There is a growing push for cities and businesses across the country to strive to use 100 percent renewable energy.
Many cities, organizations, and companies have goals to use 100 percent renewable energy by 2035 to 2050. Businesses such as Coca-Cola, BMW Group, Bank of America, and others have committed to being 100 percent renewable. Budweiser unveiled a commercial during this year’s Super Bowl to announce its beer is being brewed by 100 percent renewable (wind) energy.
But what exactly does being “100 percent renewable” really mean from a technical standpoint? Renewable energy from resources such as wind and solar aren’t available all the time to produce energy, so how is a city or business able to claim to be 100 percent renewable?
The answer lies in financial arrangements as opposed to the actual energy received from the operation of the electric grid.
To understand what being “100 percent renewable” means, it helps to have a basic understanding of how the electric grid works.
To ensure reliability, electric grid operators must maintain a proper balance in matching electric generation to electric demand at all times. Renewable energy resources such as wind and solar are inherently intermittent, meaning if conditions are not conducive to producing renewable energy (think a cloudy day with no wind), the energy is not readily available at all times. To respond to this intermittency, other resources are required to maintain a proper balance of electric generation and demand.
If a city or business (assuming it’s hooked up to the U.S. electric grid) claims to be 100 percent renewable, what they are indicating is they have made financial arrangements to purchase electric generation output from renewable energy resources equal to their business or city’s electric demand over a certain period of time. Being connected to the electric grid, they are receiving electricity produced from whatever generating sources are on the grid — this includes natural gas, coal, nuclear and other forms of electric generation.
Once on the electric grid, electricity produced by renewable sources is no different from electricity produced from other generating sources. In other words: An electron is an electron once produced. Electrons produced by renewable resources are mixed with electrons produced by more traditional baseload resources. This mix of electricity is then transmitted throughout the grid serving electric demand with no distinction on a business or city’s renewable claims.
Knowing this concept helps in understanding the current limitations of renewable resources, the importance of baseload resources to maintain a reliable grid, as well as the phrase of being “100 percent renewable” — as it relates to a financial arrangement rather than from an operational standpoint.
So how much renewable energy does the City of Beatrice use? In 2017 the City of Beatrice entered into a power purchase agreement with Cottonwood Wind Project, LLC, a renewable wind energy generator. Beatrice is currently using about fifty percent renewable energy.
As renewable energy use continues to grow, a key goal will be to modernize America’s electricity grid, making it smarter, more secure, and better integrated across regions.
Pat Feist
Electric Superintendent