Eversource plans to go ‘carbonneutral’
Eversource Energy’s plans to be carbon neutral in a decade’s time won’t be easy, but officials say they are up for the challenge.
“It’s a very ambitious goal and we have many steps that we’ve already put in motion to reach it ... but this commitment really drives our performance and efforts in this area,” said Catherine Finneran, VP of sustainability and environmental affairs for the New Englandbased utility company.
Eversource recently pledged to practically eliminate its carbon footprint by 2030, by improving efficiency across the company’s corporate operations, gas distribution, and electric transmission and distribution.
If successful, company officials said the milestone would make Eversource the first investorowned utility in the nation to bring its carbon footprint down to zero.
“Today, we are going one step further by setting a goal for our own operations to help demonstrate that carbon neutrality is achievable,”said Eversource President and CEO Jim Judge in a news release.
Eversource has 69 facilities and a 5,200vehicle fleet across Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The company is headquartered in Hartford and Boston.
According to a recent sustainability report, Eversource produced 815,150 metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2018. That was a major decrease from the company’s 1.2 million production the year prior.
Finneran said the decline was due primarily to Eversource selling its fossil fuel power plants last year.
The company still operates a large natural gas system regionwide, which poses a challenge to hitting that net zero carbon emissions.
Line loss accounted for the lion’s share of Eversource’s carbon emission last year.
“Methane is definitely a target, and we’re pursuing a very aggressive natural gas main replacement program which will replace pipes that are prone to leaking,” Finneran said.
She added that Eversource is also considering renewable gas and will be looking at new technology to help meet their 2030
goal.
The company is also considering implementing electric vehicles and an array of upgrades to buildings to increase energy efficiency.
Eversource’s pursuit of being carbon neutral is limited to its own corporate emissions, but
the company has said it still plans to work with state officials to reduce emissions from energy supply for customers in accordance with state and regional regulatory requirements.
The company serves roughly 4 million customers across New England.
Eversource has had a hand in helping the regional clean energy initiatives, like Connecticut’s pursuit of offshore wind energy.
Eversource partnered with Ørsted on a series of wind energy projects proposals in Connecticut.
The state bought 304 megawatts of offshore wind from the duo in 2018 through a multiresource solicitation. Eversource was also involved in another Connecticut bidding process for up to 2,000 MW that ultimately went to another developer.
“We will look for all ways to be cost effective over the next 10 years in all of the solutions we find in bringing down our carbon footprint,” Finneran said. “Cost effectiveness is key and we believe that by pursing these clean energy … we feel very strongly that we are really benefiting our customers and the states that we work with.”