Assessing the Impact of Voluntary Actions on the Grid

Investment Rating - The report does not explicitly provide an investment rating for the industry. Core Insights - The voluntary procurement of clean energy by corporations has significantly driven renewable energy development, with over 70 gigawatts of renewable energy contracts signed in the U.S. since 2014 [7] - The urgency of the climate crisis is leading large energy consumers to assess the impact of their actions on grid decarbonization and reliability, utilizing consequential emissions impact analysis [7][8] - The ZEROgrid initiative aims to clarify the consensus on consequential emissions impact analysis and its implications for corporate actors [8] Summary by Sections Areas of Consensus - The true impact of any voluntary corporate action is defined as the difference in total emissions between a scenario where the action is taken and one where it is not [9] - The impact comprises several contributing effects, including short-run operations of power plants and long-term structural changes [9][12] - There is a lack of a universally accepted method to empirically verify estimates of structural change, leading to significant uncertainty in total impact measurements [10] Components of Impact - Emissions impact can occur through changes in power supply or demand, costs of power plants, and the rate of renewable energy project interconnections [12] - The total emissions from power plants are calculated based on capacity, utilization, and emissions factors, with companies able to influence these variables to reduce emissions [13] - The distinction between short-run and long-run impacts is crucial, as utilization changes quickly while capacity adjustments take longer [15] Additionality - Additionality refers to the additive nature of an intervention's emissions reductions, which can be influenced by direct impacts on grid emissions and overall structural changes [20] - An action may be considered non-additional if it does not impact capacity, utilization, or emissions factors, or if it induces equal and opposite changes [20] Estimates Versus True Values - The practice of consequential emissions impact analysis faces challenges in validating estimates due to the inability to observe both scenarios (with and without the action) simultaneously [21] - Various models exist to estimate impacts, including capacity expansion models and regression models, each with different levels of uncertainty [22][24] Conclusions and Future Research - The report emphasizes the need for continued exploration of how to compare model outputs and improve understanding of consequential impact assessments [25] - Future research will focus on identifying consistently high-impact actions and bounding uncertainties in estimates to inform policymakers [25]