Apr 8, 2024
May
10
2021
Expanding our renewable energy portfolio
Leveraging our Power business as a platform for future growth and diversification, TC Energy is seeking to identify and contract with and/or invest in renewable energy projects that could generate up to 3.2 million MWh/year of zero carbon energy comprising of up to 620 MW of wind, 300 MW of solar and 100 MW of battery storage capacity.
Using wind, solar and storage to serve our existing power demand
This initiative could generate more than 1,000 megawatts of zero carbon energy to meet the electricity needs for a portion of our U.S. pipeline assets. In April 2021, we issued a Request for Information (RFI) for wind energy projects, which closed in May. And on the heels of that announcement we issued an additional RFI (May 2021) to include solar and storage.
Corey Hessen
TC Energy SVP and President, Power, Storage and Commercial Marketing
Building on our history
As renewable electricity demand grows across North America, new solar, wind and energy storage capacity will be needed to meet that growing demand and facilitate a shift in the energy mix.
On the Q1 results earnings call (May 2021), François Poirier, TC Energy President and CEO, said our goal is to build on our long history of success and be agnostic to which form of energy will ultimately lead to a lower carbon energy future. “Whether it's renewables and the firming resources needed to manage their intermittency, electrifying our fleet or other emerging technologies, our existing asset base, technical capabilities, innovative approach and financial strength means that we are well positioned to prosper irrespective of the pace or direction energy transition takes.”
It is early days, but (on the wind RFI) we sent it out to more than 100 developers and potential participants and we've had more than a 50 per cent response – these are good numbers, Corey said.
TC Energy’s sustainable energy investments
- Approximately 75 per cent of power capacity is emission-less
- In the U.S., five per cent of our natural gas compression fleet is electric driven, ranging as far back as 50 years, avoiding approximately 500,000 tonnes of CO2e annually
- In Canada, 10 per cent of our compression fleet is electric, lowering our emission levels
- Since 2019, we’ve pursued investments in next-generation technology and clean fuel research, such as:
- A novel, utility-scale solar-plus-storage electricity generation facility that contemplates the use of state-of-the-art bifacial solar panels that take advantage of local climate conditions
- Developing a 1,000 megawatt Pumped Hydro Storage Project; one of the largest climate-change initiatives being developed in Canada. The state-of-the-art design, incorporates the latest and best technologies to fully enhance a reliable and proven energy storage solution that accounts for 95 per cent of current global energy storage
TC Energy
Sustainability
