Once considered as a niche segment of the clean energy industry, the renewable energy sector has now become a significant source of power in the U.S. and around the world. 

As companies strive to achieve Net Zero by transitioning away from fossil fuels, they’re relying more on renewable energy sources. Renewable energy plays a crucial role in US, Europe and other wealthy nations’ energy security and sustainability pathways. 

It is, therefore, not surprising that businesses and governments are incorporating renewables in their environmental or climate change strategies.  

So, why are entities intensifying efforts and investing heavily on renewables in their quest to a cleaner and greener future? 

This article will explain everything you need to know about renewable energy, what are its benefits and major sources or technologies. It will also identify the top companies dominating the sector and their renewable energy technologies propelling the net zero transition. 

What is Renewable Energy and Why Is It Important?

Renewable energy is energy from natural sources that replenish more than they’re consumed. Solar and wind are the common sources of renewable energy; they’re abundant and are present around us. 

On the other hand, non-renewable energy like fossil fuels are finite and takes millions of years to replenish. Coal, oil, and gas are non-renewable sources of energy that once burned, generate large amounts of planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions. 

These GHG blankets the planet and trap the sun’s heat, heating up the Earth.

Producing renewable energy releases far lower emissions than burning fossil fuels. Moving away from fossil fuels, which currently account for the lion’s share of emissions, to renewable energy is key to addressing the climate crisis.

This sustainable energy also helps companies reduce reliance on fossil fuels and thus, cut carbon emissions significantly. 

So, to avoid the worst effects of climate change, the world has to drastically reduce its GHG emissions. Clean and renewable energy can help us get us there… and it comes with plenty of benefits.

Benefits of Using Renewable and Sustainable Energy

Powering up with renewables brings a range of benefits, the major one is providing a freely available source of power. 

As the sector continues to grow, it also creates a surge in job opportunities in developing and installing renewable technologies. Plus, renewables offer better and more affordable access to energy in emerging economies. Renewables are now cheaper in most countries and generate 3x more jobs than fossil fuels. 

And of course, one of the biggest benefits of sourcing energy from renewables is the fact that they’re mostly clean and sustainable. 

The diagram shows the major difference between renewables and fossil fuels in key aspects, including carbon content, cost, and supply. Moreover, rain or shine, the most abundant of renewable resources – solar energy – can be harnessed even in cloudy weather.

And did you know that the rate at which solar energy strikes the Earth is 10,000x more than the rate at which humans consume energy? That means it’s impossible for us to exhaust the energy that the sun provides. 

It’s just that the world must invest $4 trillion annually in renewable energy by 2030 to reach net zero emissions by 2050. Still, the return on this investment will be more than 6-fold – $26 trillion! 

In sum, here are the environmental and economic benefits of using renewable energy:

Producing energy that releases less or no GHG emissions from fossil fuels and reduces air pollution
Diversifying the energy mix and cutting reliance on imported fuels
Creating more jobs in manufacturing, installation, maintenance, etc. 

However, these benefits are not only possible with renewable sources. Nuclear power, too, is dubbed as a clean, zero-carbon energy source; it emits much lower carbon. Some favor nuclear over renewables like solar and wind because it’s a stable source that doesn’t rely on weather conditions. 

Still, the pros of renewable and sustainable power sources outweigh their cons and their consumption will continue to increase sharply. 

So, what are the common renewable energy sources or technologies available right now? Let’s talk about the top five ones.

What Are the Main Sources of Renewable Energy?

There are different technologies that can be used to generate renewable power but the most common ones are the following.

Solar Energy

Rain or shine, solar energy remains the single most abundant source of renewable power. It can be harvested during cloudy weather. 

Moreover, the cost of producing solar panels has gone down substantially in the last 10 years. This makes renewable energy from the sun both affordable and often the cheapest. Not to mention that solar panels can stay up to about 30 years. 

That could be longer as better materials and technologies are becoming available that make them even 1,000x more powerful. This breakthrough is courtesy of the researchers at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU).

Solar technologies convert sunlight into electrical energy through photovoltaic (PV) panels or mirrors that concentrate solar radiation. While not all nations have equal access to sunlight, a considerable share to the energy mix from solar is still possible for every country.

Wind Energy 

This type of renewable energy is infinite as long as the air moves that turns the large wind turbines. It has been around for thousands or even millions of years, even longer than solar energy. 

But it has evolved and improved in generating electricity with both onshore and offshore wind energy technologies getting better. Their turbines become taller and the rotor turns bigger. 

And like solar, the potential to generate power through the wind goes far more than the world’s demand for electricity. Most regions of the world are capable of deploying renewable wind energy, with offshore capacity offering huge potential. 

Hydropower

You might be surprised to know that power from water is the largest share of renewable energy in the power sector. Hydropower can be produced either from running rivers or reservoirs of stored water. 

Reservoirs of hydropower also provide drinking water, irrigation, navigation, drought control, and more. But it depends largely on stable rainfall patterns, so climate-related events like droughts can negatively impact its power generation. Small-scale hydropower is best in remote communities.

Geothermal/Hydrothermal Energy

Another renewable source of power comes from the inner part of the Earth – heat or geothermal reservoirs. It can be harnessed through wells or any other means.

Two kinds of this energy reservoirs are available: hydrothermal, naturally hot enough to create power, and geothermal, hot but needs improvement using hydraulic stimulation. Hot fluids that get on the surface are useful in producing power. 

Generating electricity from hydrothermal reservoirs has been going on for over a century.

Bioenergy

This technology is quite different because it needs more processing to convert to energy. It can be produced from various organic materials known as biomass such as agricultural waste, wood, charcoal, and animal manure.

Compared to burning fossil fuels, burning biomass releases lower GHG levels. However, bioenergy won’t be good for most energy applications because large-scale use may involve significant land-use changes like deforestation. Popular applications would be in aviation as green fuels.

Current State and Outlook for Renewables

As we scramble on our feet to decarbonize the global economy, we need a new energy system that does away with fossil fuels. And clean, sustainable, and renewable sources are the key to it.

The current state of renewables tells us that this new energy is our future. In fact, renewables will account for 90%+ of global electricity capacity expansion from 2022-2027, according to the International Energy Agency.

The global energy crisis is pushing the accelerator on this renewable energy expansion. The Russian-Ukraine conflict has particularly sparked great momentum for renewables.

Moreover, disruptions in fossil fuel supply underlined the benefits of generating domestic energy from renewable sources. It alleviates energy security issues many countries face in relying on fossil fuels. Thus, national governments have and are strengthening policies that boost renewable energy like the case of China, India, the U.S., and the EU.

Higher fossil fuel prices also bolster the competitiveness of renewables, especially solar PVs and wind power against other fuels.

All these factors drive the growth in renewable energy capacity additions as seen in the chart below. Historical data shows rising new renewables capacity from 2017 to 2024.

Net RE Capacity Additions by Technology, 2017-2024

Recently, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) revealed plans to invest $54 billion in renewables over the next 7 years. The largest oil-producing country hopes to achieve 14GW capacity of clean energy by 2030.

Earlier this year, the retail giant Amazon received a go signal from Indian authorities to start trading renewable energy sources in the country. The company has signed a total of 720 MW worth of energy purchasing agreements in India from different renewable sources, solar and wind.

These supports for clean and sustainable sources could be driven by the promising outlook for renewables. The IEA projections show continuous growth for this clean energy sector.

The agency estimated that renewables will become the biggest source of global electricity generation by early 2025, exceeding coal. Annual renewable capacity additions are forecast to increase continuously, hitting a record 460 GW in 2027. In an accelerated case, this capacity goes up to almost 600 GW in the same year as shown below.

In Europe, which is the second largest market after China, renewable electricity expansion will double by 2027 as energy security issues become part of the bloc’s climate ambitions.

The same trend is forecasted in other developed regions and this seems to be the way forward as the world decarbonizes even more. So, who are the major players in this sector?

Four names stand out in the list of top renewable energy companies.

What Are the Top Renewable Energy Companies?

1. General Electric Co. (GE)

As a Fortune 500 company and one of the largest American corporations with an $89 billion market cap, General Electric (GE) is widely recognized for its innovations in power and renewable energy. The company has made huge strides in developing green energy solutions and became a key player in the industry.

GE has been at the forefront of wind energy technology, consistently enhancing turbine designs and improving efficiency. Here is GE in numbers when it comes to its wind energy solutions.

As one of the world’s leading wind turbine suppliers, GE has installed over 49,000 units that generate wind electricity across the globe.

In addition to wind power, GE has also invested in other renewable energy technologies, such as solar power, hydroelectricity, and hybrid.

More remarkably, the top renewable energy company offers data-driven insights, expert recommendations, and advanced field services –  all integrated into a single software platform. This capacity drives more revenue up, costs down, and risks lower in providing wind energy systems.

2. NextEra Energy, Inc.

Making it to the second spot is Florida-based energy solution provider NextEra Energy.

Running with a whopping $147 billion market cap, NextEra has been investing billions in developing renewable energy sources. As one of the largest renewable energy producers in the world, the company leads the charge in solar and wind energy production.

NextEra currently generates a capacity of about 30,000 megawatts from both sources. Its clients are retail and municipal electricity providers, industrial companies, and power cooperatives. With $135 billion in total assets, NextEra is indeed a leader in electricity generated from wind and solar with this coverage.

Map represents areas where NextEra Energy has a presence, operations or development projects. Locations with more than one facility are illustrated with a single dot. Data as of December 2021.

The company aims to invest up to $95 billion in American renewable energy infrastructure through 2025. It’s the same year that the firm plans to reduce its own CO2 emissions by 67% from 2005 levels.

With the slogan “a real plan for a real zero”, NextEra is helping ensure that the next energy to bring America to net zero will be clean, renewable energy.

3. Iberdrola SA

With a market cap of over $72 billion, Spain-based multinational electric utility company Iberdrola SA has more than 170 years of history. The company is a global leader in the generation, distribution, and trading of clean energy.

Iberdrola specializes in onshore and offshore wind, hydro, solar PV, and battery storage solutions. Aside from Spain, it also operates in the U.S., U.K., Mexico, Brazil, and many more countries, over 40 countries, in fact.

Its huge global operations footprint makes it one of the largest renewable energy providers worldwide. The company also covers other clean energy sources like nuclear and natural gas, boasting a diverse energy portfolio.

4. Orsted A/S

Renewable energy company Orsted A/S excels in developing, building, and operation of offshore wind farms. The Danish firm currently owns the prestigious title of being the world’s biggest offshore wind power developer, with a total capacity of over 7.5 GW.

Standing tall at a $36 billion market cap, Orsted A/S has established offshore wind farms in different countries, including the UK, the US, Germany, and Taiwan.

The top renewable energy company visualizes a world that runs entirely on green and renewable energy to limit climate change and power the world sustainably. With that, the company aims to achieve a 99% renewable share of its energy production by 2025.

Renewable Energy Share of Power Production

Overall, it aims is to build 50GW of energy generation capacity across all green energy technologies by 2030. 30 GW is for offshore wind capacity.

The Future Lies in Clean and Renewable Energy

Renewable energy will continue to rise unstoppably, slashing greenhouse gas emissions as it edges out fossil fuels.

Now is the pivotal time for cleaner, greener, and renewable sources of energy. Renewables are at the heart of transformations happening in the global energy system. Their growing deployment is vital for efforts to fight climate change, bring down global temperatures, and save our only planet.

The post What is Renewable Energy? Benefits, Sources, and Top Companies appeared first on Carbon Credits.

ExxonMobil buys Denbury Resources for ~$5 billion to boost its carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) capacity and ramp up its low-carbon energy strategy.

Denbury Resources is an oil and gas producer, specializing in running an extensive CO2 pipeline transport network. It runs across the U.S. Gulf Coast, which includes major oil extraction facilities in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.

Why Exxon Buys a Small-Scale Oil Business?

It’s all about carbon. 

The major oil company’s move to acquire Denbury for $5 billion is for its existing CCUS infrastructure. 

Carbon capture and storage is a booming industry that’s becoming more important in the US. Thanks to President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act which provides tax credits for companies that operate it.

The infrastructure needed for CCUS on a large scale is expensive while building new pipelines is often opposed. 

Thus, Denbury’s existing pipeline infrastructure stretching 1,300 miles is highly valuable. The small oil company has been using CO2 for enhanced oil recovery (EOR). This process injects the gas into oilfields to boost oil production. 

Denbury is using carbon captured from industrial sources and injects 4 million tons of CO2 every year. 

By buying Denbury, Exxon will own the largest operating carbon pipeline network in the country. The Gulf Coast region, in particular, is one of the biggest markets for CCUS in the U.S. Denbury also runs 10 onshore carbon sequestration sites represented in the following map.

Source: ExxonMobil

Boosting Low-Carbon Energy Strategy

Exxon believes that its acquisition of Denbury will help in its lower-carbon energy strategy through a cost-effective CCUS system that it can integrate with its existing carbon solutions. 

As shown in the map, the combined Exxon-Denbury system can potentially reduce CO2 emissions in the region by over 100 million metric tons per year.

The oil major considers CCUS a significant business, estimating that it will be a $4 trillion global market by 2050. This presents a multibillion-dollar income opportunity for Exxon and a revenue stream that will be more valuable and stable than oil and gas. 

This strategy builds on the foundation of long-term contracts that can provide Exxon with a more predictable cash flow stream. The oil company had inked commercial deals to capture and sequester CO2 from various industrial polluters underpinning sequestration hubs it’s building on the Gulf Coast. 

Over the past months, Exxon has partnered with fertilizer company CF Industries, steel manufacturer Nucor and gas producer Linde to capture CO2 from their factories, and transport and store it.

Integrating Denbury’s infrastructure will strengthen Exxon’s ability to capture more CCUS opportunities plus carbon credits.

Carbon capture and carbon credits have been the craze recently in an emerging carbon market. More and more companies are showing huge interest in the market as legislation accelerates worldwide.

Betting on the Carbon Credit Market

Buying Denbury will allow Exxon not only to deliver on its various CCUS deals but gives it a great potential revenue source as the carbon credit market matures.

While still in its early market stage, carbon credits enable companies and industries that can’t easily cut their carbon pollution to offset their carbon emissions. 

Heavy emitters that have no viable alternatives to significantly reduce reliance on fossil fuels turn to carbon offset credits. The cash from the credits will fund or technically support carbon reduction projects and initiatives. 

Each credit equals one tonne of carbon reduced or removed (with CCUS) from the atmosphere. 

It’s not only Exxon that’s betting on carbon capture and the credits it generates. Other big oil companies are also putting their money into it such as Occidental, Chevron, and Shell. 

There are also other carbon capture approaches designed to draw CO2 directly from the air instead of industrial plants. The captured CO2 is also transported toward its destination, either deep underground or for further application. 

The CCUS, same with other carbon market segments, also comes with critics. Some think that the sector won’t be feasible while others believe it doesn’t cut dependence on fossil fuels. 

Still, the upward trend and positive outlook of the market show that carbon credits serve a significant purpose in cutting down carbon emissions. Be it for providing alternatives to fossil fuel reliance or promoting sustainable business practices, the carbon credit market is projected to grow strongly.

Exxon’s $5 billion purchase of Denbury sees them placing a flag in the carbon market space. The strategic acquisition will allow the oil producer to scale up its low-carbon business. Their deal will close in the fourth quarter of this year.

Overall, Exxon plans to invest a total of $17 billion on low-carbon projects and cutting down its own carbon emissions.

The post Exxon Buys CO2 Pipeline Operator, Betting $5B on Carbon Capture appeared first on Carbon Credits.

L.A.-based carbon capture startup Avnos signed strategic investment deals worth over $80 million with big oil companies, Shell and ConocoPhillips, and JetBlue to ramp up commercialization of its novel Hybrid Direct Air Capture (HDAC) technology. 

Founded in 2020, Avnos focuses on developing and deploying scalable, flexible, and cost-effective technology in the DAC market. 

The company has been awarded multi-million-dollar projects from the U.S. Department of Energy to demonstrate its HDAC solution. It also got awards from the U.S. Office of Naval Research to pilot carbon capture and e-fuel production.

Avnos’ Hybrid DAC Technology is a “Twofer”

Global greenhouse gas emissions hit record high in 2021 and projection shows the figures will continue to increase without rapid climate actions done. This year’s record-breaking wildfires, storms, floods, and heat events are the proofs. 

To prevent those disasters from getting worse, reducing carbon emissions and removing what’s already in the air are critical. Climate experts highlighted the need for billions of tons of annual CO2 removal (CDR) capacity to significantly reduce emissions.

That gave rise to the birth of different startups with the aim to remove carbon dioxide. Popular existing DAC companies include Climeworks, Global Thermostat, Charm Industrial, and Equatic among others. They’re taking different approaches to directly removing CO2 from the air and water. 

But what Avnos is offering to the market is unique and innovative: capturing carbon and producing water anywhere there’s air. 

The carbon capture company said that its novel HDAC tech is a “twofer” for tackling the climate crises. Its pioneering moisture-responsive carbon adsorbent tech directly sucks in CO2 from the air and produces water as a byproduct. 

In a sense, it’s addressing global warming and water scarcity. Plus, it doesn’t use heat as an input but employs a moisture swing adsorbent instead, which significantly lowers energy consumption. 

In comparison, existing DAC approaches consume large quantities of water while Avnos HDAC produces water. The water byproduct is then used to drive the company’s carbon capture operations. 

According to the startup, its HDAC performs best in four major areas versus other DAC systems in place. These include total energy use, thermal energy use, water consumption/production, and costs. The video shows how Avnos hybrid direct air capture technology works.

Last week, a similar carbon capture technology by another California-based startup, Capture6, secured a grant of over $8 million from the California Energy Commission. The company also produces freshwater in removing carbon but uses brine, a byproduct of water treatment facilities, to produce a solvent that captures CO2.

Removing Carbon and Selling Credits

Avnos HDAC system uses modules about the size of a 20-foot shipping container. It pulls in air and runs it in a series of filters and condensed water is then collected, pumped out, and stored. The captured carbon goes into the storage tank. 

The company said there’s a 5-to-1 ratio of water produced for each ton of captured CO2. This water may create more revenue streams for Avnos while the big oil backers can convert the CO2 into e-fuels. 

The $80+ million investment is a huge bet on engineered or technological solutions for mitigating climate change. 

ConocoPhillips finds Avnos carbon capture technology a promising solution that “reduces carbon emissions crucial to enable an orderly energy transition”. 

What captures Shell Ventures’ interest is the “potential of Avnos’ technology to reduce energy demand in capturing CO2”. JetBlue believes that the HDAC system plays an important role in e-fuels production. 

Remarking on their strategic partnerships, Will Kain, CEO of Avnos, said:

“Adding blue-chip strategic partners such as ConocoPhillips, JetBlue Ventures, and Shell provides us with an incredible opportunity to access more resources, know-how, and global reach to meaningfully accelerate our deployment schedule. Ultimately, we will be able to remove more atmospheric carbon, faster, and at lower costs than we would have been able to on our own.”

The amount of carbon removed by Avnos generates corresponding carbon credits that it can use to offset its own emissions. Each credit equals one tonne of carbon removal. Or the startup can turn it into an income source by selling them to other companies looking for carbon offsets. 

A pilot version of the Avnos HDAC facility will open later this year in Bakersfield, California. It can remove 30 tons of CO2 a year and produce 150 tons of water. 

A bigger, commercial-grade system can increase this capacity by 100x – 300 tons of carbon and 1,500 tons of water. The modules are stackable to increase the capacity even more but would need larger renewable power installations. 

Avnos will use the funding to supply commercial-ready HDAC systems by the end of 2025. 

The post Carbon Capture Startup Secures $80M from Shell, ConocoPhillips, JetBlue appeared first on Carbon Credits.

Mercedes-Benz announced that they sold 56,300 electric vehicles (EVs) in Q2, up 123% from the same quarter in previous year. This affirms the German luxury carmaker’s commitment to reducing its carbon emissions and bringing its new fleet to net zero across the value chain by 2039. 

Fully EVs now account for 11% of Mercedes-Benz overall sales year-to-date that’s also up by 6% in Q2. The sales were bolstered by strong demand for EVs particularly in Germany and the U.S.

Increasing this percentage is crucial for the company to continuously reduce and eliminate its carbon emissions.

Mercedes-Benz’s Carbon Footprint

The luxury carmaker has been accounting for its carbon emissions – Scope 1 and Scope 2 – in accordance with standard protocols. 

In 2022, Mercedes-Benz has the following carbon emissions, which don’t include Scope 3 accounting. The first table is for its entire operations while the second is specific CO2 emissions per vehicle type.

Total carbon footprint from energy use in 2022 is 663 tons (market-based), down by 42% compared to 2021 (1,148 tons). The same trend can be observed for the CO2 emissions specifically from each vehicle type shown below. Total pollution from cars was down by over 51% while emissions from vans also went down by 43%. 

The company’s goal is to cut by at least 50% the emissions per passenger car by the end of this decade, compared to 2020. The goal of cutting the carbon emissions of its new car fleet by 40% compared to 2018 in relation to the use phase (well-to-wheel) has been approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

Mercedes-Benz Climate Pledge and Transform to Net Zero

The luxury car brand aims to go all electric by 2030 as part of its ambitious electrification and decarbonization goals. In detail, here are the company’s climate targets and its progress as of 2022.

Achieving these requires various means, including renewable energy, charging with green electricity, improving battery technology, among other emission elimination strategies.

The German automaker joined Amazon’s initiative “The Climate Pledge” aimed at contributing to meeting the Paris goals ten years earlier. In signing the agreement, Mercedes-Benz agrees to:

Measure and report GHG emissions regularly, 
Implement decarbonization strategies in line with the Paris Agreement, and
Invest in initiatives that compensate unavoidable emissions with real, additional, permanent, and quantifiable carbon offset credits. 

The carmaker joined the Amazon and Global Optimism climate pact in 2020, supporting it with its own decarbonization initiative – the Ambition 2039. This ambition means making the entire new vehicle fleet of the company carbon neutral across the value chain by 2039.

In the same year, Mercedes-Benz Vans and Amazon revealed the largest order by Amazon for EVs from the German carmaker. The giant retailer ordered over 1,800 battery-electric vehicles for use across Europe.  

About ⅕ of total GHG emissions in Europe are a result of transporting people and goods. The Stuttgart-based carmaker is taking actions to address this trend and integrate climate change mitigation into its core business strategy. 

Hence, Mercedes-Benz is also a founding member of “Transform to Net Zero“, a climate initiative of nine large companies and launched by Microsoft. Its goal is to pool the companies’ expertise to create positive conditions for a broader decarbonization of the economy and society.

Emphasizing the importance of this net zero transformation, the company’s COO Markus Schäfer said that:

“With Ambition 2039, we have marked out a way for Mercedes-Benz to bring our new car fleet to “net zero CO2” within less than 20 years – and not only in driving operations, but along the entire value chain. Starting in 2022, our passenger cars and vans will be produced CO2-neutrally in the more than 30 plants of Mercedes-Benz AG worldwide.”

Directly Sourcing Lithium for Sustainable Electrification 

One big part of turning those ambitions into reality is by securing high-quality lithium for EV battery production. Directly sourcing this mineral is vital for Mercedes-Benz to scale up its fully EV production. 

Lithium hydroxide is needed for the production of lithium-ion batteries used in the German carmaker’s EVs.

Last year, the automaker inked a supply deal with Canadian-German-start-up Rock Tech Lithium for the supply of battery-grade lithium hydroxide. The deal provides that both companies work together to create a roadmap to achieving carbon neutral lithium production by 2030. 

Their partnership was revealed after the signing of agreement between Mercedes-Benz AG and Canada to explore more cooperation across the automotive value chain, focusing on natural resources development. Responsibly mined and processed materials like lithium are key for achieving a sustainable electrification of Mercedes-Benz entire vehicle fleet.

The U.S. is also in desperate need of a massive supply of domestic lithium to get to net zero. American Lithium Corporation, which has two of the largest lithium deposits in the Americas, aims to fill in the huge gap in supply and demand for this critical mineral. 

And as demand for luxury electric vehicles continues to rise, so too is Mercedes-Benz’s need for more lithium. In choosing resource sourcing partners, the German automaker decides based on protection of human rights and the environment. 

Ultimately, Mercedes-Benz never stops working on finding ways to further cut down its CO₂ emissions as well as the amount of rare metals needed for each electric vehicle it manufactures. 

The post Mercedes-Benz Q2 EV Sales Up 123%, Aims to Bring New Fleet to Net Zero by 2039 appeared first on Carbon Credits.