Invest in clean, sustainable energy and commit to reducing CO2 emissions. These are the objectives of many companies around the world, which are increasingly investing in renewable sources.
Large European oil multinationals, such as Shell, BP and Equinor, for example, already have assets and have made contributions to clean technology research in Brazil.
Technological giant Tesla is another company that has invested in the solar energy segment, to help promote the electric vehicle market.
Also not left out was Google, a multinational of online services and software, which intends, by 2030, to operate only with renewable sources.
In addition, Amazon is also investing in renewable energy. The company aims to operate with 80% renewable sources by 2024, as well as reaching a “net zero” point in carbon dioxide emissions by 2040.
From this scenario, the Canal Solar lists below the respective investments of these companies that are seeking energy efficiency.
Shell
Shell is investing in the Brazilian solar energy market, mainly in Minas Gerais. In April of this year, the oil company filed a request for a concession to ANEEL (National Electric Energy Agency) to implement three photovoltaic plants in the municipality of Brasilândia de Minas (MG), located 500 km from Belo Horizonte, named Aquarii I, II and III.
In September, Shell registered 511 MW in new permit applications for the installation of more solar plants in Minas Gerais. With this, the company has 24 applications representing 1,1 GW of power in the state of Minas Gerais. All of them are for independent production.
According to Maria Gabriela da Rocha, Shell’s solar business development manager for Latin America, Brazil has enormous potential for negotiating private contracts with renewables, given the size of the local free electricity market compared to other countries. “People abroad don’t understand how big the Brazilian market is. It is already a very significant sector with a lot of potential.”
In October, the oil company announced that it will have a new structure to commercialize and generate electricity. The measure aims to create an integrated model for electricity in the country.
According to the company, the structure is already in operation. It will be responsible for serving the generation and storage of renewable energy and natural gas, in addition to commercializing and optimizing sales to end consumers of integrated energy solutions under the Shell brand.
BP
In August this year, BP announced that it intends to reduce its oil and natural gas production by 40% by 2030. Furthermore, it wants to multiply its investments in low carbon by ten. To achieve this goal, the oil company must expand its business in renewables.
In the photovoltaic market, BP's operations began more than three decades ago. Even so, the company is still looking for a more suitable model to consolidate itself as a major player in the sector. Since the end of 2016, when it acquired a portion of the start-up Lightsource (which is now called Lightsource BP), investments in solar energy have been carried out by this joint venture.
According to the company, in 2019, BP's investments in low carbon totaled US$500 million. The goal for 2025 is to reach between US$3 and 4 billion and, for 2030, US$5 billion. With this increase, the oil company aims to increase its renewable energy generation capacity from the current 2,5 GW to 50 GW in 2030.
Also according to BP, much of this additional energy capacity generated should come from Lightsource BP. In September 2019, the start-up announced that it must spend US$8 billion to generate 10 GW of solar energy as early as 2023.
Equinor
In addition to operating in the oil and gas sectors, Norwegian Equinor decided to invest in the clean sources of electricity segment as a new global strategy, with photovoltaic and wind energy operations. As part of this new plan, in 2019, the organization's first solar project in the world was inaugurated in Brazil: the Apodi plant, located in the city of Quixeré (CE).
The oil company intends to invest, by 2030, around US$15 billion in Brazilian territory. According to the international organization CDP, which guides businesspeople and governments on actions to reduce emissions, Equinor is at the top of the ranking of oil and gas companies most prepared for a low-carbon future.
The company, for example, has a target for its entire portfolio to be below 8 kg of CO2 per barrel produced, a number well below the industry average, which is 17 kg of CO2/barrel.
Investments are expanding in renewable energy, mainly in offshore wind and solar projects. By 2030, Equinor's investment in new energy solutions will be responsible for around 15 to 20% of the company's total annual investments.
Tesla
When we talk about Tesla, news, technological innovations and electric cars immediately come to mind, but the fact is that the company also has a product division for the development of sustainable energy.
Introduced in 2016, the division proposes a simple way to install solar panels by combining the devices with tiles or covering materials on the same object.
In February this year, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, announced the production of solar panels 17% cheaper and with a 10% increase in energy conversion. According to him, the technology also offers a more sophisticated look compared to conventional photovoltaic generators. The product should finally reach the global market this year.
In addition to this product, Tesla revealed a battery for homes that, according to Musk, will help change the energy infrastructure around the world.
The Tesla Powerwall, according to the executive, can store energy from solar panels, from the electricity grid at night – when it is more economical – and provides a safe backup in the event of a power outage.
“The objective is to complete the transformation of the entire world's energy infrastructure to achieve sustainable 'zero carbon'”, highlighted Musk.
According to Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, the company aims to power its data centers and offices using exclusively zero-carbon electricity by 2030.
Solar, wind and other renewable sources accounted for, for example, 61% of Google's global hourly electricity use last year.
The proportion varied by location, with carbon-free sources meeting 96% of hourly power needs at the company's Oklahoma (US) data center, compared with 3% at its gas-dependent operation in Singapore.
Amazon
Amazon has announced a new investment program that will channel $2 billion to startups developing sustainable technologies across a range of sectors. Called the Climate Pledge Fund, the initiative will enable the company to achieve its goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2040.
“The Climate Pledge Fund will seek to invest in the visionary entrepreneurs and innovators who are building products and services to help companies reduce their carbon impact and operate more sustainably,” Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said in a press release.
In addition, it has already announced five new renewable projects in China, Australia and the United States. When completed, totaling 615 MW of installed capacity, the projects will provide approximately 1,2 million MWh of additional energy to the company's grid and AWS (Amazon Web Services) data centers, which power Amazon and millions of customers around the world.
Renewables surpass oil in market value
For the first time, a renewable energy company has surpassed the market value of an oil company. This occurred when the American company NextEra, the largest generator of solar and wind energy in the world, reached a value of US$ 138,6 billion, surpassing the American oil company Exxon Mobil which at the same time was worth US$ 137,9 billion.
Brazil can achieve more than 90% clean energy by 2035
For Rodrigo Sauaia, CEO of ABSOLAR (Brazilian Association of Photovoltaic Solar Energy), due to the competitive renewable resources that Brazil has, the country can reach more than 90% clean energy by 2035.
According to him, the country currently already has an electrical matrix with around 80% renewable and cannot stagnate in this range. “We are well positioned to lead this movement and be one of the renewable powers of the XNUMXst century,” he highlighted.
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