NextEra Energy has committed to eliminate carbon emissions from its operations by no later than 2045, while leveraging low-cost renewables to provide affordable energy for its customers.
Reaching the goal would require “significant investment” by the company and transform its generation fleet by eliminating all scope 1 and scope 2 carbon emissions across NextEra Energy’s operations, while enhancing reliability, resiliency, affordability and cost certainty for the many customer groups it serves, NextEra stated.
The company has developed the Zero Carbon Blueprint, a comprehensive carbon-emissions-reduction plan, to outline the steps it would need to take to achieve its goals and track its progress.
The company has set interim milestones every five years to transform its generation mix to increasingly produce electricity from zero-carbon-emissions resources until Real Zero is achieved.
Using NextEra Energy’s 2005 standard adjusted baseline, the company now plans to reach a carbon-emissions-reduction rate of 70% by 2025, exceeding its previous commitment.
Under its Real Zero goal, the company would improve that carbon emissions reduction rate to 82% by 2030, 87% by 2035 and 94% by 2040 before striving to achieve Real Zero by no later than 2045.
The plan would result in NextEra Energy “decarbonising itself”, while leveraging its “considerable scale and expertise” to help its power sector and commercial and industrial customers reduce and, ultimately, eliminate carbon emissions from their own operations.
The company intends to help lead the decarbonisation of the US economy, a more than $4tn market opportunity, by significantly increasing low-cost renewable energy deployment.
“Our Real Zero goal to eliminate carbon emissions from our operations is a real goal that would make a significant difference for our customers,” said John Ketchum, president and chief executive officer, NextEra Energy.
As the producer of more electricity than any other US energy provider, NextEra Energy plans to leverage its Zero Carbon Blueprint to reduce carbon emissions along three parallel paths.
First, NextEra Energy intends to decarbonise its own business, beginning with the commitment to eliminate carbon emissions, without the need for carbon offsets, from its operations by no later than 2045.
Second, the company plans to help decarbonise more of the US power sector through continued investments and innovation in wind, solar, battery storage, green hydrogen and other renewable energy development.
Third, NextEra Energy would also help lead the decarbonisation of the US economy by working to become the preferred partner for customers to help them reduce or eliminate carbon emissions in their own operations.