Category Archives: Net zero

5 ways of visualising emission reduction pathways

2019, Carbon, Energy Efficiency, Net zero, Presentations, Renewable Energy, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Many of our services involve the development of emission reduction pathways, which greatly enhance climate change action plans. In this blog post, we will show you 5 common ways to visually display such a pathway. Seeing these different illustrations can help you to shape how you would like to present your own organisation’s pathway towards a low carbon future.

Introduction

What are emission reduction pathways?

Emission reduction pathways allow for the easy communication of

  • where your organisation is currently at in terms of greenhouse emissions (or energy consumption)
  • where you can be through the implementation of reduction measures that are feasible and cost-effective over time
  • where you would be in the absence of any measures to reduce emissions

Pathways usually start with your selected baseline year and end at some point in the future, typically at 2030, or when agreed or proposed targets are to be met.

What do emission reduction pathways cover?

Boundary:

Your emissions boundary will typically consider three things:

  • The level of an organisation or region you want to assess in terms of emissions reduction. This could be a single site, an asset class (e.g. community buildings), a Division in an organisation, a whole organisation, a town or community, and up to State and National levels.
  • The emissions and energy sources that you want to evaluate. For example, electricity, natural gas, petrol, diesel, refrigerants, waste, wastewater and so on.
  • The Scopes of emissions you want to include. Typically Scope 2 (electricity) is included, and material Scope 1 emissions (on-site combustion or direct emissions). Selected Scope 3 emissions may also be included, such as upstream emissions associated with energy usage and waste.

Units of measure:

The unit for reductions or savings to be modelled will typically be tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, or a unit of energy, such as kilowatt-hours or megajoules.

What greenhouse gas reduction measures are considered in abatement pathways?

For most organisations greenhouse gas reduction measures usually relate to six high-level carbon abatement areas as shown in Figure 1 below, being

  • Energy efficiency
  • Management of waste and other Scope 3 emissions sources
  • Sustainable transport
  • Local generation of renewable energy such as rooftop solar PV
  • Grid decarbonisation
  • Buying clean energy and/or carbon offsets

These high-level categories can be further broken down into as many subcategories as relevant within your selected organisation boundary.

Figure 1: 6 categories for carbon reduction opportunities

The need for a graphical representation of emissions pathways

For many people, it is hard to engage with complex data presented in a table or report. In our experience, it is most effective if abatement potential can be shown in a graph. The visual representation of a carbon abatement pathway allows people to better grasp the overall opportunity for abatement, where this will come from, and the timeframes involved.

It also helps organisations to better communicate their plans to their stakeholders, be they internal or external. Simple and well-presented graphics can also help when seeking decisions to budget for and implement cost-effective measures.

5 ways to graphically represent emission reduction pathways

There are many different ways you can display an emissions reduction pathway; some are more suited to specific circumstances than others. The five examples we are using in this blog post are:

  1. Line chart
  2. Waterfall chart
  3. Area chart
  4. Column chart
  5. Marginal Abatement Cost Curve (MACC)

Let’s look at these examples in detail.

Example #1 – line chart

A line chart is a simple but effective way to communicate a ‘Business-as-usual’ or BAU pathway compared with planned or target pathways at a total emissions level for your selected boundary. Such a boundary could be comparing your whole-business projected emissions with and without action to reduce greenhouse gases.

This type of graph is also useful to report on national emissions compared with required pathways to achieve Australia’s Paris commitments, for example.

Figure 2: Example of a line chart

Example #2 – waterfall chart

A waterfall chart focuses on abatement measures. It shows the size of the abatement for each initiative, progressing towards a specific target, such as 100% renewable electricity, for example. It is most useful to highlight the relative impact of different actions, but it does not show the timeline of implementation.

Figure 3: Example of a waterfall chart

Example #3 – area graph

Area graphs show the size of abatement over time and are a great way to visualise your organisation’s potential pathway towards ambitious emissions reduction targets.

They do not explicitly show the cost-effectiveness of measures. However, a useful approach is to include only measures that are cost-effective now and will be in the future, so that decision-makers are clear that they are looking at a viable investment plan over time to lower emissions.

Figure 4: Example of an area chart

Example #4 – column graph

A column graph is similar to the area graph but allows for a clearer comparison between specific years compared with the continuous profile of an area graph. In the example column graph below, we are looking at Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, as well as abatement in an organisation over a 25-year timeframe covering past and future plans.

In the historical part, for instance, we can see Scope 1 (yellow) and Scope 2 (blue) emissions in the baseline year. The impact of GreenPower® (green) on emissions can be seen in any subsequent year until 2018.

Going forward we can see in any projection year the mix of grid decarbonisation (red), new abatement measures (aqua) including fuel switching and renewables purchasing, as well as residual Scope 1 and 2 emissions.

Figure 5: Example of a column chart

Example #5 – Marginal Abatement Cost (MAC) Curve

MAC curves focus on the financial business case of abatement measures and the size of the abatement. MAC curves are typically expressed in $/t CO2-e (carbon), or in $/MWh (energy), derived from an assessment of the net present value of a series of investment over time to a fixed time in the future.

The two examples below show MAC curves for the same set of investments across an organisation. Figure 6 shows the outcome in 2030, whereas, in Figure 7, it is to 2040 when investments have yielded greater returns.

MAC curves are a good way to clearly see those investments that will yield the best returns and their contribution to your overall emissions reduction goal.

Figure 6: Example of a Marginal Abatement Cost curve with a short time horizon

Figure 7: Example of a Marginal Abatement Cost curve with a longer time horizon

Please note that no one example is superior over another. It depends on your preferences and what information you would like to convey to your stakeholders.

100% Renewables are experts in putting together emission reduction and renewable energy pathways. If you need help with determining your strategy, targets and cost-effective pathways, please contact  Barbara or Patrick.

Feel free to use an excerpt of this blog on your own site, newsletter, blog, etc. Just send us a copy or link and include the following text at the end of the excerpt: “This content is reprinted from 100% Renewables Pty Ltd’s blog.

Shrinking your combined load profile [includes video]

2019, Carbon, Energy Efficiency, Net zero, Presentations, Renewable Energy, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

In June, Barbara, our Co-CEO, presented at the Renewable Cities Australia conference at the International Convention Centre in Sydney. The topic of her talk was ‘Reaching ambitious energy efficiency and renewables’.

At the core of her speech was a demonstration of how the combined load profile of a typical metropolitan local council changes after the implementation of energy efficiency and onsite renewable energy.

Please note that a video of the ‘shrinking load profile’ is included at the bottom of this post.

What is a load profile?

A load profile shows how your energy demand changes over a 24-hour period, from meter data that your energy retailer can provide on request or via a web portal linked to your account.

Meter data starts and ends at midnight and is usually in half-hour or 15-minute intervals. The vertical axis shows your energy demand in kilowatts as it changes over this time. The less your energy demand, the lower the curve.

A load profile can also be called ‘interval data’ and is a very useful tool for analysing your energy consumption. For example, a load profile can identify equipment that is running unnecessarily at night or may show you spikes in your energy consumption that hint at inefficient operation of equipment. Changes in your profile from summer to spring or autumn can give you an idea of the energy use needed for cooling in a building.

You use load profiles to help you identify how you can be more energy efficient, and they can also help you to size your solar PV installation.

What is a combined load profile?

A combined load profile adds the demand for all your sites to show you the overall energy demand of your organisation. This information is particularly important when you buy energy via a renewable energy Power Purchase Agreement that is supply-linked.

Building up a combined load profile

In this blog post, we build a combined load profile for a metropolitan local government. Figure 1 shows the combined demand of small sites, like small libraries, amenities blocks, community halls and childcare centres.

Energy demand typically rises sharply in the morning as people start to use these facilities, and it falls as people leave them in the evening. At night there is usually demand for appliances, small servers and emergency and exit lights.

Figure 1: The energy demand of small sites

Now, we are adding the electricity demand for large sites on top of the small sites. Examples for large sites are central administration offices & chambers, depots and aquatic centres. Night demand for depots and offices may be low with good after-hours controls. However, pools are usually heated all the time and can be energy-intensive at night.

Figure 2: The energy demand of large sites

The surprising thing for metropolitan councils is that most of the energy demand happens at night, through streetlighting, which runs from dusk until dawn. Streetlights can consume as much as half of a metropolitan council’s electricity! This creates a combined profile with high demand at night and a big dip in demand during the day.

Figure 3: The energy demand of streetlighting

Lastly, we add parks and sporting fields. Most of the energy demand for sporting fields is lighting and irrigation, so naturally, this demand also occurs from late in the evening (sporting field lights) to early morning (irrigation).

Figure 4: The energy demand of parks, ovals and fields

The impact of onsite energy efficiency and renewable energy measures on the combined demand profile

Now that we have a load profile that aggregates energy demand across all sites, let’s implement onsite abatement measures such as energy efficiency and solar PV.

So that you can see the impact of these measures, we are providing a visual cue to show you where our starting line is, because now we start subtracting.

Figure 5: Implementing onsite measures

Energy efficient lighting for parks and sporting fields

LED lighting replacements and smart controls for parks, ovals and fields can lead to a 40-70% reduction in energy demand. At the same time, you may improve your service provision through better lighting, more activated fields and higher utilisation. The net benefit is shown in Figure 6. A reduction in energy demand brings down the whole load profile from the starting point.

Figure 6: Lighting replacement for parks, ovals and fields

Figure 7 shows the impact of a bulk upgrade to LED lighting for local roads. LED streetlights are 60-80% more energy efficient than older technologies such as Compact Fluorescents or Mercury Vapour.

Figure 7: Streetlighting upgrade for local roads

Figure 8 shows the impact of a bulk upgrade to LED lighting for main roads, with similar levels of savings as local roads. Smart controls such as dimming can further increase savings for streetlights.

Figure 8: Streetlighting upgrade for main roads

Implementing energy efficiency improvements to lights, air conditioning, IT systems, appliances, motor systems and building controls at your facilities can achieve at least a 10% reduction, but more might be achievable. It depends on your individual circumstances and what measures you have implemented in the past.

Figure 9: Energy efficiency at Council sites

Installing onsite solar PV

Figure 10 shows the impact of installing onsite solar PV at your sites. You can see the dip in the load profile in the middle of the day, as the solar energy generation reaches its maximum.

Figure 10: Impact on Solar PV

Battery storage will allow further savings in your electricity and peak demand. Figure 11 illustrates how stored solar energy can reduce a building’s peak demand in the afternoon when peak demand charges might apply, thus reducing power bills.

Figure 11: More Solar PV and battery energy storage

What the load profile was and what it could be

So, we have implemented a number of cost-effective efficiency and renewable energy measures, and we can see that demand has reduced significantly. Figure 12 shows what the load profile looked like before implementation of any actions, and what it could be through energy efficiency and onsite solar PV.

Before you think about switching your electricity supply to offsite renewables (e.g. through a Power Purchase Agreement), you should consider the changes behind-the-meter measures like energy efficiency and solar PV can make to your energy demand, and how this can lower the amount of energy you need to buy over time.

Figure 12: Summary of what load profile is and what it could be

Switching your electricity supply to renewables

Figure 13 shows what remains of your original load profile. The next step will be to switch from conventional electricity supply to 100% renewable energy. This can be staged over time or may be possible all in one go.

Figure 13: Offsite opportunities like PPAs

Goals achieved!

In our experience, by implementing onsite energy efficiency and renewable energy measures, you can save 30-40% in electricity demand. By switching your supply to renewables, you can also achieve 100% renewable energy.

Figure 14: Goals Achieved!

You can watch a video of the shrinking load profile here:

Would you like to see how much you could reduce your load profile?

100% Renewables are experts in helping organisations develop their renewable energy strategies and timing actions appropriately. If you need help with analysing your load profile and with developing your renewable energy plan, please contact  Barbara or Patrick.

Feel free to use an excerpt of this blog on your own site, newsletter, blog, etc. Just send us a copy or link and include the following text at the end of the excerpt: “This content is reprinted from 100% Renewables Pty Ltd’s blog.

Science-based targets in a nutshell

2019, Carbon, Energy Efficiency, Net zero, Renewable Energy, , , , , , , , ,

Target-setting in line with science

In 2015, close to 200 of the world’s governments committed to prevent dangerous climate change by limiting global warming to well below 2°C in the landmark Paris Agreement. However, total human-caused carbon emissions continue to increase. Under current trajectories, global mean temperatures are projected to grow by 2.2°C to 4.4°C by the end of this century.

Your organisation has a pivotal role in ensuring that the global temperature goals are met, but most existing company targets are not ambitious enough to achieve this.

What are science-based targets?

Science-based targets (SBT) are greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets that are consistent with the level of decarbonisation that is required to keep global temperature increase within 1.5 to 2°C compared to pre-industrial temperature levels.

SBTs are consistent with the long-term goal of reaching net zero emissions in the second half of this century as per the Paris Agreement. SBTs provide a trajectory for companies to reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi)

The SBTi is a collaboration between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), World Resources Institute (WRI), and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The SBTi enables you to demonstrate your climate change leadership by publicly committing to science-based GHG reduction targets.

The overall aim of the initiative is that by 2020 science-based target setting will become standard business practice and corporations will play a major role in ensuring we keep global warming well below a 2°C increase.

Components for science-based target-setting methods

SBT target-setting methods are complex and should be considered in the context of your operations and value chains. Generally, science-based target-setting methods have three components:

  • Carbon budget (defining the overall amount of greenhouse gases that can be emitted to limit warming to 1.5°C and well-below 2°C),
  • An emissions scenario (defining the magnitude and timing of emissions reductions) and,
  • An allocation approach (defining how the carbon budget is allocated to individual companies).

Target setting approaches

There are three science-based target (SBT) setting approaches. As defined by SBTi:

  1. Sector-based (convergence) approach: The global carbon budget is divided by sector, and then emission reductions are allocated to individual companies based on its sector’s budget.
  2. Absolute-based (contraction) approach: The per cent reduction in absolute emissions required by a given scenario is applied to all companies equally.
  3. Economic-based (contraction) approach: A carbon budget is equated to global GDP, and a company’s share of emissions is determined by its gross profit since the sum of all companies’ gross profits worldwide equate to global GDP.

The SBTi recommends that companies screen available methods and choose the method and target that best drives emissions reductions to demonstrate sector leadership. You should not default to the target that is easiest to meet but should use the most ambitious decarbonisation scenarios and methods that lead to the earliest reductions and the least cumulative emissions.

An SBT should cover a minimum of 5 years and a maximum of 15 years from the date the target is publicly announced. Companies are also encouraged to develop long-term targets (e.g. out to 2050).

It is recommended that you express targets in both intensity and absolute terms, to track both real reductions in emissions and efficiency performance.

More information about the ‘absolute-based target setting’ approach

This method requires you to reduce their absolute emissions by the same percentage as required for a given scenario (e.g. globally or for a sector). Companies setting their SBT today would be strongly encouraged to adopt absolute abatement targets well in excess of 4% per year to be aligned with limiting warming to 1.5°C.

As an alternative to setting percentage reduction targets for Scope 2 emissions (electricity consumption), you can set targets for the procurement of renewable energy. Acceptable procurement targets are:

  • 80% of electricity from renewable sources by 2025, and
  • 100% of electricity from renewable sources by 2030.

If you already source electricity at or above these thresholds, you should maintain or increase your share of renewable electricity.

How to commit to and announce a science-based target

The following steps are required to commit to and announce an SBT.

  1. Commit to set a science-based target (internal)
  2. Develop a target (internal)
  3. Submit your target for validation (to SBTi)
  4. Announce the target (public)

Criteria for SBTs

To ensure their rigour and credibility, SBTs should meet a range of criteria.

  • An SBT should cover a minimum of 5 years and a maximum of 15 years from the date the target is publicly announced. You are also encouraged to develop long-term targets (e.g. up to 2050).
  • The boundaries of your SBT should align with those of your carbon inventory.
  • From October 2019 the emissions reductions from Scope 1 and 2 sources should be aligned with a 1.5°C decarbonisation pathway.
  • SBTs should cover at least 95 per cent of your Scope 1 and 2 emissions.
  • You may set targets that combine scopes (e.g., Scope 1+2 or Scope 1+2+3 targets).
  • The Scope 1 and 2 portion of a combined target can include reductions from both scopes or only from one of the scopes. In the latter case, reductions in one scope have to compensate for the other scope.
  • You should use a single, specified Scope 2 accounting approach (“location-based” or “market-based”) for setting and tracking progress toward an SBT.
  • If you have significant Scope 3 emissions (over 40% of total Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions), you should set a Scope 3 target.
  • Scope 3 targets generally need not be science-based, but should be ambitious, measurable and clearly demonstrate how you are addressing the main sources of value chain GHG emissions in line with current best practice.
  • The Scope 3 target boundary should include the majority of value chain emissions; for example, the top three emissions source categories or two-thirds of total Scope 3 emissions.
  • The nature of a Scope 3 target will vary depending on the emissions source category concerned, the influence you have over your value chain partners and the quality of data available from your partners.
  • You should periodically update your SBTs to reflect significant changes that would otherwise compromise their relevance and consistency.
  • Offsets and avoided emissions do not count toward SBTs. The SBTi requires that you set targets based on emission reductions through direct action within your own boundaries or your value chains. Offsets are only considered to be an option if you want to contribute to finance additional emission reductions beyond your SBT.

Upcoming changes to submission of SBTs

In October 2018, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 °C (SR15), which was the IPCC’s first major update since its Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) released in 2014.

The new report makes a very strong case about the benefits of limiting warming to 1.5°C and highlights the severe risks and impacts of reaching 2°C of warming. It provides new emissions pathways for limiting warming to 1.5°C and well-below 2°C.

Informed by SR15, in April 2019 SBTi released updated target validation criteria, target validation protocols, technical resources and tools to enable you to set targets in line with the level of decarbonisation needed to achieve the Paris Agreement.

This means that as of October 2019, the SBTi will no longer accept targets in line with 2°C. Existing targets in line with 2°C will continue to be valid and will be labelled as 2°C targets on the SBTi website.

Mandatory target recalculation

To ensure consistency with most recent climate science and best practices, targets must be reviewed, and if necessary, recalculated and revalidated, at a minimum every five years. If you have an approved target that requires recalculation, you must follow the most recently applicable criteria at the time of resubmission.

 

100% Renewables are experts in helping organisations develop their carbon reduction and renewable energy targets and pathways. Developing baselines, projecting your emissions and knowing how you can reach identified targets can be complex. If you need help, please contact  Barbara or Patrick.

Feel free to use an excerpt of this blog on your own site, newsletter, blog, etc. Just send us a copy or link and include the following text at the end of the excerpt: “This content is reprinted from 100% Renewables Pty Ltd’s blog.

Challenges with achieving ambitious targets

2019, Carbon, Energy Efficiency, Net zero, Renewable Energy, , , , , , , , , , ,
Challenges with ambitious targets
Challenges with ambitious targets

In part 1 of the blog series, we investigated what the scope of your climate change target could be. In part 2, we looked at the global and national goals you should be aware of. In this blog post, we will shed light on some of the challenges that you may face when setting ambitious goals.

Striking a balance

Setting targets is often about striking a balance between what we know can be achieved with today’s commercially available solutions and what will be available in coming years.

This is why many targets for renewable energy, for example, are 100% by 2030. It is expected that battery storage for solar and renewable energy sourcing for energy supply will be readily available and cost-effective by that time.

Interim targets tend to focus on onsite measures that are known to be cost-effective now, such as energy efficiency and solar panels.

Challenges with achieving ambitious targets

In our experience, both interim and ambitious long-term targets can present challenges for you. Here is a list of some of those challenges.

Ongoing internal support, resources and funding

This is often the most common barrier and challenge; how to gain and sustain the support and funds internally to make efficiency and renewable energy initiatives happen. There are usually limited funds, competing priorities and resources are stretched.

Without internal support at senior level as well as people to develop business cases and implement projects, most programs do not last or succeed.

Strategy tips:

  1. One or a few key staff and managers who want to see continued action on renewables and emissions reduction, and make it a priority on an ongoing basis.
  2. Having clear financing strategies for renewables, efficiency and other emissions reduction measures, including awareness of state and federal incentives such as the Energy Saving Scheme and the Renewable Energy Target, a consideration to fund from Capex or a loan, revolving energy funds or similar.
  3. Alignment of renewable energy and emissions reduction plans with your organisation’s strategy so that this is embedded in your organisational priorities.
Download Free Financing Options for Sustainability Projects

Understanding electricity markets and your energy purchasing processes

Energy procurement will most likely deliver the bulk of your organisation’s ambitious renewable energy goals, so without a plan, you may not be able to achieve an ambitious renewable energy goal ahead of the ‘greening’ of the grid.

The ability to meet an ambitious renewable energy goal cost-effectively is heavily influenced by how you source electricity from the market. Whereas in the past, GreenPower® was available, but at a cost premium, many organisations are now able to source energy from renewable energy projects at similar or even lower cost than conventional power.

Strategy tips:

In this rapidly evolving environment, you need to take time to understand how the electricity market and renewables procurement work and develop your energy sourcing strategy accordingly. In particular, investigate the following aspects of energy procurement:

  • The current and future electricity and renewable energy market
  • Contract terms for renewable energy supply
  • Types of contracts for renewable energy purchasing
  • Interest in collaboration or partnering for volume to achieve better pricing are all aspects of energy procurement

Transport and waste

Transport and waste can be sources of large carbon emissions. However, solutions to achieve step-change in energy demand, renewable energy or carbon emissions can be limited, particularly if your organisation is already focusing on emission reduction in these areas.

In our experience, the level of focus on carbon emissions and renewables for these sources is low or lags the focus that is applied to electricity and stationary gas. This often leads to the omission of these sources from targets.

An emerging aspect of this is the potential for electrification of vehicles to change electricity demand and thus increase the amount of renewable electricity that needs to be sourced to meet ambitious targets. Some organisations are beginning to assess their future energy demand with an EV fleet and incorporate this into their long-term forecasts.

Strategy tips:

Consider including transport and waste in future targets if they are not already part of your goal. Make sure that you apply appropriate resources to understand opportunities and future trends.

The emergence of electric vehicles will introduce new challenges for the identification of new opportunities. A good strategy is to forecast what changes will occur and when. This may not be a significant factor for the next 4-5 years but will almost certainly be a more important issue as we approach 2030.

Organisational growth

While you are implementing efficiency and renewables, your energy demand may grow with organisational growth. Your emissions intensity may reduce, but your absolute emissions may still be growing.

Strategy tips:

The greater the level of organisational support and understanding of the nature, scale and timing of opportunities, as well as an understanding of the type and scale of changes that will occur to your assets over time helps to set targets that are realistic and achievable.

You need to take these changes into account so you know what combination of emission reduction options can help you meet your target in the most cost-effective way.

Conclusion

You may find you have only achieved a small part of your goal after a few years, despite the fact you have progressed several onsite solar and energy efficiency projects. Often, building energy efficiency and onsite solar can deliver part of the solution, but each project is individually small.

This is beginning to change with cheaper solar panels making larger-scale systems cost-effective, which in turn has a greater impact on emission reduction and onsite renewable energy generation.

The overall effort towards ambitious goals is likely to include a small number of measures that have individually significant impact (e.g., a renewable energy PPA), plus a large number of small measures that have low impact but are good for the bottom line.

Your strategy to meet ambitious targets should include both these measures.

100% Renewables are experts in helping organisations develop their renewable energy strategies and timing actions appropriately. If you need help with developing a target and action plans that help you meet this target, please contact  Barbara or Patrick.

Feel free to use an excerpt of this blog on your own site, newsletter, blog, etc. Just send us a copy or link and include the following text at the end of the excerpt: “This content is reprinted from 100% Renewables Pty Ltd’s blog.

Future policies will affect our carbon emissions – guidance for upcoming federal election

2019, Carbon, Energy Efficiency, Net zero, Renewable Energy, ,

As per the latest IPCC report on climate change, global warming of even 1.5 degrees Celsius can lead to severe consequences, let alone global warming of 2 degrees.

Limiting global warming to 1.5°C will require “rapid and far-reaching” transitions in land, energy, industry, buildings, transport, and cities. Global net human-caused emissions of carbon dioxide will need to fall by about 45% from 2010 levels by 2030, reaching net zero around 2050.

These rapid and far-reaching transitions need to be achieved with the help of individuals, businesses and government.

Australia will elect its leaders in the upcoming May election. Climate change is a decisive factor for many, and so we have summarised the climate change policies of the two major parties.

Australia’s emissions

Before we compare the two parties’ policies on climate change, let’s have a look at Australia’s emission sources first. The single biggest source of our emissions is electricity consumption, followed by transport and agriculture.

Australia’s emissions sources
Figure 1: Australia’s emissions sources

Our commitments under the Paris Agreement

Australia ratified the Paris Agreement on 6 November 2016. Initially, we need to achieve a 26-28% reduction target from 2005 levels by 2030, which is our Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement.

However, it is expected that over time, action is ratcheted up to reach zero net emissions by 2050. This means that we will need to implement stronger emission reduction targets every five years. The first target update is due in 2020.

Australia’s reduction targets
Figure 2: Australia’s reduction targets

Australia also has a target to achieve 20% renewable energy by 2020 (the actual target is 33,000 GWh, which will likely equate to 23.5% renewables).

Will Australia meet its Paris targets?

Since the repeal of Australia’s carbon price in 2014, our emissions have been increasing and are continuing to do so.

In the following graphic, the green line shows the emission reduction we need to achieve by 2030 – to meet the intent of the Paris Agreement.

The dark line shows Australia’s emission over time, including a projection over time to 2030. Under the current policies, Australia is not on track to meet the objectives of the Paris Agreement.

The blue line shows our agreed Paris target of a 26-28% reduction.

Under Liberal policy, the 26-28% reduction will only be nominal, as left-over carbon credits from the previous Kyoto agreement will be used towards the target. This effectively reduces the actual carbon reduction we need to achieve in our economy under their approach.

Labor wants to increase the target to a 45% reduction, which brings us in line with the intent of the Paris Agreement.

Figure 3: Modified graphic from Investor Group on Climate Change via SMH
Figure 3: Modified graphic from Investor Group on Climate Change via SMH

Comparing key climate change policies of the major parties

Government policy is incredibly important in reaching our Paris goals. Governments need to implement policies that are here for the long run, credible and predictable. We compared the major parties policies on the following key climate change areas:

  • Carbon emissions and meeting our Paris targets
  • Energy efficiency
  • Renewable energy
    • Uptake of solar PV for households and businesses, battery energy storage
  • Transport energy
  • Support for hydrogen energy
  • Support the transition to a clean energy economy

The Australian Conservation Foundation, which is Australia’s national environment organisation, scored the Liberal/National Coalition 4 out of 100 on climate change action, and Labor at 56.

Let’s look at the policies of the two parties in these areas.

pdf-icon“Comparing climate change policies of major political parties”
Download the 3-page report here

100% Renewables are experts in helping organisations develop their renewable energy strategies and timing actions appropriately. If you need help with developing emission scenarios that take into account policy settings, please contact  Barbara or Patrick.

Feel free to use an excerpt of this blog on your own site, newsletter, blog, etc. Just send us a copy or link and include the following text at the end of the excerpt: “This content is reprinted from 100% Renewables Pty Ltd’s blog.

How choosing a target influences your emissions over time [with video]

2019, Net zero, Renewable Energy, , , , , , ,
100% RE - emission reduction through 100% renewable energy
100% RE – emission reduction through 100% renewable electricity

We recently worked with a regional council to provide their senior management and other key stakeholders with input to the development of their climate change action plan and target-setting process.

An important part of our work was to show council, based on our experience with many other local governments, what different carbon reduction scenarios look like in this sector. In particular, we showed what a no-action scenario would mean for electricity demand, what a focus on demand reduction within council operations would look like, and what an approach that encompasses both aggressive demand reduction and a comprehensive renewable energy supply strategy could achieve.

Presenting and workshopping these scenarios helped our client to set ambitious goals for energy and carbon reduction that are achievable, affordable and can be planned and resourced in the short, medium and long term.

Three scenarios for electricity-based emissions

To illustrate how inaction and action to mitigate climate change can influence emission reductions over time, we created a series of animations. Please click on the video (< 4min) below to view the effect of energy efficiency and renewable energy measures on a council’s business-as-usual electricity consumption.

Scenario 1: no action

For most local councils, rising population, asset upgrades and service improvements are factors that influence the energy demand of council operations.

In the absence of clear policies and practices to reduce energy demand and increase renewables, these factors will lead to increased energy use. As electricity prices also rise, this will result in higher energy costs over time.

Scenario 2: action within council operations

In most organisations, there are numerous opportunities to reduce energy demand and increase onsite renewable energy.

  • Upgrading building lighting systems, air conditioning controls and installing rooftop solar panels usually have an attractive payback.
  • Incorporating lowest life-cycle cost technologies and solar into new developments, and implementing sustainable procurement policies for appliances and office/IT equipment can reduce or reverse energy growth over time.
  • Replacing capital-intensive equipment such as air conditioning systems, water & sewer pumping systems, sporting field lighting and servers with best-practice energy-efficient technologies can similarly reduce or reverse growth in energy demand.
  • Street lighting is often one of the largest energy-using accounts in a local council. As LED technology becomes available, local and main road lighting can be upgraded, leading to large energy savings.

Planning, scheduling and funding implementation of these opportunities over time will lead to a sustained and cost-effective reduction in a council’s grid energy consumption.

However, for most councils, these actions will only take climate mitigation so far, typically a 30% to 40% reduction over time. This would likely fall short of the 2018 IPCC report on ‘Global Warming of 1.5 ºC’, which states that we need to reduce global net anthropogenic CO2 emissions by about 45% from 2010 levels by 2030.

Scenario 3: ambitious action on energy demand and supply

In our experience, it is not possible for a council to achieve deep emissions cuts without focusing on both energy demand and energy supply. In an ‘ambitious action’ plan, there will be a more aggressive rollout of energy efficiency and renewable energy measures, as well as an energy procurement strategy that will source renewable energy for council’s operations.

Energy demand action will:

  • Extend solar PV to more marginal sites,
  • Develop a plan for larger-scale onsite solar with battery storage,
  • Incorporate smart controls with street lighting,
  • Plan for charging of electric vehicles over time, including passenger and commercial vehicles and road plant

Energy supply action will include renewable energy purchasing as part of a council’s normal energy procurement process. Typically, this takes the form of a renewable energy Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) as part of overall energy supply, with the potential to scale up renewable energy purchasing towards 100% over time.

For some councils, building their own solar farm may be another way to scale up supply-side action on renewables.

Ambitious action that focuses on both energy demand and renewable energy supply is aligned with global targets to decarbonise by mid-century. As leaders, local governments have an important role to play in showing their communities that deep cuts in emissions are possible and affordable.

You can read more about achieving ambitious targets in our ‘How to achieve 100% renewable energy’ paper.

Ambitious action is achievable and cost-effective

It is possible to achieve ambitious targets cost-effectively – what is required is to plan and resource ahead, to understand the cost implications as well as the cost savings, and to know what measures can be rolled out at what point in time.

100% Renewables are experts in helping organisations develop their renewable energy strategies and timing actions appropriately. If you need help with setting targets that are achievable and cost-effective, please contact  Barbara or Patrick.

Feel free to use an excerpt of this blog on your own site, newsletter, blog, etc. Just send us a copy or link and include the following text at the end of the excerpt: “This content is reprinted from 100% Renewables Pty Ltd’s blog.

Claiming ‘zero emissions’ for the operation of your EVs [Part 3]

2019, Carbon, Net zero, Renewable Energy, , , , ,

In our first blog post on electric vehicles, we analysed the carbon footprint of electric vehicles. In the second blog post of the series, we present three considerations for making zero-emissions claims for your electric vehicles. In the final blog post of this series, we are investigating ways you can safely claim ’zero emissions’ for the operation of your EVs.

There are many ways to ’green’ the energy supplied to charge your EVs at your own business premises. However, what if you charge your vehicles at shopping centres, other businesses, at home, on a freeway, or other locations? If seeking to use renewable energy or be ’zero emissions’ for your EV fleet, your strategy should include both ’onsite’ and ’offsite’ charging plans.

Claiming ‘zero emissions’ for the operation of your EVs

Strategies for claiming ’zero emissions’ when charging EVs at your business premises (‘onsite’)

The good news about charging EVs at your own locations is that you have complete control over the emissions-intensity of the electricity powering your charging stations. There are five basic options you can consider:

  1. Buy 100% GreenPower® for charge points
  2. Corporate Power Purchase Agreement
  3. Become carbon neutral
  4. Switch to carbon neutral electricity
  5. Solar panels (and batteries)

Strategy #1 – Buy 100% GreenPower®

An easy way to charge your electric car from clean energy is to purchase 100% GreenPower® for the account the charging point is connected to. All you would need to do is call your electricity provider and ask to be switched over to their 100% GreenPower® product.

For more information, please read the GreenPower for Businesses Guide that we developed for the National GreenPower Accreditation Scheme.

Strategy #2 – Corporate Power Purchase Agreement for renewables

If you are a large energy user, you could enter into a corporate Power Purchase Agreement and include sites/accounts that power your EV charging point(s).

You could either enter into a bundled PPA agreement where you purchase both the electricity and the green credentials (RECs/LGCs) or into an LGC-only PPA.

If corporate PPAs do not suit your circumstances, you can also buy LGCs directly from brokers, with 1 REC/LGC purchased and retired for each MWh of electricity consumed for your EVs or facilities including EV charging points. While this is a potentially more expensive strategy than strategy 3 or 4 (below), you can claim both ‘zero emissions’ and ‘fully renewable’ for your electric vehicles.

For further information for different PPA options, you can read our article on how you can make your organisation 100% renewable or our introduction to PPAs.

Strategy #3 – Carbon neutrality

If your organisation is carbon neutral, then your EV charging points would be included in your carbon footprint. You may pursue carbon neutrality for stand-alone buildings or events, and where EV charging forms part of the scope of these activities, then it can also be carbon neutral. You may simply wish to be carbon neutral for your EV charging stations if these have separate metering or sub-metering.  If this is data is not available, then you can get this information from your EVs, as most have the capability to track their energy consumption.

The basics steps for becoming carbon neutral are to measure your carbon footprint, reduce it as much as possible and offset the rest through the purchase of carbon credits. Australian organisations can consider becoming carbon neutral under the National Carbon Offset Standard (NCOS), or you may simply purchase offsets for emissions within the boundaries of your carbon neutrality claim.

Strategy #4 – Switch to carbon neutral electricity

There are currently three electricity providers in Australia that offer carbon-neutral electricity, Powershop, Energy Australia and Energy Locals. You could consider switching suppliers and selecting their carbon neutral products. You can find more information in our article about 10 ways to green your electricity supply.

You need to make sure that the charging point is connected to the account that you are switching over to carbon-neutral electricity.

Strategy #5 – Charging EVs from solar panels

Organisations are starting to put EV charging stations at locations where they also have solar PV installations. One of the first Australian examples is the Macadamia Castle on NSW’s Far North Coast which in 2014 installed a 45 kW solar system on its car park canopy. The solar installation powers both the main building and the EV charging station.

If your business is considering using solar to power electric vehicles, note that you are likely to also use grid power to supplement solar energy, so you should not simply assume that all charging from a solar array is ’green’. If at any point the power output from your solar array is less than the power draw to charge the vehicles, then you will be using grid energy to achieve the shortfall. There are chargers that will only use onsite solar generation to charge EVs, and have settings to slow or stop charging when there is insufficient solar power available (e.g. Zappi).

You could install batteries as well which could increase the amount of onsite solar electricity that charges the vehicles, though this technology is expensive at this time. Australian startup Chargefox, whose vision is that road transport will eventually be powered by renewable energy, is rolling out super-fast chargers for electric cars. The Chargefox network will feature sites powered by the world’s first solar, battery storage and 350kW charging combination.

Depending on the size of your solar system and the energy demand from cars or other equipment/facilities connected to the solar, you may achieve a ’net zero’ result, where you generate more solar energy than is consumed by connected equipment and vehicles over a set period of time.

Where there is a shortfall between electricity produced onsite and electricity consumed to power EVs, your business can use one or more of the above strategies to achieve zero emissions.

Note:

You can also use strategies #1, #2 and #5 for claims for ‘100% renewable’. You can find out more information about the difference between carbon neutral and 100% renewable in this article.

Claiming ’zero emissions’ when charging EVs at other locations (‘offsite’)

Your EVs may need to charge at locations outside your business premises. These could include charging stations on freeways or main roads, in shopping centres and public carparks, at clients’ premises, at schools, hospitals, hotels, and at home.

Unlike petrol and diesel fleet fuel consumption, which most organisations measure through fuel card systems, electric vehicle charging is far more distributed with varying availability of data.

The two key pieces of information your business needs to make credible ’zero emissions’ claims for your EV fleet charged ’offsite’ are energy consumption, and the sources of energy generation.

Measuring energy consumption

Most EVs have the capability to track their energy consumption, and if you know how much energy went into charging from onsite locations, you may be able to derive the energy consumed from offsite locations.

Another method is to estimate the energy consumption of your EVs based on kilometres travelled and applying known or estimated energy intensity – most EVs travel 3 km to 7 km per kWh of electricity consumed. Refer to information provided by the vehicle manufacturer to estimate consumption from your particular model.

 

Also, if you are charging and paying for power from the emerging and growing network of EV charging stations and management systems like Charge Star, ChargePoint, Tritium, or NRMA, energy consumption and cost data will become increasingly available to users and enable better reporting of EV energy demand.

Nonetheless, it is likely that the source of some of your offsite EV energy use will be unknown, and to support credible emissions/clean energy claims it may be necessary to make reasonable estimates of energy use.

Greening your offsite EV electricity use

Even if you estimate or calculate your EV energy consumption from external charging, do you know if the electricity came from a renewable energy source or just from the mix of generation in the grid?

For example, Tesla has a global policy that where possible they will use 100% renewable power for their supercharger installations, but this will likely happen over time and may not apply to all chargers at this time.

The charging stations of Queensland’s Electric Super Highway (for travel between Cairns and Coolangatta) use green energy either through direct green energy credits or offsets.

Similarly, if you are charging at another business that sources all or most of its electricity from renewables via rooftop and/or corporate PPAs (e.g. RE100 companies such as IKEA, CBA, Mars and PwC), then its source may be partially or wholly renewable.

Even at your employees’ homes electricity for charging may come from both grid and rooftop solar, or employees may purchase GreenPower® or carbon-neutral electricity. In short, it is currently very difficult to apportion the kind of energy that is being used to charge vehicles offsite.

Apply a cautious approach

Offsite charging presents challenges when you are looking to support claims for ’zero emissions’ for your EV fleet. A cautious approach would use one of the methods outlined above to offset emissions for all of your estimated electricity consumption.

100% Renewables can help with evaluating these options for you. Please contact Barbara or Patrick for further information.

Feel free to use an excerpt of this blog on your own site, newsletter, blog, etc. Just send us a copy or link and include the following text at the end of the excerpt: “This content is reprinted from 100% Renewables Pty Ltd’s blog.

Summary tables of ambitious carbon and renewables commitments in Australia by states, territories and local governments

2018, Net zero, Renewable Energy,
Ambitious climate change commitments by Australia's states and local governments
Ambitious climate change commitments by Australia’s states and local governments

Last week, we published a blog post with state-by-state graphics of ambitious carbon and renewables commitments by local governments in Australia. This week, we are following up with publishing summary tables of these climate change commitments.

Below are three tables that showcase the commitments of states and territories, followed by capital cities, and local governments.

States’ and territories’ climate change commitments

States and territories are committing to both renewable energy as well as carbon reduction targets.

State or territoryRenewable energy commitmentCarbon commitment
Australia~20% from renewable energy sources by 2020 (33,000 GWh by 2020)26-28% emissions reduction from 2005 levels by 2030
ACT100% renewable electricity by 202040% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions on 1990 levels by 2020
Zero net emissions by 2045
NSW20% from renewable energy in line with the RETZero net emissions by 2050
NT50% renewable energy by 2030
SANo new target. 50% renewables target by 2025 largely met.Zero net emissions by 2050
QLD50% renewable energy by 2030Zero net emissions by 2050
VIC40% renewable energy by 2025Zero net emissions by 2050
TAS100% renewable energy by 2022Commitment to establish a zero net emissions target by 2050
WANo targetNo target

South Australia previously had a commitment to 50% renewable energy. However, according to a report by the Climate Council,  South Australia was able to achieve a 43.5% energy production from renewables in 2017. This means that with increasing renewable energy production in 2018, their target is largely met. Since the new Government came in, no new commitments have been made.

Capital cities’ climate change commitments

Australian capital cities have mostly committed to carbon reduction goals, with many of them targeting or having already achieved carbon neutral/net zero emissions status.

Capital CityCommitment
ACT GovernmentCarbon neutral by 2020
City of AdelaideZero net emissions from council operations by 2020
First carbon neutral town by 2050
Brisbane City CouncilCarbon neutral council from 2017
Melbourne City CouncilCarbon neutral council by 2020
City of PerthReduce council emissions by 20% by 2020
Facilitate a 32% reduction in citywide emissions by 2031
City of Sydney*Reduce emissions by 70% for the LGA by 2030
50% renewable energy for the LGA by 2030
Net zero emissions for the LGA by 2050

*The City of Sydney has made a pledge to achieve 100% renewable energy, with details to come in the Sustainable Sydney 2050 strategy, which will be developed in 2019.

Local governments’ and LGAs’ climate change commitments

This table showcases ambitious carbon and energy commitments by local governments and their communities. If you are interested in learning more about the difference between renewable energy and carbon targets, you should read our blog post on whether carbon neutral and 100% renewables are the same.

New additions to the list of local governments include Moreland Council, City of Darebin, Broken Hill Council, Logan Council, Noosa Council, Hepburn Council, Mornington Peninsula Council, Warrnambool Council, Nambucca Council and the City of Randwick Council.

Council or Local Government AreaCommitment
Byron Shire Council100% renewable energy by 2027
Net zero emissions by 2025
Byron Bay communityPlan for first zero net emissions community
City of Greater Bendigo100% renewable energy by 2036
Coffs Harbour City Council100% renewable energy by 2030
Eurobodalla Shire Council100% renewable energy by 2030
City of Fremantle100% renewable energy by 2025
Carbon neutral since 2009
Zero carbon for LGA by 2025
Gold Coast City CouncilCarbon neutral by 2020
City of Greater GeelongZero carbon council by 2050
Lismore City CouncilSelf-generate all electricity needs from renewable sources by 2023
Mullumbimby100% renewable energy by 2020
Newstead Village100% renewable energy by 2017
City of ParramattaCarbon neutral by 2022 with 60% emissions reduction by 2038 based on 2015 levels
Port Macquarie-Hastings Council100% renewable energy by 2027
City of Port PhillipZero net emissions by 2020
Tweed Shire Council50% renewable energy by 2025
Tyalgum VillagePlan to be off the grid, 100% renewable energy, with batteries
Uralla TownPlan to be first zero net energy town
Yackandandah Town100% renewable energy by 2022
Moreland Council100% renewable energy by 2019
Carbon neutral for operations since 2012
Zero carbon emissions Moreland by 2040
City of DarebinZero net carbon emissions across Darebin by 2020
Broken Hill Council100% renewable energy status by 2030
Logan CouncilCarbon neutral by 2022
Noosa CouncilNet zero emissions by 2026
Hepburn CouncilCarbon neutral by 2021
Mornington Peninsula CouncilCarbon neutral by 2021
Warrnambool CouncilCarbon neutral city by 2040
Nambucca CouncilZero net carbon emissions within the 2030 to 2050 time frame
Randwick CouncilZero emissions by 2030

100% Renewables is specialised in helping local governments define and achieve their renewable energy and carbon goals. Please speak to Barbara or Patrick for more information.

Feel free to use an excerpt of this blog on your own site, newsletter, blog, etc. Just send us a copy or link and include the following text at the end of the excerpt: “This content is reprinted from 100% Renewables Pty Ltd’s blog. You can also contact us for a copy of the commitment graphics – they are available as standalone JPGs for each government level.

Ambitious carbon and renewable energy commitments by local governments in Australia as at October 2018

2018, Carbon, Net zero, Renewable Energy,

via GIPHY

100% Renewables had the pleasure to catch up with many of our clients at the recent Cities Power Partnership Summit in Kiama. The Cities Power Partnership is Australia’s largest local government climate network, made up of over 100 councils across the country, representing almost 11 million Australians. Local councils who join the partnership make five action pledges in either renewable energy, efficiency, transport or working in partnership to tackle climate change.

The summit started with an inspiring international keynote address from US renewable energy visionary Mayor R. Rex Parris of Lancaster, California. Lancaster was the first city in the United States to require solar panels on new homes and has a plan to become the first zero net energy city, generating as much renewable electricity as it consumes.

While planning rules are different in Australia, Mayor Rex’s speech resonated strongly with participants. With many of the following presentations showcasing innovative renewable energy projects by Australian councils, it became clear that we can be climate leaders, too, and that ambitious commitments and actions are needed to avert catastrophic climate change.

100% Renewables has been tracking ambitious sustainability commitments made by all levels of Australian government since we developed the Renewable Energy Master Plan for Lismore City Council in 2014. In May 2017, we published our first blog post on the energy and carbon commitments of states, territories and local governments. In March 2018, we posted an update of the carbon and renewable energy commitments.

Our updated review of carbon and renewable energy commitments, immediately following the Cities Power Partnership summit, reveals that local governments are accelerating their commitments and implementation of actions to drive sustainability outcomes. In addition, the ACT Government continued to demonstrate its leadership in climate action at the summit, talking about their plans for sustainable transport and extending an offer to local governments to join in their initiative to source electric vehicles in the ACT Government fleet.

Updated local government ambitious renewable energy and carbon commitments

With more and more local governments committing to ambitious goals, we developed state-by-state graphics that show these commitments. The ACT, NSW and Victorian councils are leading the way. Five graphics show the extent of local government commitments below, with capital cities and the ACT highlighted in orange.

As more and more councils commit to substantially reduce their emissions and source their own energy needs from renewables we will capture these and share them in the future. In addition, we will capture and report on commitments made for communities.

Ambitious renewable energy and carbon commitment by NSW councils and the ACT Government

Ambitious renewable energy and carbon commitments by local governments in NSW and the ACT as at Oct 18
Ambitious renewable energy and carbon commitments by local governments in NSW and the ACT as at Oct 18

Ambitious renewable energy and carbon commitment by VIC councils

Ambitious renewable energy and carbon commitments by local governments in VIC as at Oct 18
Ambitious renewable energy and carbon commitments by local governments in VIC as at Oct 18

Ambitious renewable energy and carbon commitment by QLD councils

Ambitious renewable energy and carbon commitments by local governments in QLD as at Oct 18
Ambitious renewable energy and carbon commitments by local governments in QLD as at Oct 18

Ambitious renewable energy and carbon commitment by SA councils

Ambitious renewable energy and carbon commitments by local governments in SA as at Oct 18
Ambitious renewable energy and carbon commitments by local governments in SA as at Oct 18

Ambitious renewable energy and carbon commitment by WA councils

Ambitious renewable energy and carbon commitments by local governments in WA as at Oct 18
Ambitious renewable energy and carbon commitments by local governments in WA as at Oct 18

100% Renewables specialises in helping local governments and their communities define and achieve ambitious carbon and renewable energy goals. If you are interested in hearing more about our projects with councils, please contact  Barbara or Patrick.

Feel free to use an excerpt of this blog on your own site, newsletter, blog, etc. Just send us a copy or link and include the following text at the end of the excerpt: “This content is reprinted from 100% Renewables Pty Ltd’s blog.”

Allowable ‘offset mechanisms’ for 100% renewable energy and carbon neutral goals

2018, Carbon, Net zero, Renewable Energy, , , ,

In an earlier blog post, we analysed two different targets, carbon neutrality and 100% renewable energy. In this blog post, we answer two customer questions about ways to offset typical emission sources, as well as displaying a summary table.

Can you offset your entire carbon footprint by purchasing renewable energy?

The short answer is no. It is possible for 100% of your electricity demand to be met by renewable energy. However, it won’t be possible to reach carbon neutrality solely based on an efficiency and renewables strategy.

This is because renewable electricity purchases can only be used to offset your electricity consumption and not to offset other emission sources like natural gas, diesel or petrol emissions, or supply chain emissions like paper consumption. For these emission sources, carbon offsets may need to be purchased until renewable energy alternatives are widely available.

You can read more about the differences between the energy and carbon footprint in this blog post.

Can you use LGCS to offset the electricity consumption from assets over which you don’t have operational control?

LGCs, or Large-Scale Generation Certificates are Renewable Energy Certificates, which certify that renewable energy has been produced. Every 1 MWh of eligible renewable energy generation creates 1 LGC. You can use LGCs to offset your electricity consumption and claim the renewable energy. You can buy LGCs indirectly by purchasing GreenPower®, by entering into a corporate PPA or buying LGCs through a broker.

LGCs can be used against your electricity consumption, but they can also be used to offset the downstream electricity consumption from assets over which you don’t have operational control. Examples of this would be the energy consumption of street lights in the case of councils or the energy consumption of an outsourced data centre.

Allowable offset mechanisms per emission scope
Figure 1: Allowable offset mechanisms per emission scope

You can purchase LGCs to cover your own electricity consumption plus additional ones for your outsourced assets and retire them on behalf of your outsourced provider. This decision is particularly important for the size of a potential Power Purchase Agreement.

Offsetting mechanisms for your typical emission sources

The following table helps to clarify which offset mechanism can be used against which emission source using the example of a National Carbon Offset Standard (NCOS)-compliant inventory. It also shows what emissions sources carbon neutrality and achieving 100% renewable energy relate to.

Allowable offset mechanisms for carbon neutrality and 100% renewable energy

Emission SourceUsing carbon offsets to ‘offset’Using LGCs (RECs) to ‘offset’Achieve carbon neutralityAchieve 100% renewable energy?
RefrigerantsYesNoYesN/A
Natural GasYesNoYesAchievable only with renewable fuels
Fleet Vehicles DieselYesNoYesAchievable only with renewable fuels
Fleet Vehicles PetrolYesNoYesAchievable only with renewable fuels
Fleet Vehicles EthanolYesNoYesAlready renewable
Fleet Vehicles BiodieselYesNoYesAlready renewable
Fleet Vehicles LPGYesNoYesAchievable only with renewable fuels
ElectricityYesYesYesYes
Electricity (Street Lighting)YesYesYesYes
Electricity consumption base buildingYesYesYesYes
Outsourced electricity consumption (e.g. data centres)YesYesYesYes
Water and sewerYesNoYesOnly if water/sewer provider is powered by renewables
PaperYesNoYesN/A
EquipmentYesNoYesN/A
Food and CateringYesNoYesN/A
PostageYesNoYesN/A
Taxis, Uber and other servicesYesNoYesOnly if third-party organisation has fleet powered by renewables
Employee commuteYesNoYesOnly if all employees’ commute is powered by renewables
Waste to landfillYesNoYesN/A
Green wasteYesNoYesN/A
Air travelYesNoYesOnly if planes are powered by renewables

If you would like to know more about the best strategy for your organisation to offset your emission sources given your unique circumstances, why not have an informal chat with Barbara or Patrick.

Feel free to use an excerpt of this blog on your own site, newsletter, blog, etc. Just send us a copy or link and include the following text at the end of the excerpt: “This content is reprinted from 100% Renewables Pty Ltd’s blog.”