(Credit: ComEd)Constellation and Commonwealth Edison (ComEd) have signed an agreement that will allow ComEd to power all 54 of its offices and facilities with carbon-free nuclear energy.
ComEd’s purchase will match its expected energy use of about 65 gigawatt hours, which includes its corporate and regional headquarters, reporting centers, business offices, facilities, and substations. Commonwealth's use of hourly matching allows companies direct access to clean energy, as opposed to many companies’ strategy of purchasing renewable energy certificates (RECs).
Instead of purchasing credits for renewable energy projects far from the company itself, hourly matching uses local clean energy sources to power company operations. Unlike RECs, hourly matching ensures that energy used by a company in a given hour is actually carbon-free.
Constellation said hourly matching will drive market demand for clean energy projects at a faster rate than RECs can.
“Matching clean energy production to the time and place a customer uses it is the only way we will truly achieve zero carbon emissions across our economy,” said Joe Dominguez, president and CEO of Constellation. “Following this summer of record-shattering weather, it’s clear that hourly matching needs to become the standard within our industry for the U.S. to have any reasonable shot at reaching its 2050 climate goals and preventing the worst effects of climate change. Our agreements with ComEd and Microsoft show that American businesses want a better approach to carbon accounting, and that nuclear energy is key to delivering it.”
Constellation and ComEd’s agreement follows a similar one made with Microsoft in July of this year. The Microsoft agreement included hourly carbon-free energy matching for its Virginia data center, allowing the company to track energy usage of a building type known for being energy-intensive.
Between these two recent transactions, Constellation hopes to set a standard for U.S. companies to reach net-zero goals through real, measurable emissions reductions. Microsoft and Constellation also have collaborated to develop software that helps companies to match hourly energy use with locally produced carbon-free electricity.
“Our work with Constellation is part of what we hope will become a movement for businesses of all kinds to transition to truly carbon-free operations,” said Adrian Anderson, general manager of renewable and carbon-free energy at Microsoft. “We are pleased to see that more companies are choosing hourly matching as part of their sustainability strategy.”
