Only one utility relies on renewables, says WWF report
WASHINGTON, DC, US, 2004-12-08 Refocus Weekly
Only one of the major electric utilities in the world is using renewable energy to address the threat of climate change.
Florida Power & Light was the sole utility in the United States to be
credited with making use of available technologies to address the threat that
climate change poses to the environment, says the World Wildlife Fund in
‘Ranking Power.’ The report analyzes 72 of the world's leading power
companies, which collectively generate two-thirds of the electricity in OECD
(Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development) countries and Russia.
The utilities are the largest contributors to climate change, but WWF says they
fail to significantly invest in renewable energies and efficient energy to
reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Two-thirds of the companies received a
score of less than one out of a possible ten for their response to global
warming, with 90% of them raking below three.
FPL scored 4.3, the highest in the U.S. and second in the world, primarily due
to its leadership in developing wind energy and its commitment to dramatically
improve their efficiency.
“The power sector is the biggest single polluter of GHG, responsible for 37%
of CO2 emissions from the burning of fossil fuels,” says Jennifer Morgan of
WWF. “However, the companies we analyzed are completely unprepared for
fundamental change in the way they invest in clean and efficient energy. If they
keep polluting our atmosphere by burning carbon-rich coal, the window of
opportunity to avoid a global warming crisis will soon be closed.”
The rankings assess 40% of a utility’s overall score based on current use of
emission-reducing technologies, and the balance from commitments for future
improvement. In the U.S., one quarter had a cumulative score of zero and three
quarters came in below one.
“The sorry performance of most American power companies is unfortunately no
big surprise,” adds Katherine Silverthorne. “As long as U.S. companies fail
to recognize the business case for clean energy technologies, their continued
reliance on the most polluting fuels will leave us technologically outdated. The
recent surge in applications for coal-fired facilities shows that many companies
are still in denial about the magnitude of the risk."
The 72 large power companies were ranked in terms of production, sale and
investment in renewables and gas-CHP. WWF solicited information directly and
relied on public data when companies were non-responsive. Many countries and
states within the U.S. have passed green power mandates and WWF assumes
companies will comply with the laws but “their plans for how to do so are in
many cases unavailable” and are not included in the ranking.
WWF excludes waste incineration, large hydro and peat from its definition of
renewable energy.
FPL is one of the first U.S. utilities to join WWF’s PowerSwitch! program,
which includes a commitment to support binding limits on CO2 emissions. Partners
must agree to use renewables as a source for 20% of their electricity, to
increase energy efficiency by 15% or to retire the least efficient half of their
coal generation by 2020.
“Florida Power & Light and other PowerSwitch! Pioneers are proving that
power companies can do the right thing for the environment and their bottom line
at the same time,” says Silverthorne. “It's time for other companies to step
up, to make the public commitments and to take the actions that will benefit
people in helping to solve the global warming crisis.”
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