Abstract
Exelon Corporation has been a leading provider of reliable, low carbon generation since its formation in 2001. The company has advocated for a price on carbon and voiced support for climate change action. In 2008, Exelon announced its Exelon 2020 goal to abate 15.7 million metric tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions annually by 2020. By focusing on internal operations, overall grid emissions and customer energy efficiency programs, Exelon 2020 pushed the bounds of traditional GHG management by using an end-to-end value chain perspective. This strategic approach created value by informing and guiding investment decisions, shaping corporate culture, providing competitive advantage for customers and positioning the company as a leader on environmental public policy. The future of carbon policy remains uncertain, but by most indications, we are transitioning to a less carbon intensive world. Positioning the company for this future is fundamental to the sustainability of the business. The Exelon 2020 program helped to bridge the topic and shows how reliability, customer and shareholder value, and competitive markets are an important part of the carbon conversation.
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Notes
- 1.
Carbon dioxide, methane, and other compounds that trap heat in the atmosphere known collectively as “greenhouse gases” and referred to here as “GHG.”
- 2.
Carbon—carbon is used in this chapter interchangeably with greenhouse gas, and referred to simply as carbon or carbon emissions.
- 3.
“Carbon intensity profile” means greenhouse gas emissions per unit of electrical generation, or “intensity.”
- 4.
When demand for electricity goes up, such as during a heat or cold spell, total cumulative emissions go up as well.
- 5.
By “carbon legislation” we mean legislative limits on greenhouse gas emissions.
- 6.
Nuclear uprates—means increasing the electrical generation capacity of a nuclear power station.
- 7.
World Resource Institute defines Scope 1 emissions as those direct from a company’s operations, while Scope 2 are the indirect emissions associated with the generation of the electricity that company is using.
- 8.
Scope 3 emissions are those associated with the production, distribution or use of your business product beyond your owned or operated corporate boundary. In this context it refers to the electricity that our customers purchase and use, beyond that which is generated by our generation stations.
- 9.
“Customer abatement” means the megawatt-hours (MWh) reduced as a result of our electric utilities’ mandated energy efficiency programs and fossil emissions avoided as a result of renewable energy credits that we retired on behalf of our customers.
- 10.
“Nuclear displacement” means MWh of marginal fossil unit dispatch that is avoided as a result of our increased production at our nuclear plants.
- 11.
A “REC” is a renewable energy credit equal to one MWh of electricity with the environmental attributes of a specific renewable electric generation source.
- 12.
Renewable portfolio standards (RPS) refers to state-mandated percentages of renewable generation required in the overall mix of coal, nuclear, hydro, etc.
- 13.
Regulated utilities are restricted from exceeding their regulatory targets due to customer rate case agreements that prevent additional investment beyond what has been approved by the local Public Utility Commission.
- 14.
In later years, this report became part of Exelon’s Corporate Sustainability Report.
- 15.
The Production Tax Credit (PTC) gave tax advantages to renewable production projects by crediting electric production from these sources regardless of whether that generation was needed on the grid at the time of generation.
- 16.
The energy value chain is defined as including upstream fuel development through utility-scale generation, electrical and natural gas distribution, distributed generation, retail sales, and beyond the meter customer services that help manage end-user energy use and cost.
- 17.
Per EPA GHG equivalency calculator (4.75 mt CO2e/car/year).
- 18.
Offsets are credits that document carbon reductions from a specific project.
- 19.
Includes avoided emissions of 18.1 million 2013; 14 million in 2012; 12.9 million in 2011; 8.9 million in 2010; 7.9 million in 2009; and 6 million in 2008.
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© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
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Gould, C.D., Brady, W.J., Dickersbach, M., Alexander, B., Picardi, A. (2016). Exelon Corporation: Strategic Greenhouse Gas Management. In: Fox, J. (eds) Sustainable Electricity. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28953-3_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28953-3_9
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