COP 26: A Crucial Ramp-Up of Renewables

COP?26, held in Glasgow from November 1st to 12th, is about to start while climate change-related questions are more topical than ever. The eyes of the entire planet are riveted on the Scottish town where experts, politicians, NGOs, territorial and business representatives will specifically address issues that touch us all, as well as existing solutions.

A genuine emergency

We cannot afford to lose more time, now is the time to ramp things up. As the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) report last August reminded us, limiting global warming to 1.5?°C or even 2° C is far from being achieved. As a reminder, this objective was set by the Paris Agreement, the international climate treaty negotiated by 196 parties and aimed at limiting the impact of global warming. Consequently, the forthcoming conference opening on November 1st will be decisive, as it will examine and reassess commitments made at COP21. Participating countries must find an agreement that will halve global greenhouse gas emissions over the next ten years. In this context, and with such ambitious objectives, one thing is clear: we must collectively rely on renewables.

“With a stronger focus on renewable gases, ENGIE is building tosay the low carbon energy system of tomorrow.” Catherine MacGregor, CEO of ENGIE

ENGIE, a major player in renewables

Our commitment to renewables is not new. As early as 1990, ENGIE was opening a first onshore wind farm in the Aude department. Ever since, our conviction that there is a place for all forms of renewable energy sources in the transition towards carbon neutrality has only increased. Whether it involves inshore and offshore wind power, solar power, geothermal energy, as well as biomethane and green hydrogen, our commitment is to prioritise a complementary, consistent energy mix. And our conviction translates tangibly with more and more actions on the field across the world. And we are ramping things up! In only ten years, we have more than doubled the capacity of our mature renewable energy facilities, which have increased from 13?GW in 2010 to 31.1?GW in 2020. Of course, this spectacular boom stems from the Group’s determination and from the growing demands of citizens and public authorities, but also from falling investment costs. Over the last ten years, these have been cut by more than 82% for solar photovoltaic energy and by 39% for onshore wind power.

Strong goals in renewables:?

50 GW by 2025 to 80 GW by 2030

Encouraging perspectives

And of course, that is not all! Overall, the Group wants to increase its production capacity from renewables to 58% by 2030. Suffice to say that the next ten years are due to be as intense as ever. Our R&D teams are working hard to make our solutions even more performing and reliable, as well as economically and environmentally viable. And while mature energies such as wind and solar power further develop, we are also investing a lot in emerging energies. Because, according to the International Energy Agency, three quarters of the efforts made to cut greenhouse gas emissions will have to come from immature technologies.?

ENGIE's R&D teams are working hard to make our solutions even more efficient, reliable and economically viable.

For example, we are accelerating efforts to structure the biogas and biomethane sectors . Here are some examples: Our Terres de?Montaigu biogas power plant is already producing 22?GWh/year, equating to the gas consumption of 1,800 households. Our efforts also involve establishing the first floating offshore wind farms, based on WindFloat Atlantic, off the coast of Portugal, which will provide power to 60,000 households yearly. Renewable hydrogen also seems very promising. It has an impressive decarbonisation potential, which makes it indispensable in the current context. At ENGIE, we are aiming for nothing less than becoming leaders in green hydrogen. We are therefore investing massively so that it becomes a competitive energy: as proof, we are developing power-to-gas technology, which consists of producing green hydrogen from surplus renewable electricity. The large-scale deployment of this energy will be possible as early as 2025.

Already convinced? We have been for years. Tackling climate urgency is in our DNA. Through our corporate purpose , ENGIE actively participates in building a decarbonised world for an affordable, reliable, and sustainable transition.?