BAKU, Azerbaijan, Apr.23
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
Uniper intends to invest a total of €2.7 billion (excluding significant acquisitions) between 2021 and the end of 2023 for its carbon-neutral goals, Trend reports citing the company.
“In March 2020, we pledged to make our European power generation portfolio carbon-neutral by 2035. This ambitious commitment reflects a fundamental strategic reorientation that focuses on a secure and progressively climate-friendlier energy supply. We will gradually reduce our portfolio’s carbon emissions and offer customers products and services that are increasingly climate-friendly. To support these commitments, we intend to invest a total of €2.7 billion (excluding significant acquisitions) between 2021 and the end of 2023. A portion of these investments is allocated to growth projects,” the company said in its Sustainability Report.
All investments of Uniper must meet three key criteria. “First, as in the past, they must create value for Uniper, and its shareholders. Second, they have to fit with our core business, which is to provide a secure supply of energy. Thirdly, they must contribute to, or at least not hinder, the achievement of our decarbonization target and pass the ESG evaluation. Examples of such investments include power-to-gas (P2G), utility-scale energy storage, and technologies like green and blue hydrogen, carbon capture and utilization (CCU), and the synthetic, carbon-neutral fuels and chemicals that will enable companies in other sectors to decarbonize.”
Low-carbon hydroelectricity already accounts for 3.7 GW, or 15 percent, of the company’s installed generating capacity in Europe.
“We also procure renewable electricity by means of power-purchase agreements (PPAs). Under a PPA, Uniper or another counterparty agrees to buy a percentage of the output of a future renewables asset – usually a wind or solar farm – for a set period (typically 10 or 15 years) at an agreed-on price. We have PPAs with wind and solar farms in Norway, Sweden, Spain, and the United States and intend to conclude more,” said Uniper.
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn