Hybrid pathway for achieving net zero future
to deliver affordable, reliable fossil-free heat through
distribution networks, coupled with energy efficiency, hybrid
heating systems, and targeted electrification and
geothermal
Gas and electric networks to be fossil-free by 2050, critical
milestones along the way
WALTHAM,
Mass. and BROOKLYN,
N.Y., April 19, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today,
National Grid has launched a path to a more affordable, reliable
clean energy future that enables customer choice and combats the
increasing threats of climate change. With National Grid's Clean
Energy Vision: A fossil-free future for cleanly heating homes and
businesses, the company has announced it will seek to eliminate
fossil fuel from its gas networks, replacing it with renewable
natural gas (RNG) and green hydrogen, while also maximizing energy
efficiency and helping customers electrify their heat, if they so
choose, in targeted areas.
![Clean Heat Vision Clean Heat Vision](https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1799693/Clean_Heat_Vision.jpg)
"This fossil-free vision is an historic announcement for
National Grid and the United
States," said John Pettigrew,
Chief Executive Officer, National Grid. "We have a critical
responsibility to lead the clean energy transition for our
customers and communities. Just as we are investing in renewables
like wind and solar to decarbonize the energy running through our
electric network, we are committing to decarbonize our gas network
by transitioning it completely to renewable natural gas and
hydrogen by 2050 or sooner."
National Grid acknowledges that Massachusetts and New York have ongoing public proceedings to
help guide implementation of the critical plans needed to fight
climate change. The company is actively participating in those
proceedings and will continue to engage in the public feedback
sessions for our states' climate action plans, highlighting the
benefits of our fossil-free vision for all residents and
businesses.
Fighting climate change requires significant greenhouse gas
emissions reductions across the board. National Grid is tackling
those reductions across the power sector, the transportation sector
and – with this vision – the building heat sector, which is
responsible for nearly 40 percent of emissions in Massachusetts and New York.
Combined with targeted electrification and enhanced energy
efficiency, a 100% fossil-free gas network can deliver a clean
energy future that is more affordable and more reliable to over 20
million people across New York and
Massachusetts. National Grid's
fossil-free vision will not only achieve a net zero energy future,
and achieve the climate goals of the states in which we operate,
but it will also provide additional, affordable clean energy
choices so no customer or community is left behind on our clean
energy transition:
- Affordable Pathway to Net Zero: Avoids costly and
premature equipment upgrades for homes and businesses
- Adds Clean Energy Choices: Customers can choose whether
to fully electrify or continue using the gas network, which would
be fueled by new, fossil-free energy
- Protects Good Jobs: Protects thousands of union jobs for
uniquely skilled workers
- Improves Reliability and Resiliency: Provides added
reliability and resiliency through diversification of clean energy
sources
- Cost-Efficient: Utilizes existing infrastructure, making
it more cost-efficient for customers, and continues to utilize our
highly skilled workforce
National Grid is committed to bringing this fossil-free vision
to life in partnership with policymakers, regulators, and our
customers. The report details the critical policies and regulations
necessary to help safely, reliably, and affordably achieve this
shared net zero vision on behalf of customers, including adoption
of a renewable heating portfolio standard.
National Grid's fossil-free and net zero vision creates a clear
roadmap for decarbonization and addresses the hardest-to-tackle
issues of how to cleanly, affordably, and reliably heat our homes
and business in a cold northeast climate. The announcement comes on
the heels of National Grid's successful award of an offshore wind
lease in the New York Bight in its joint venture with RWE, and an
announcement of HyGrid, one of the first green hydrogen projects
for blending hydrogen into homes in the US.
Renewable Natural Gas
Renewable natural gas (RNG) is
an immediately available resource released into the atmosphere by
decomposing materials at farms, landfills, wastewater, and other
sources. RNG provides a double benefit as greenhouse gas can be
captured before being released and therefore before it impacts our
climate. We can then harness and purify it to flow through our
existing infrastructure in place of natural gas, which is a
fossil-fuel. This fossil-free energy is a double win in our fight
against climate change.
Green Hydrogen
National Grid continues to lead our
nation in offshore wind development, and these assets can be used
to develop hydrogen through the process of electrolysis. Because
the only byproduct of this production process is water vapor, the
hydrogen produced is carbon-free. Hydrogen is particularly valuable
because it can be stored for future use when conditions are such
that our wind or solar assets are not producing high levels of
power. This is a fossil-free way to decarbonize multiple sectors
including heat, power generation, and transportation.
For more information on National Grid's Clean Energy Vision:
nationalgrid.com/fossilfree
Support for National Grid's Clean Energy Vision:
"As Chairman of the Assembly Energy Committee, I am excited by
today's announcement that National Grid will be eliminating fossil
fuels from their electric and gas systems by 2050. In order to
achieve our state climate and energy goals there must be a
commitment not only from the legislature but from the energy
industry to transition our energy grid away from polluting fossil
fuels. In today's announcement, National Grid demonstrated that
commitment and their plans to eliminate fossil fuels is a
tremendous step in our continued efforts to transform our energy
sector." - Hon. Michael
Cusick, Chairman of the Assembly Energy Committee,
New York State
Assembly
"As a lifelong New Yorker representing almost 2,000 natural gas
utility workers across Long Island
as well as another 8,000 across the state, a reliable and
affordable energy policy is priority one! We need a PLAN not
a BAN. To achieve this, IBEW Local 1049 is proud to stand shoulder
to shoulder with our business partners at National Grid in
development of the clean energy vision for New York. We are
excited to work on a plan that will achieve emission reductions to
meet climate action goals of the CLCPA. This pathway will
ensure that good paying jobs for generations to come will be
protected while ensuring the production and reliable delivery of
energy that will bring comfort and safety to the lives of our
neighbors." - Pat Guidice,
Business Manager, IBEW Local 1049
"Our members have been helping reduce methane emissions for
years, and we're eager to take this next step toward a potential
fossil-free future in the fight against climate change. We're
uniquely qualified to help transform our existing gas system to
safely and reliably deliver RNG and green hydrogen, as well as to
install new heating technologies such as networked geothermal
loops. We are partnering with National Grid to focus on
workforce development and training, in order to ensure that
thousands of skilled workers are not left behind during any
developing clean energy transition." - Steve Finnigan, United Steelworkers District 4
Sub District Director
"A menu of solutions is needed to tackle the difficult challenge
of decarbonizing heat. We support utilizing the existing
infrastructure that fuels the Commonwealth's economy, and are eager
to partner on actionable, practical solutions like this that will
get us to net zero at the most affordable cost for our residents
and businesses." - Bob Rio,
Senior Vice President and Counsel, Government Affairs, Associated
Industries of Massachusetts
"Utilizing our existing gas networks to decarbonize will allow
all of the Commonwealth's businesses and residents, who have
already paid for this infrastructure, to participate in a clean
energy future. National Grid's plan is a practical approach that
gives Massachusetts customers
choice in their heating options to reach net zero." -
Rick Sullivan, President &
CEO, Western Mass Economic Development Council
"National Grid's fossil-free plan is a critical step forward in
the effort to fully transition the U.S. economy off fossil fuels
that reflects both the magnitude and urgency of the dangers posed
by catastrophic climate change. Renewable natural gas (RNG) is one
of the most cost-effective tools for reducing humanity's greenhouse
gas emissions that we have available. National Grid's plan, with
its diverse combination of electrification, hybridization, and RNG
development, will enhance system reliability while simultaneously
reducing the economy's emissions of the destructive greenhouse gas
methane. Coming at a time when investment in low-carbon and
carbon-negative energy remains far short of what is needed to
achieve the decarbonization targets set by the Paris Agreement and
state laws such as New York's
Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, National Grid's
fossil-free plan promises to deliver rapid benefits to both the
climate and human health." -Tristan
Brown, Associate Professor, SUNY
College of Environmental Science and Forestry
About National Grid
National Grid (NYSE: NGG) is an electricity, natural gas, and
clean energy delivery company serving more than 20 million people
through our networks in New York,
Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. National Grid is transforming
our electricity and natural gas networks with smarter, cleaner, and
more resilient energy solutions to meet the goal of reducing
greenhouse gas emissions.
For more information, please visit
our website, follow us
on Twitter, watch us on YouTube, like
us on Facebook and find our photos
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SOURCE National Grid