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Grossmont Union High School District announced its new Transportation Services Center.

We had a very exciting opportunity to support @GrossmontUHSD’s recent ribbon cutting to unveil the District’s new Transportation Services Center as part of our larger clean energy project together.

The Transportation Services Center integrates state-of-the-art facility and infrastructure upgrades that are helping Grossmont transition to an all-electric bus fleet – with 17 new electric buses already deployed in Phase 1.

ENGIE North America is proud to be working with committed local teams including San Diego Gas & Electric, HED, Balfour Beatty, San Diego Air Pollution Board and many more.

Grossmont leaders like Superintendent Mary Kastan and Department of Transportation CJ Rasure empower Grossmont’s leadership to serve as a model for other school districts seeking to lower their fleet operations costs while also helping to reduce emissions and air pollution for the communities they reach.

Grossmont Engie Flyer

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EEI Destination 2050 Dialogues

Thoughts from Dave Carroll, Chief Renewables Officer, ENGIE North America.

I was honored to participate on an EEI Panel recently as part of the Destination 2050 series of events in preparation for COP 26.

The panel focused on decarbonization “moonshots”. While “moonshots” often imply innovation into completely uncharted territory, the panel chose to focus on the tremendous opportunity to support the energy transition by capitalizing more rapidly and consistently implementing technologies and approaches that already exist to the uncharted territory of a net zero carbon economy.

 

I shared thoughts on four areas:

  • Pairing storage alongside new and existing renewable production
    This will be key in achieving net-zero, using existing interconnections and helping to smooth intermittency allowing better matching of demand and supply at greater cost efficiency. ENGIE is already implementing paired storage and assessing further opportunities for storage alongside our development pipeline, including opportunities for 2GWh of storage in MISO and PJM. The “moonshot” will be providing grid stability and baseload capacity through a higher penetration of these “hybrid” locations.

 

  • Investments in transmission infrastructure to better connect centers of production (including offshore wind) with centers of power demand
    The current Infrastructure Bill is a step forward in recognizing the importance of our transmission system to effectively match demand and supply. Technology on the production end is introducing larger generation opportunities and faster deployment of modern transmission infrastructure will be key in unlocking that potential. The “moonshot” is recognizing that we need to fix the supply chain challenge that is the current grid.

 

  • The development of green hydrogen to help accelerate hard to access end users in transport and industry
    While electrification will be key to the transition of many sectors, hydrogen can unlock hard to get at sectors such as heavy transit and industrial demand. Green hydrogen can also provide an effective “battery”. using advances in electrolysis and adapting current technologies such as gas turbines unlocks a path to meet demand. The ‘moonshots” here include supportive government policies, early adoption by industry and collaborations such as the one between ENGIE and Anglo American to provide green hydrogen to power mining operations.

 

  • Recognizing the role of renewables in communities
    Both in job creation as well as neighbors. With an expected 500,000 to 600,000 new jobs in renewables by 2030 on top of the 400,000 existing, our sector is becoming a major part of local communities. Our investments in the skills and training needed to deliver the energy transition provide a unique opportunity to support local economic growth, especially in more rural communities where renewables will be neighbors for decades to come. At ENGIE our on-site staff are members of the community, and we are invested in seeing these communities thrive. This is a goal that the renewable energy industry is already delivering on and will continue to do so.
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BU turned to Edison Energy, who identified the Triple H Wind Project to help reach its 2040 target

In 2017, Boston University (BU) approved a bold Climate Action Plan to reach carbon neutrality across its campuses by 2040 and to prepare its campuses for the impacts of climate change.

 

The plan–which is a decade ahead of a similar effort by the City of Boston–involves energy efficiency upgrades, shifting to electricity for heating and cooling where possible, as well as purchasing power from renewable energy resources.

Because the University did not have the option for large-scale on-site renewables due to its dense urban setting, it opted instead for a virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) that included significant emissions reduction impacts and critical economic benefits.

BU turned to Edison Energy, who identified the Triple H Wind Project to help reach its 2040 target.

Located in Hyde County, South Dakota, the 250 MW wind farm–which came online last year and was developed by renewable energy provider ENGIE North America and its affiliates —is expected to reduce BU’s carbon emissions by 53%. Sited in a rural area where large-scale energy projects bring much-needed economic support, the wind farm will generate approximately $36 million in state and local tax revenue over its lifetime.

BU’s contracted 48.6MW of capacity from the Triple H Wind Project is expected to produce 205,000 Green-e Certified RECs (Renewable Energy Credits) each year. The University will receive and retire the RECs to claim credit for the emissions reductions from the wind farm.

“This is a trend we’re seeing with many different customers,” said Laura Caspari, VP, Head of Power Marketing and Commercial Strategy at ENGIE North America. “At universities and colleges, there is significant grassroots pressure from students for those institutions to set and attain meaningful sustainability goals and they are seeking PPAs to meet those goals. The institutions have large energy consumption and socially conscious campuses and stakeholders, which form the impetus for that kind of change. BU was a little ahead of others, which puts them at the forefront to a certain extent.”

Caspari also noted an uptick in aggregated procurements, where multiple campuses aggregate their electricity demand and then enter into a joint PPA.

“The grid where the Triple H Wind Project resides is within the Southwest Power Pool (SPP), and that’s a grid that relies heavily on coal power–more than some other parts of the U.S.,” she said. “The impact of the Triple H Wind Project supplanting coal emissions is higher in that area. It reduces the need to dispatch coal plants in the region, so it reduces regional greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and of course that improves the local air and water quality and increases biodiversity.”

The SPP has members in 14 states and lists coal as the top fuel type for energy production, coming in at 38.6%. The region also generates 29.5% of its power from wind resources, indicative of a growing trend in the region.

South Dakota’s total electricity net generation in 2020 was almost two and a half times greater than it was in 2008, primarily because of increased generation from wind, hydropower, and natural gas, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). In 2020, hydroelectric power accounted for half of the state’s net electricity generation, while remaining generation came almost entirely from wind, coal, and natural gas.

Last year, wind power supplied about one-third of South Dakota’s total electricity generation, with the state currently hosting approximately 25 large-scale wind farms along with many smaller wind projects, resulting in nearly 3,000 MW of installed wind energy.

 

Economic benefits

With South Dakota largely dependent on agriculture, local economies are particularly sensitive to world commodity prices and weather. The Triple H Wind Project has helped drive local and regional economic benefits, adding significant revenue to farming operations.

Rural landowners and farmers who host or live near the wind farm receive payments through easement agreements. Because only a small portion of the land under lease is used for the wind farm, agricultural operations can continue largely undisturbed.

The wind farm also resulted in 400 jobs during the construction phase, 11 full-time permanent jobs during project operation, and robust spending at local stores, hotels, and restaurants.

Together with millions in taxes over the life of the project, and donations to local entities, the wind farm is expected to provide more $130 million in local economic benefits.

For ENGIE North America, the success of a project is also judged by the benefits it brings to local communities. This goes beyond actual project operations, with the developer prioritizing meaningful engagement and relationships with neighborhood organizations, leadership, and residents.

“The Triple H Wind Project team donated a new freezer, washer, and dryer to a local community daycare association called Hand in Hand, a charity organization in South Dakota that relies heavily on donations from the community,” Caspari said. “Childcare is becoming scarcer, more expensive and an issue during Covid, so it was a really timely donation.”

But it hasn’t stopped there, Caspari said, noting that ENGIE North America has also made donations to local community events, including sponsorship of a local high school rodeo and other community initiatives.

The Triple H Wind Project continues to garner attention for its many environmental benefits, including from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which recently named BU as one of five recipients of its 2021 Green Power Leadership Awards. The EPA cited BU’s contract as the largest single active VPPA by any of the 126 colleges and universities in its Green Power Partnership. 

 

About ENGIE

Earlier this year, the ENGIE Group announced its ambition to become net zero by 2045, covering all emissions across its value chain. This long-term ambition is complemented by intermediary targets for 2025 and 2030 and the commitment to maintain a trajectory compatible with well below 2 degrees Celsius.

The ENGIE Group also aims to support its clients in their energy transition and has committed to contributing 45Mt to the decarbonization of clients by 2030, positioning itself as a global leader in the industry.

In the U.S. and Canada, ENGIE North America owns and operates more than 3 GW of installed wind and solar capacity and continues to pursue its commitment to sustainability through increasing its renewable energy footprint.

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NYPA’s Board Advances Ambitious Environmental Plans by Authorizing PPA’s with ENGIE North America

NYPA announced plans to deploy solar and energy storage at public facilities.

 

In February, New York City and the New York Power Authority (NYPA) announced plans to deploy solar and energy storage at public facilities – including 47 public schools.  Today NYPA’s Board made a significant step to advance plans on this ambitious project by authorizing Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with ENGIE North America.

The joint project between NYPA and the NYC Department of Citywide Administrative Services (DCAS) will generate up to 30 MW of power from rooftop solar arrays on NYC public schools. The portfolio, which includes 6.6 MW of energy storage, will advance New York State’s clean energy targets as outlined in the 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. It will also help achieve nearly 30 percent of NYC’s goal of implementing 100 MW of solar on City-owned properties by 2025 – part of its commitment to reduce citywide emissions 80 percent by 2050.

ENGIE will design, build, own and operate the solar systems at the NYC DOE sites with construction expected to begin in early 2022. ENGIE is proud to be a partner in this ambitious project to provide clean and sustainable energy. 

NYPA’s Press Release: https://bit.ly/NYPAxENGIE

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ENGIE partners with The Ohio State University to transform the way communities use energy

An interdisciplinary team at The Ohio State University will lead one of 10 projects announced today by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to transform the way communities use energy. As part of the effort, Ohio State received a $4.2 million DOE grant to be used over the next five years.

 

The projects will conceive, optimize, build and refine “Connected Communities,” in which buildings and distributed energy resources – such as photovoltaic solar panels, electric vehicle charging stations and storage – are controlled in coordination with the electrical grid. This leads to optimized energy consumption within the community, providing a model for reducing the building sector’s contribution to the climate crisis.
 

Led by College of Engineering Associate Dean of Facilities Michael Hagenberger, Engineering Assistant Professor Jordan Clark and ENGIE Technology Architect Mark Brown, Ohio State’s project leverages the university’s public-private partnership with Ohio State Energy Partners established in 2017 by ENGIE North America and Axium Infrastructure. Since then, the partners have embarked on a transformation of the 485-building Columbus campus with the installation of nearly 1,000 smart meters, approval of more than $190 million in energy efficiency measures and implementation of a central analytics and control platform. These infrastructure upgrades have resulted in Ohio State’s Columbus campus becoming the country’s largest microgrid and a replicable pilot for other communities.

“This interdisciplinary project will give Ohio State and Ohio State Energy Partners an opportunity to pursue boundary-pushing energy and sustainability research and innovations and pave the way for the integration of renewable energy sources into our portfolio, a key part of Ohio State’s 2050 carbon neutrality goal,” said Ohio State President Kristina M. Johnson.

America’s 125 million homes and commercial buildings currently use almost 40% of U.S. energy and 74% of its electricity, and account for the great majority of peak electricity demand. With technology like state-of-the-art sensors, controls and analytics, there is potential to significantly improve efficiency and reduce carbon emissions of our nation’s energy resources. A recent DOE study estimated that by 2030, grid-interactive efficient buildings (GEBs) could save up to $18 billion per year in power system costs and cut 80 million tons of carbon emissions each year.

The Ohio State project team will develop and manage its “Connected Community” as a pilot cluster of campus buildings, of diverse vintage and use type, and energy assets as a microgrid controlled by artificial intelligence (AI) tools. The energy assets include: a 105-megawatt combined heat and power plant; multiple central chiller plants; a steam plant; 65,000 square feet of solar power photovoltaics; 29 electric vehicle charging stations; and 50 megawatts of wind energy through a power purchase agreement.

ENGIE’s novel Smart Institutions platform will integrate data from these assets – streams of real-time utility data such as electricity and chilled water from campus buildings, hyperlocal weather data and occupancy data via wireless access points – to facilitate resource utilization decisions and control campus buildings in coordination, following extensive modeling in the project’s first few years.

“This is a unique opportunity to not only think about, but to actually use the campus to demonstrate the ability of a Connected Community approach to deliver added value to asset owners, community operators and grid operators while maintaining or improving occupant experience and facilitating deep penetration of renewables,” said Clark. “We have an amazing team comprising researchers and private-sector partners who will collaborate to provide this example in a region of the country that can be quite a challenging place to integrate renewables.”

The project team includes Ohio State faculty and staff working with experts from ENGIE, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the University of California, Berkeley, American Electric Power and PJM. In addition to the College of Engineering, staff and faculty from Ohio State’s Facilities Operations and Development, Office of Business and Finance, Center for Automotive Research, Sustainability Institute, John Glenn College of Public Affairs and Institute for Materials Research will contribute to project tasks and goals.

“We are very excited to see that our partnership with The Ohio State University and Axium Infrastructure continues to deliver value well beyond the contractual expectations,” said Serdar Tufekci, Head of Major Partnerships Energy Solutions Americas at ENGIE. “We look forward to expanding our collaboration with the Department of Energy to discover a new standard of innovation and technology which will help in our joint ambition to achieve campus carbon neutrality in a financially feasible way.”

Ohio State’s project will demonstrate cybersecure control of buildings and distributed energy resources for efficiency, demand management and provision of grid services. As a result, the “Connected Community” will be better equipped to respond to peak demand times and reduce energy consumption by 35% — an additional 10% beyond the 25% reduction goal in the Ohio State Energy Partners agreement. In addition, a major outcome of the project will be the demonstration of a 20% increase in net present value of existing renewable generation assets in an Ohio climate.

The 10 projects announced today by DOE will further demonstrate the capabilities of GEBs across a wider range of technologies, locations and building types. Ohio State’s project is the only one to occur on a university campus setting.

Source: https://news.osu.edu/department-of-energy-selects-ohio-state-as-one-of-…

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ENGIE North America Releases 2020 Sustainability Report

ENGIE has mobilized its resources to pioneer a low-carbon future for both the people and our planet. Today, we make our commitments even clearer with the 2045 Carbon Neutrality Pledge — our pathway to achieving net zero in all our business activities.

 

The planet needs our urgency. With objectives for 2030 ENGIE employs inventive technologies that convert natural elements into energy and initiates business activities in favor of a carbon-neutral world. 

The report details action ENGIE North America is taking, together with customers and communities, to achieve a carbon neutral future.

The report outlines: 

  • Impressive statistics, like: 
    – The addition of nearly 2 GW of renewable generation, which — in addition to the divestiture of thermal generation resources — increased the share of zero-carbon generation in our portfolio to 72%;
    – The avoidance of more than 3.2 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent in 2020;
    – The funding of the creation of nearly 3,000 construction jobs in 40 counties in 12 states and created 150 jobs in rural communities. 
     
  • Explanations of our main Corporate and Cities Power Purchasing Agreements like the ones with Amazon (wind and solar projects)  Hartnell College (solar project) and QTS Data Centers (storage project).
     
  • Several customer and partner interviews that discuss ENGIE North America’s collaboration and solution-oriented approach to achieve client energy goals. 
     
  • Leading in biodiversity with:
    – A study of Mt. Tom, the largest utility-scale storage and community solar farm in Massachusetts, to assess whether fencing and arrays deter wildlife use—none was found; and
    – Bird and bat conservation strategies developed for all wind projects, and post-construction monitoring programs initiated at all facilities after they begin commercial operation. 

This report is a powerful illustration of ENGIE North America’s mission in the zero-carbon transition by accelerating the deployment of clean, affordable, innovative and resilient energy solutions. 

In addition to the focus on sustainability, the report also outlines actions ENGIE North America is taking in diversity, equity and inclusion, such as taking a stand against racism; a commitment to growth, training and development; an outline of education institution relationships; and more. 

Read more about our efforts in the 2020 Sustainability Report.

For more information about our global strategy, please also read ENGIE’s updated Integrated Report, which provides a comprehensive, forward-looking vision of the Group, its purpose, ambition, strategy, objectives, governance and value creation. We look forward to creating a carbon-neutral future together.

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ENGIE supports Walmart’s goal of becoming a totally renewable business with three wind projects

ENGIE North America is now delivering power to Walmart through our innovative virtual renewable power purchase agreements (VPPAs). Signed during the past three years in support of more than 500 MW of Walmart’s renewable energy needs in multiple US energy markets, the commencement of these VPPAs is a key element of Walmart’s progress toward its goal of zero emissions from its own operations by 2040.

 

Under the agreements, Walmart is purchasing 166 MW from ENGIE’s Prairie Hill project in Texas and 200 MW from ENGIE’s King Plains project in Oklahoma, where construction completed in late 2020. The energy produced annually matches to portions of electricity load in Walmart stores, Sam’s Clubs, and distribution centers throughout parts of the ERCOT and Southwest Power Pool markets. 

In addition, ENGIE North America will provide 150 MW from its 2020 commissioned Triple H wind project in South Dakota, which brings the combined agreements between Walmart and ENGIE North America to more than 500 MW.  

“This is a powerful collaboration because it allows us to purchase offsite power from three separate windfarms in Texas, Oklahoma, and South Dakota. Together, these facilities are expected to help avoid as much as 1.3 million tons of CO2e of greenhouse gas emissions per year,” said Mark Vanderhelm, Vice President of Energy and Facilities for Walmart Inc.* 

The three projects supported more than 1,000 construction jobs at their peak and are expected to deliver more than $400 million in landowner lease payments, taxes, wages, and donations over the life of the projects. 

Reflecting on the impact to local economy, Vanderhelm said, “Beyond being better for the planet, these facilities also provide more direct benefits by creating local opportunity. They support employment ecosystems all of their own.” 

“We are delighted that our renewable power agreements from these three projects are directly meeting Walmart’s growing needs and expanding our relationship across the country in creative ways,” said Laura Beane, Chief Renewables Officer of ENGIE North America. “Walmart’s leadership in promoting sustainability and reducing its carbon footprint sets an innovative and industry leading example. We are proud to be supporting the path to a carbon neutral future together and to spark collective climate action and drive environmental sustainability.” 

ENGIE’s ambition is to accelerate the transition toward a carbon-neutral world. With nearly 2 GW of additional capacities added to the United States in 2020, we now have more than 3 GW of renewable generation capacity in North America and more than 10 GW of additional renewable energy projects currently under way. This acceleration in the development of renewables contributes to our mission to connect society and companies to clean, affordable, innovative, and resilient energy generation and the infrastructure to support it. 

 

*Mark Vanderhelm, Vice President of Energy and Facilities for Walmart Inc. recently posted a news article that further describes their collaboration with ENGIE North America and Walmart’s bigger journey to being a regenerative company with zero own emissions by 2040. Find out more on Walmart’s website. 

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