Jeff Burleson, senior vice president environmental and system planning, at the Garland Solar Facility in Kern County, California.
Yes, and we have made great progress through innovation and an enduring commitment to customers.
One of the first U.S. utilities to establish a bold goal for the long-term reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2018, Southern Company updated its enterprise-wide goal in 2020 to target net zero emissions by 2050.
Net zero is a scenario where net carbon emissions equal zero. Any emissions from operations are balanced by an equivalent amount of carbon removal.
As part of the plan to achieve net zero, Southern Company subsidiaries will pursue a diverse portfolio of energy resources that include new low-carbon and carbon-free resources, as well as energy storage, energy efficiency resources and negative carbon solutions such as direct air capture and sequestration.
We will continue our industry-leading research and development, focusing on technologies that lower GHG emissions. We are also committed to support broader adoption of electric vehicles through the creation of charging infrastructure, and we have committed to convert 50% of our electric utilities’ fleet vehicles in several vehicle categories to electric by 2030.
In addition to our long-term goal, we also set an intermediate goal to achieve a 50% reduction in GHG emissions from 2007 levels by 2030. Through 2020, GHG emissions have actually been reduced by 52% compared to that 2007 benchmark. However, some portion of this reduction was temporarily accelerated by a combination of mild weather and the pandemic economy, so it is likely that we have not yet achieved 50% on a sustainable basis. Still, we expect to achieve this intermediate goal well in advance of 2030. In 2020, almost one-third of our system’s energy supply was generated from zero carbon resources, including nuclear, solar, wind and hydroelectric power.
Over the past two decades, our gas business reduced annual methane emissions from its distribution companies by 50%, even as its distribution systems grew by 20%. Through modernized infrastructure and collaboration with state regulators and other stakeholders, we now deliver natural gas at almost 99.9% efficiency, and we are committed to further reduce emissions going forward.
Southern Company will continue to leverage thoughtful scenario planning, long-term integrated resource plans and a constructive regulatory environment, engaging with policymakers, customers and communities to support outcomes that lead to a net zero future.
