Whether they’re powering electric vehicles or paired with renewable generation, charging batteries with green electricity is key. This represents a critical pathway towards a lower carbon future.
Being concerned enough to lower your company’s carbon emissions is one thing. Being confident that electricity used for this purpose has a low carbon footprint is another. In Ontario, commercial and industrial enterprises can feel confident about this fact, but it is changing over time. Companies managing their carbon emissions may want to take further action as part of their emission reduction initiatives.
ONTARIO ENERGY STORAGE AND CARBON EMISSION REDUCTIONS ARE A KEY PART OF COMPANIES’ ESG STRATEGIES
Beyond delivering value to shareholders, companies are facing increasing pressure to demonstrate their commitment to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors. Greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) are a big part of this.
Firstly, employees want to know that the company they work for is taking its commitment to mitigating climate change seriously. By 2029, millennials and Generation Z will make up 72% of the world’s workforce. Three years ago (2019), this figure was just 52%. These generations place a greater importance on environmental and social concerns than their predecessors do. Consequently, they will expect more from their employers in facing issues of climate change and climate risk [1].
Secondly, customers concerned about their Scope 3 emissions will be casting a spotlight on suppliers like never before. Scope 1 covers direct emissions from owned or controlled sources. As for Scope 2, this covers indirect emissions from the generation of purchased electricity, steam, heating, and cooling consumed by the reporting company. Scope 3 includes all other indirect emissions that occur in a company’s value chain [2].
Nowadays, customers can quickly identify leaders and laggards in their supply chain, and may increasingly demand that their suppliers take action to reduce carbon emissions.
Lastly, shareholders and lenders are weighing ESG factors more heavily as they determine where to invest their money. So much so that investments in ESG funds could hit $1 trillion by 2030 according to Armando Senra, BlackRock’s head of iShares Americas [3].
ONTARIO ENERGY STORAGE AND LOW-CARBON ELECTRICITY CAN HELP COMPANIES MEET THEIR EMISSION GOALS
Many jurisdictions continue to rely heavily on electricity produced from carbon-emitting fossil fuels like coal, gas, and oil. In contrast, Ontario’s electricity has one of the lowest carbon intensities in the world. In other words, the amount of carbon emitted per unit of energy consumed.
Since most of Ontario’s electricity is supplied by zero-emission hydroelectric and nuclear sources, customers can take comfort in this. They know that the electricity they use has a low carbon footprint and this can be part of their overall strategy in managing their GHG emissions.
According to the Annual Planning Outlook [4] from Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), 87.4% of electricity produced in Ontario will be from non-emitting sources in 2023. However, due primarily to the forthcoming retirement of the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station in 2025 [5], this is expected to drop to 83% in 2026, which will increase GHG emissions from electricity production.
Gas generation, which makes up the bulk of carbon-emitting generation in Ontario, runs during periods of high system demand. This is most often during the day. Overnight, the vast majority of electricity generated is entirely emissions-free. This allows companies to leverage battery storage to reduce their carbon emissions. They achieve this by charging batteries overnight, using emissions-free electricity, and discharging them during the day to reduce consumption of higher carbon electricity.
GET RELIABLE POWER AND REDUCE YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT WITH DEMAND POWER’S ONTARIO ENERGY STORAGE
Get ahead of your stakeholders and contact Demand Power Group Inc. (“DPGI”) today at 1-855-336-2638. We offer Ontario energy storage solutions to help your company manage power costs and reduce carbon emissions.
We can also combine battery storage with an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) solution too. This hardens your electricity supply by virtually eliminating the impacts of electricity grid outages. Contact our team now to find a solution to help you improve power reliability and contribute to meeting your carbon goals.
References
- https://www.marshmclennan.com/insights/publications/2020/may/esg-as-a-workforce-strategy.html
- https://www.carbontrust.com/resources/briefing-what-are-scope-3-emissions
- https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/09/esg-investing-to-reach-1-trillion-by-2030-head-of-ishares-americas.html
- https://www.ieso.ca/-/media/Files/IESO/Document-Library/planning-forecasts/apo/Dec2021/2021-Annual-Planning-Outlook.ashx
- https://www.insauga.com/pickering-nuclear-plant-to-be-closed-in-24-but-local-campaign-building-up-steam-to-save-it/
