- Wide-ranging plan is proposed under the Natural Gas
Innovation Act, a recent landmark state energy law
- Proposed projects expected to reduce carbon emissions,
promote job creation and leverage millions of dollars in federal
clean energy funding
MINNEAPOLIS, June 29, 2023 /PRNewswire/
-- CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE: CNP), Minnesota's largest natural gas utility, today
proposed a wide-ranging set of innovative projects to reduce carbon
emissions and advance a cleaner energy future in Minnesota. The proposal includes projects to
promote made-in-Minnesota
alternative gases such as renewable natural gas and green hydrogen,
as well as pioneering technologies such as a networked geothermal
district energy system and end-use carbon capture.
The projects are part of a five-year innovation plan submitted
under a recent landmark state energy law, the Natural Gas
Innovation Act (NGIA). Passed with bipartisan support in 2021, NGIA
created a new regulatory framework for natural gas utilities to
invest in renewable energy resources and innovative technologies
that help reduce Minnesota's
greenhouse gas emissions.
The proposed plan requires approval from the Minnesota Public
Utilities Commission (PUC) through a review process that is
expected to take about one year.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, more
than two-thirds of Minnesota
households depend on natural gas for heating, as do many businesses
and industries in the state. CenterPoint Energy provides natural
gas service to more than 910,000 residential, commercial and
industrial customers in Minnesota.
"Natural gas utilities continue to be indispensable to meeting
Minnesota's energy needs," said
Christe Singleton, CenterPoint
Energy's Vice President, Minnesota Gas. "CenterPoint Energy looks
forward to the opportunities made possible by NGIA that will allow
us to pursue multiple pathways to reduce or avoid emissions while
continuing to provide the safe, reliable and cost-effective energy
that our customers count on every day, especially during the
coldest days."
CenterPoint Energy's innovation plan is expected to deliver
significant benefits to Minnesota,
including:
- Reduce or avoid an estimated 1.2 million tons of carbon
emissions over the lifetime of the projects – equal to the annual
energy use of about 150,000 homes or 14% of total emissions from
natural gas supplied to CenterPoint Energy customers in
Minnesota each year;
- Create an estimated 3,000 full-time equivalent jobs over the
lifetime of the projects; and
- Leverage $17 million or more in
federal clean energy incentives and support for Minnesota.
The plan includes 18 pilot projects and seven smaller
research-and-development projects. These projects will deploy and
evaluate a broad array of innovative resources and technologies.
Key pilot projects include:
Made-in-Minnesota gas
alternatives
Under NGIA, at least 50% of an innovation
plan's total investments must be dedicated to procurement or
distribution of certain alternative gases. CenterPoint
Energy proposes investing in low-carbon, zero-carbon and even
carbon-negative energy resources that can supplement or
replace conventional natural gas, including:
- Renewable natural gas (RNG): RNG is produced by
capturing and recycling organic waste materials from farms, food
waste, wastewater treatment facilities and other sources to produce
pipeline-quality gas. CenterPoint Energy would purchase RNG for its
gas supply, reducing lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions attributed
to the energy used by customers. The proposal includes obtaining
RNG through requests for proposals (RFPs), as well as from a
planned Hennepin County organics
recycling facility in Brooklyn
Park and a similar planned facility for the
Ramsey/Washington County
organics recycling program.
- Green hydrogen: Green hydrogen is produced by splitting
water into oxygen and hydrogen using renewable electricity. It can
be blended into the utility's natural gas supply or used directly
in a dedicated system with an industrial or large commercial
customer. CenterPoint Energy already has a green hydrogen pilot
project online in Minneapolis and
the plan proposes a second facility, powered by a dedicated solar
array, on CenterPoint Energy property in the Mankato area.
Networked geothermal system
CenterPoint Energy would
develop a networked geothermal system to provide building heating
and cooling to a neighborhood currently served by the utility. A
geothermal system uses a network of wells, water, pipes and pumps
to pull heat out of the ground to deliver warmth to buildings in
winter and to pump heat from those buildings back into the ground
to provide cooling in summer.
Hybrid heating
The plan includes proposed
incentives for homeowners and businessowners to install hybrid
heating systems that use electric heat pumps with gas backup
heating for the coldest weather. The plan would also evaluate new
weatherization strategies to prevent energy waste and reduce
emissions through deep energy retrofits of homes and construction
of high-performance commercial buildings.
Industrial decarbonization
The plan proposes
incentives and other support to industrial customers to improve
efficiency and reduce emissions for high-heat processes such as
glassmaking, concrete production and metal foundries. Electric heat
pumps may be suitable for low-to-medium heat processes, while
technologies such as carbon capture or green hydrogen may be needed
for processes not amenable to electrification.
The total proposed budget for all projects is about $106 million over five years. If cost recovery is
approved by the PUC, the estimated impact would be less than
$1.50 on a typical residential
monthly utility bill.
CenterPoint Energy is committed to a cleaner energy future by
reducing carbon emissions, including a company-wide Net Zero goal
by 2035 for Scope 1 and certain Scope 2 emissions. In addition, the
company is committed to helping its residential and commercial
customers reduce emissions from their end use of natural gas by
20-30% by 2035 (from a 2021 baseline). The total emission
reductions under this Scope 3 goal are comparable to those for the
company's combined Scope 1 and 2 Net Zero goals.
To learn more about the Natural Gas Innovation Act and
CenterPoint Energy's proposed innovation plan, visit
CenterPointEnergy.com/NGIA.
About CenterPoint Energy, Inc.
As the only
investor owned electric and gas utility based
in Texas, CenterPoint Energy, Inc. (NYSE: CNP) is an
energy delivery company with electric transmission and
distribution, power generation and natural gas distribution
operations that serve more than 7 million metered customers in
Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Ohio and Texas. As of March 31, 2023, the company
owned approximately $38 billion in assets. With
approximately 9,000 employees, CenterPoint Energy and its
predecessor companies have been in business for more than 150
years. For more information, visit CenterPointEnergy.com.
Forward Looking Statement:
This news release includes
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used in this news
release, the words "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could,"
"estimate," "expect," "forecast," "goal," "intend," "may,"
"objective," "plan," "potential," "predict," "projection,"
"should," "target," "will," "would" or other similar words are
intended to identify forward-looking statements. These
forward-looking statements are based upon assumptions of management
which are believed to be reasonable at the time made and are
subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual events and
results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by
these forward-looking statements. Any statements in this news
release regarding future events, such as approval by the PUC of
CenterPoint Energy's innovation plan, CenterPoint Energy's ability
to executed on the innovation plan, including the proposed scope of
projects and anticipated benefits, including extent of carbon
emission reductions and the number of jobs created by the
innovation plan, the extent to which and timing of
CenterPoint Energy's ability to recover costs to implement the
innovation plan, the amount and expected impact to customer's
bills, and any other statements that are not historical facts are
forward-looking statements. Each forward-looking statement
contained in this news release speaks only as of the date of this
release. Important factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those indicated by the provided
forward-looking information include risks and uncertainties
relating to: (1) the impact of pandemics, including the COVID-19
pandemic; (2) financial market conditions; (3) general economic
conditions; (4) the timing and impact of future regulatory and
legislative decisions; (5) effects of competition; (6) weather
variations; (7) changes in business plans; (8) continued
disruptions to the global supply chain and increases in commodity
prices; (9) legislative decisions, including tax and developments
related to the environment such as global climate change, air
emissions, carbon and waste water discharges; (10) CenterPoint
Energy's ability to execute on its initiatives, targets and goals
and operations and maintenance goals and (11) other factors, risks
and uncertainties discussed in CenterPoint
Energy's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended
December 31, 2022, CenterPoint
Energy's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended
March 31, 2023 and other reports
CenterPoint Energy or its subsidiaries may file from time to time
with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Net Zero Disclaimer
CenterPoint Energy's Scope 1
emissions estimates are calculated from emissions that directly
come from its operations. CenterPoint Energy's Scope 2
emissions estimates are calculated from emissions that
indirectly come from its energy usage, but because Texas is in an unregulated market, its Scope 2
estimates do not take into account Texas electric transmission and distribution
assets in the line loss calculation and exclude emissions related
to purchased power between 2024E-2026E. CenterPoint Energy's
Scope 3 emissions estimates are based on the total natural
gas supply delivered to residential and commercial customers as
reported in the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) Form
EIA-176 reports and do not take into account the emissions of
transport customers and emissions related to upstream extraction.
While CenterPoint Energy believes that it has a clear path towards
achieving its net zero emissions (Scope 1 and Scope 2) by 2035
goals, its analysis and path forward required it to make a number
of assumptions. These goals and underlying assumptions involve
risks and uncertainties and are not guarantees. Should one or more
of our underlying assumptions prove incorrect, CenterPoint Energy's
actual results and ability to achieve net zero emissions by 2035
could differ materially from its expectations. Certain of the
assumptions that could impact our ability to meet its net zero
emissions goals include, but are not limited to: emission levels,
service territory size and capacity needs remaining in line with
company expectations (inclusive of changes related to the sale of
CenterPoint's Natural Gas businesses in Arkansas and Oklahoma); regulatory approval of Indiana
Electric's generation transition plan; impacts of future
environmental regulations or legislation; impacts of future carbon
pricing regulation or legislation, including a future carbon tax;
price, availability and regulation of carbon offsets; price of
fuel, such as natural gas; cost of energy generation technologies,
such as wind and solar, natural gas and storage solutions; adoption
of alternative energy by the public, including adoption of electric
vehicles; rate of technology innovation with regards to alternative
energy resources; CenterPoint Energy's ability to implement its
modernization plans for its pipelines and facilities; the ability
to complete and implement generation alternatives to Indiana
Electric's coal generation and retirement dates of Indiana
Electric's coal facilities by 2035; the ability to construct and/or
permit new natural gas pipelines; the ability to procure resources
needed to build at a reasonable cost, the lack of or scarcity of
resources and labor, the lack of any project cancellations,
construction delays or overruns and the ability to appropriately
estimate costs of new generation; impact of any supply chain
disruptions; changes in applicable standards or methodologies; and
enhancement of energy efficiencies.
Media
Relations
Media.Relations@CenterPointEnergy.com
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SOURCE CenterPoint Energy, Inc.