Constellation Inks partners with a major US company to match 100 percent carbon-free energy per hour

Baltimore (September 14, 2023) — Constellation (Nasdaq: CEG), the nation’s largest producer of zero-carbon energy and a leading supplier of energy products and services, today announced an agreement that will help ComEd, one of the nation’s largest utilities, power all 54 of its offices and facilities. Facilities metered with locally produced carbon-free nuclear power, every hour of every day. The agreement means ComEd will be the first investor-owned utility in the country to power its facilities with 100 percent clean energy that is produced at the same time and place it is consumed.

ComEd’s agreement follows a similar agreement between Constellation and Microsoft to power one of its data centers in Virginia with nearly 100 percent carbon-free nuclear power. Together, the two deals set a new standard for how companies across the United States can achieve real emissions reductions. .

“Matching clean energy production to when and where a customer uses it is the only way we can achieve net-zero carbon emissions throughout our economy,” said Joe Dominguez, President and CEO of Constellation. “After this summer of record-breaking weather, it is clear that hourly matching must become the standard in our industry for the United States to have any reasonable chance of reaching its 2050 climate goals and preventing the worst impacts of climate change. Our agreements with ComEd and Microsoft show that American companies want a better approach to carbon accounting, and nuclear power is the key to making that happen.

ComEd’s hourly zero-carbon energy purchase will match its projected electricity use of approximately 65,000 megawatt-hours, which includes its corporate and regional headquarters, reporting centers, business offices, training facilities, special uses and substations.

“ComEd is committed to doing everything we can to help Illinois achieve its goal of 100 percent clean energy by 2050, and that includes reducing fossil fuel use and cutting carbon emissions at our facilities every hour of every day,” Gil Quiñones said. , CEO of ComEd. “Constellation’s 100 percent carbon-neutral hourly energy solution provides an important tool for addressing the challenges of climate change.”

Private sector companies are not the only organizations moving toward hourly clean energy compliance. In a 2021 executive order, the White House recognized hourly zero-carbon energy matching as “critical to advancing the nation’s clean energy goals,” directing federal agencies to work together to ensure that 50 percent of all federal buildings hourly match clean energy. By 2030.

Hourly matching represents an evolution in the clean energy transition. Today, most companies seeking to achieve net-zero goals purchase annual Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), which represent units of clean energy produced by a solar or wind facility located somewhere in the United States during a given year. For example, a manufacturing company in Virginia could purchase enough RECs in April in Iowa to match its annual energy use and then claim its operations in August to be powered by clean energy. In fact, those annual RECs represent energy produced halfway across the country at a different time of day and year. Meanwhile, the manufacturer got most of its energy from a fossil factory located nearby.

While the sale of RECs helped spur investment in renewable energy, it also incentivized developers to build those facilities in places that already had significant wind and solar resources, leaving other parts of the country lacking in clean energy options. This regional overproduction of renewable energy also causes problems for local grid operators because there may be no way to transport the excess energy to where it is needed.

In 2022, Constellation and Microsoft announced a collaboration aimed at addressing this imbalance. The two companies have developed advanced software and analytical solutions to help companies match their energy use every hour of the day with locally produced carbon-free electricity. Microsoft then became the first customer to use this technology.

“Our work with Constellation is part of what we hope will become a movement for companies of all types to move to truly carbon-neutral operations,” said Adrian Anderson, general manager of renewable and carbon-neutral energy at Microsoft. “We are pleased to see that more companies are choosing hourly matching as part of their sustainability strategy.”

To learn more about how Constellation’s hourly zero carbon matching solution is helping the nation reach true net zero emissions, click here.

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