.