Sustainability - Renewable Procurement

Renewable Energy Solutions

SOLAR, WIND, FUEL CELLS(bio-gas), BATTERIES, GREEN HYDROGEN AND MORE

@mpedup energy helps organizations reduce their energy emissions as part of adopting more sustainable business practices through renewable energy sourcing. We provide many renewable energy solutions to fit your organization’s needs and sustainability targets.

With so many renewable energy options available, it can be challenging to keep up with what’s available; How does your company benefit? and Why you should consider renewable procurement as part of your holistic energy management strategy?

The availability of natural occuring fuel resources (e.g. hydro, solar, wind, bio-gas, hydrogen) specific to your particular geographic location influences which technology makes the most sense for your needs. Additionally, local incentives, various market dynamics, and your organizational goals all play a role in determining which technologies make the most sense to pursue. The process starts with a conversation on your goals and ends with a plan for energy sustainability you can stand behind.

Below we break down the basic options to help you better understand each. It’s important to note that to claim that your organization is “green,” you must own and retire any RECs you purchase.

Compliance vs. Voluntary Renewable Sourcing

The first place to start is recognizing that many states require a percentage of energy sales be sourced from qualifying renewable energy sources or thus place a "Compliance" requirement on energy sales. The first distinction is that this is a compliance obligation placed on energy sellers, not end users. Legally, these liabilities are shielded from the consumer, but the associated costs of compliance are passed down to consumers through as an additional component of the energy bill you receive from your energy supplier.

Voluntary sourcing of renewable energy through a PPA or VPPA, is the act whereby the end user arranges for renewable energy to be delivered to their metered facilities via their energy supplier and subsequent local utility. This is a very complex solution yet the one most desired by end-use consumers. We are willing to work with you on finding the best solution that meets your needs if this is the path you would like to take as part of an overall energy procurement strategy.

Another renewable solution might be just to purchase qualified Renewable Energy Certificates (or RECs) of a stated technology and production vintage year for an equivalent amount of energy consumption (1MWh = 1REC).

Sustainability - GhG Emissions

Energy reductions in general can be considered a proxy for reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, since emissions from fossil fuels are by far the largest source of emissions from energy production and consumption, typically around 95 percent. If fossil fuel consumption is reduced, emissions are reduced. Defining the targets in this way allows the analysis to consider on-site or off-site renewable energy, energy demand reductions, utility company renewable supply sources, and even Renewable Energy Credits to help a facility, realize its goals to reduce both energy and emissions. It allows maximum flexibility to users at the same time it achieves real reductions.

In light of this approach, it is useful to provide some further context specific to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Some organizations may find it worthwhile to report on both energy consumption and GHG emissions, and it may soon be a requirement to do so. Organizations produce GHG emissions through travel, building energy use, and procurement of goods, equipment, and materials. In general, modern practices in industrialized economies are highly energy intensive due to sophisticated buildings, high levels of product procurement, and transportation-related activities, which all rely heavily on the use of fossil fuels for energy.

GHG emissions from energy use are attributed to operations such as fuel consumption for provision of gas heating and electricity consumption. The type of fuel used for heating and the fuel source used to generate electricity will have a significant effect on the level of GHG emissions associated with building operations. Due to the high energy intensity of the U.S. commercial and industrial sectors and the fact that U.S. electricity is primarily generated through fossil fuels, GHG emissions from office space, tenant buildings, hospital facilities, retail stores are substantial.

Scope of Greenhouse Gas Emissions. GHG emissions are broken down into three scopes:

Scope 1 emissions are those that occur from sources owned or controlled by the institution and can include on-site stationary combustion of fossil fuels, mobile combustion of fossil fuels by fleet vehicles, and fugitive emissions. Fugitive emissions are those caused by intentional or unintentional releases of GHGs, which include refrigerant leakage and waste anesthetic gas discharge.

Scope 2 emissions include indirect emissions generated as a result of the off-site production of electricity that is consumed by an entity. These emissions occur as part of the process of producing the electricity (e.g., combustion of coal).

Scope 3 emissions are indirect emissions that occur as a consequence of an entity's activities but come from sources outside the control of the organization. This includes emissions such as those related to waste disposal, commuting, production/transportation of goods, and outsourced activities.

In most GHG reporting protocols, only Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions are included in the inventory due to the difficulty of measuring Scope 3 types.

In a typical facility, the largest sources of Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions are related to electricity and natural gas consumption. In most cases, this accounts for more than 95 percent of the inventory. For this reason, energy can be used as a proxy for GHG emissions within a typical facility. Sustainability practices that follow the model of reducing GhG emissions include both target-setting, strategic plan development, renewable sourcing, project scoping and project implementation.