Wednesday, September 22, 2021

SWEDEN
Vattenfall aims to quadruple wind and solar to reach net-zero by 2040


20 September 2021 by Craig Richard

Swedish utility plans to grow renewables fleet, phase out coal and help hard-to-decarbonise sectors boost electrification

Vattenfall CEO Anna Borg said the energy transition offers opportunities for her company


Swedish energy giant Vattenfall plans to quadruple its wind and solar fleet to help it reach net-zero emissions across its full value chain by 2040.

The company also plans to reduce its emissions intensity – the volume of emissions per unit of GDP – by more than 77% between 2017 and 2030.

It aims to help partners and society to electrify industrial processes in sectors such as steel, cement, heavy transport and chemicals, enabling emissions reductions beyond its own value chain.

More concrete measures include increasing the number of electric charging points 25-fold from the number it had in operation in 2020 and switching its last two operational coal-fired heat plants in Berlin, Germany, to a mix of biomass, heat pumps, power-to-heat and natural gas. However, it has not given a target date for either of these plans.

Vattenfall CEO Anna Borg said: “The climate crisis is for real and not only do we have a responsibility to step up and move fast, we also see many opportunities for us at Vattenfall in being a leader in this urgent transition.

“Achieving 2C is not enough. The 0.5C difference means the world to us and is a huge step towards fossil free living within one generation.”

A panel of independent scientists has verified that Vattenfall’s emissions reduction targets are now in line with the most ambitious goal of the Paris Climate Agreement: limiting global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has also verified climate targets for Siemens Gamesa and Vestas.

Vattenfall set climate targets in 2019 – reducing direct emissions from activities under its control and indirect emissions from electricity purchased by 38% by 2030 from a 2017 baseline, aw well as reducing emissions from the rest of its value chain 20% by 2030 – which were consistent with 2C of global warming. It met these targets last year.

The company has stakes in 5.6GW of operational onshore and offshore wind power capacity, according to Windpower Intelligence, the research and data division of Windpower Monthly.

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