AVANGRID, Inc. (NYSE: AGR) today released its 2019 Sustainability Report as it pledged to intensify its investments in a smarter, cleaner energy future throughout the pandemic crisis and beyond.
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The 2019 Sustainability Report, titled “Working Together for a Clean Energy Future,” tracks AVANGRID’s sustainability performance across economic, environmental, social and governance perspectives.
AVANGRID has been named among the World’s Most Ethical companies by Ethisphere in 2019 and 2020, and is among the cleanest U.S. energy companies, operating one of the nation’s largest renewable fleets with 90% of emissions-free generation capacity.
While COVID-19 has upended lives and created business uncertainty, CEO James P. Torgerson said AVANGRID remains committed to its purpose of working together to deliver a more accessible clean energy model that promotes healthier, more sustainable communities every day.
“I see reason for optimism,” Torgerson said. “Although our world is changing, we remain committed to our vision of building a cleaner, smarter energy future. From Fortune 500 companies pledging to go carbon-neutral to families seeking to take control over their energy use, our customers understand what’s at stake — and they’re not waiting for policy makers to set the rules and boundaries. They expect us to lead the way.”
Among the 2019 achievements highlighted in the report:
- Avangrid Renewables, the third largest U.S. wind operator, commissioned 831 megawatts (MW) of new wind projects and prepared for the construction of 700 MW of onshore wind and 366 MW of wind repowering projects in 2020.
- The 17,479 gigawatt-hours of electricity produced by Avangrid Renewables’ wind and solar facilities allowed customers to avoid 12.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions — roughly equivalent to emissions avoided by removing 2.6 million cars from the road for a year*.
- The company achieved emissions intensity in 2019 of 73 grams of CO2 per kilowatt-hour of electricity produced six times lower than the 2019 U.S. utility average. AVANGRID has a goal to reduce CO2 emissions intensity from its electric generation 25% by the end of 2020, compared with a 2015 baseline, and to be carbon neutral by the end of 2035.
- AVANGRID consolidated its leadership in the emerging offshore wind industry. Vineyard Wind’s permitting process continued to move forward and Park City Wind, an 804-MW project also in joint venture with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, was selected in Connecticut’s first offshore RFP.
- The New England Clean Energy Connect(NECEC) transmission project, which will deliver 1,200 MW of hydropower from Québec to the New England power grid, continues to move forward, achieving important regulatory approvals. The proposed project, undertaken in partnership with Hydro-Québec, is expected to reduce regional CO2 emissions by 3.0-3.6 million metric tons – the equivalent of taking at least 700,000 cars off the road.
In keeping with its commitment to sustainability, AVANGRID has also pledged to support the communities, customers and businesses on which its companies rely through the COVID-19 crisis.
AVANGRID and the Avangrid Foundation have pledged more than $2 million toward coronavirus relief and recovery efforts. These dollars are being directed to partners nationwide that provide emergency response and community support. During the pandemic, AVANGRID’s electric and gas utilities have suspended shut-offs for nonpayment and late payment penalties as they work with regulators and lawmakers to find ways to mitigate the pandemic’s impact.
* The environmental and green attributes attributable to the electric generation from Avangrid Renewables’ facilities have been or likely will be sold or transferred to third parties, who are solely entitled to the reporting and other rights to all renewable energy credits, emissions reductions, offsets, allowances and the avoided emissions of greenhouse gas pollutants, collectively environmental attributes. Avangrid Renewables is not claiming ownership of any environmental attributes from its renewable generation fleet for any purpose, including compliance with any federal or state law or reporting to any federal or state agency, or any other present or future federal, state, local, international, foreign, or voluntary renewable energy, emission reduction or emissions trading program.
About AVANGRID: AVANGRID, Inc. (NYSE: AGR) is a leading, sustainable energy company with approximately $35 billion in assets and operations in 24 U.S. states. With headquarters in Orange, Connecticut, AVANGRID has two primary lines of business: Avangrid Networks and Avangrid Renewables. Avangrid Networks owns eight electric and natural gas utilities, serving more than 3.3 million customers in New York and New England. Avangrid Renewables owns and operates a portfolio of renewable energy generation facilities across the United States. AVANGRID employs approximately 6,600 people. AVANGRID supports the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals and was named among the World’s Most Ethical Companies in 2019 and 2020 by the Ethisphere Institute. For more information, visit www.avangrid.com.
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