Southern Company joins industry decarbonization effort
<p>Southern Company has signed on as an anchor sponsor of a newly formed low-carbon joint venture launched this week by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and Gas Technology Institute (GTI). Named the Low-Carbon Resources Initiative (LCRI), the project is a unique, international collaboration spanning the electric and gas sectors that will help advance global, economywide deep decarbonization.</p>
<p>The goal of the five-year initiative is to accelerate the development and demonstration of low-carbon energy technologies. The LCRI is targeting advancements in low-carbon electric generation technologies and low-carbon energy carriers, such as hydrogen, renewable natural gas and bioenergy.</p>
<p>“Decarbonization is a major focus of Southern Company’s research strategy, and the LCRI will serve as a valuable tool in our efforts,” said Dr. Mark S. Berry, Southern Company vice president of research and development (R&D). “Delivering a decarbonized future will require an influx of advanced technologies, so it’s essential that we leverage collaboration to find and advance those next-generation and transformational solutions.”</p>
<p>With 18 anchor sponsors, the LCRI utilizes the collaborative research model employed by EPRI, GTI and Southern Company, bringing industry stakeholders together with other peer companies to conduct clean energy R&D.</p>
<p>Seeded with $10 million from the EPRI-GTI collaborative, funding for LCRI is expected to be leveraged many times over its $100 million target through public and private collaboration.</p>
<p>For LCRI’s anchor sponsors, the initiative represents a key step toward achieving decarbonization goals over the next 30 years.</p>
<p>Stan Connally, executive vice president of Operations for Southern Company, and Kim Greene, president and CEO of Southern Company Gas, are participating in a virtual roundtable hosted by EPRI and GTI on Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2020, at 1 p.m. ET. They will discuss the importance of hydrogen and other low-carbon resources to achieving substantial, economywide decarbonization. Registration for the roundtable is available <a href="https://c212.net/c/link/?t=0&l=en&o=2880582-1&h=1308673788&u=https%3A%2F%2Fweb.cvent.com%2Fevent%2F5b89d0f7-b84c-461e-af68-c72328ca5e95%2Fsummary%3Frp%3D00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000&a=here" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>
<p>In May, Southern Company committed to an enterprise-wide, long-term greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction goal across all electric and gas operations of net-zero emissions by 2050. The company also reaffirmed its intermediate goal of a 50% reduction of GHG emissions from 2007 levels by 2030.</p>
<p>Over the past decade, Southern Company has seen a rapid transition of its system’s generation fleet. The Southern Company system’s carbon emissions have decreased by 44% through 2019, and the company now expects to achieve the 50% reduction goal well in advance of 2030, and possibly as early as 2025.</p>
<p>For more than five decades, Southern Company’s R&D organization has been leading industry innovation to deliver more value to customers, while helping the company and industry keep pace with the ever-changing energy landscape. Membership in the LCRI is the latest in a long line of executions around Southern Company’s comprehensive business strategy to reduce GHG emissions.</p>
<p>Learn more about the LCRI at <a href="http://www.lowcarbonlcri.com/" target="_blank">www.LowCarbonLCRI.com</a>.</p>
