SAN DIEGO, June 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Sempra Energy
(NYSE: SRE) today announced it has signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) with the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's)
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), providing a framework
for a joint effort to advance future net-zero energy systems. The
MOU, which builds off nearly 10 years of ongoing collaboration,
will continue current work researching and developing innovative
solutions to help shape a lower-carbon future through technology
and applications capable of withstanding increasing energy demand
and broad adoption while advancing future innovation.
"To achieve global carbon-neutrality, energy systems will need
to transform dramatically over the coming decades. Our partnership
with NREL drives forward a vision to advance the energy systems of
the future by focusing on innovation and resiliency," said
Lisa Alexander, senior vice
president of corporate affairs and chief sustainability officer for
Sempra Energy. "New investment and innovative partnerships are
critical to developing solutions that will manifest a global energy
transition while promoting economic growth and prosperity."
"Building on our strong history of collaboration, we are excited
to accelerate our work with Sempra to advance clean energy
solutions," said Doug Arent,
executive director for strategic public-private partnerships at
NREL. "Researching key synergies across power, low carbon fuels and
industrial sectors are expected to provide critical innovations
toward realizing a low carbon, equitable, affordable, secure and
reliable energy economy."
Sempra Energy and NREL have been collaborating for nearly a
decade on cooperative and multi-year projects exploring the
development, access and integration of low-carbon fuels and
microgrid technology. In 2013, Sempra Energy's subsidiary San Diego
Gas & Electric Co. (SDG&E) and NREL joined to establish the
nation's first utility-owned community microgrid in Borrego Springs, Calif., connected to a local
26-megawatt solar field (owned by a third party), two battery
storage systems, two generators, and an ultracapacitor. The
microgrid, which is being upgraded so that it can operate on 100%
clean energy, was designed to provide consistent power flowing to
the remote desert town during emergencies and planned outages on
the larger grid. In 2017, Sempra Energy's subsidiary Southern
California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) and NREL partnered to create,
validate and integrate the nation's first carbon-free, power-to-gas
pilot-system. The technology takes excess electricity and converts
it to hydrogen, which can be used, stored, or combined with carbon
dioxide and fed to a bioreactor to produce renewable natural gas
(RNG). This innovative technology could provide North America with a large-scale,
cost-effective solution for storing excess energy produced from
renewable sources. Additionally, Sempra Energy and NREL have
coordinated efforts to research the impacts of hydrogen blending in
natural gas networks, and studied potential pathways for wholesale
market access to hydrogen production facilities.
Under the MOU, which is not legally binding but sets forth a
framework for cooperation, Sempra Energy and NREL will coordinate
and share objectives focused on:
- Advancing artificial intelligence to scale solutions across the
U.S. and enable cities to reach clean energy goals;
- Integrating low-carbon fuel solutions, including hydrogen,
renewable natural gas, carbon capture, utilization and
sequestration, and fuel cells;
- Exploring innovative solutions towards 100% renewable energy
communities, requiring and implementing smart and enhanced
controls, integration and operational capabilities as a blueprint
for expansion;
- Enhancing electric grids with technology that upgrades the
infrastructure with a focus on reliability, connectivity and
security; and
- Promoting viable net-zero solutions that are delivered with
equity and widespread community access.
In its current work, Sempra Energy and its operating companies,
including SoCalGas and SDG&E, are also exploring the
decarbonization of regional and industrial hubs, or industrial
clusters, to mitigate carbon emissions from industrial processes –
such as manufacturing, steel and chemicals – that cannot be
electrified. The companies, in partnership with NREL and the U.S.
Department of Energy, are researching integrated solutions that may
enable these sectors to achieve significant emissions reductions,
while maintaining productivity, creating jobs, and fostering
healthier communities.
Sempra Energy looks forward to working with NREL to help
decarbonize industries, homes and energy and transportation
systems, while continuing to deliver resilient, reliable and
sustainable energy in every market it serves and to consumers
around the world.
About Sempra Energy
Sempra Energy's mission is to be
North America's premier energy
infrastructure company. The Sempra Energy family of companies has
more than 19,000 talented employees who deliver energy with purpose
to over 36 million consumers. With more than $66 billion in total assets at the end of 2020,
the San Diego-based company is the
owner of one of the largest energy networks in North America serving some of the world's
leading economies. The company is helping to advance the global
energy transition by enabling the delivery of lower-carbon energy
solutions in each market it serves, including California, Texas, Mexico
and the LNG export market. Sempra Energy is consistently recognized
as a leader in sustainable business practices and for its
long-standing commitment to building a high-performing culture
including safety and diversity and inclusion. Sempra Energy is the
only North American utility sector company included on the Dow
Jones Sustainability World Index and was also named one of the
"World's Most Admired Companies" for 2021 by Fortune Magazine. For
additional information about Sempra Energy, please visit Sempra
Energy's website at www.sempra.com and on Twitter
@SempraEnergy.
This press release contains statements that constitute
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking
statements are based on assumptions with respect to the future,
involve risks and uncertainties, and are not guarantees. Future
results may differ materially from those expressed in any
forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements
represent our estimates and assumptions only as of the date of this
press release. We assume no obligation to update or revise any
forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future
events or other factors.
In this press release, forward-looking statements can be
identified by words such as "believes," "expects," "anticipates,"
"plans," "estimates," "projects," "forecasts," "should," "could,"
"would," "will," "confident," "may," "can," "potential,"
"possible," "proposed," "in process," "under construction," "in
development," "target," "outlook," "maintain," "continue," or
similar expressions, or when we discuss our guidance, priorities,
strategy, goals, vision, mission, opportunities, projections,
intentions or expectations.
Factors, among others, that could cause actual results and
events to differ materially from those described in any
forward-looking statements include risks and uncertainties relating
to: California wildfires,
including the risks that we may be found liable for damages
regardless of fault and that we may not be able to recover costs
from insurance, the wildfire fund established by California
Assembly Bill 1054 or in rates from customers; decisions,
investigations, regulations, issuances or revocations of permits
and other authorizations, renewals of franchises, and other actions
by (i) the Comisión Federal de Electricidad, California Public
Utilities Commission (CPUC), U.S. Department of Energy, Public
Utility Commission of Texas, and
other regulatory and governmental bodies and (ii) states, counties,
cities and other jurisdictions in the U.S., Mexico and other countries in which we do
business; the success of business development efforts, construction
projects and major acquisitions and divestitures, including risks
in (i) the ability to make a final investment decision, (ii)
completing construction projects or other transactions on schedule
and budget, (iii) the ability to realize anticipated benefits from
any of these efforts if completed, and (iv) obtaining the consent
of partners or other third parties; the resolution of civil and
criminal litigation, regulatory inquiries, investigations and
proceedings, and arbitrations, including, among others, those
related to the natural gas leak at Southern California Gas
Company's (SoCalGas) Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility; the
impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our capital projects, regulatory
approval processes, supply chain, liquidity and execution of
operations; actions by credit rating agencies to downgrade our
credit ratings or to place those ratings on negative outlook and
our ability to borrow on favorable terms and meet our substantial
debt service obligations; actions to reduce or eliminate reliance
on natural gas, including any deterioration of or increased
uncertainty in the political or regulatory environment for local
natural gas distribution companies operating in California, and the impact of volatility of
oil prices on our businesses and development projects; weather,
natural disasters, pandemics, accidents, equipment failures,
explosions, acts of terrorism, computer system outages and other
events that disrupt our operations, damage our facilities and
systems, cause the release of harmful materials, cause fires and
subject us to liability for property damage or personal injuries,
fines and penalties, some of which may not be covered by insurance,
may be disputed by insurers or may otherwise not be recoverable
through regulatory mechanisms or may impact our ability to obtain
satisfactory levels of affordable insurance; the availability of
electric power and natural gas and natural gas storage capacity,
including disruptions caused by failures in the transmission grid,
limitations on the withdrawal of natural gas from storage
facilities, and equipment failures; cybersecurity threats to the
energy grid, the storage and pipeline infrastructure, the
information and systems used to operate our businesses, and the
confidentiality of our proprietary information and the personal
information of our customers and employees; expropriation of
assets, failure of foreign governments and state-owned entities to
honor their contracts, and property disputes; the impact at San
Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E) on competitive
customer rates and reliability due to the growth in distributed and
local power generation, including from departing retail load
resulting from customers transferring to Direct Access and
Community Choice Aggregation, and the risk of nonrecovery for
stranded assets and contractual obligations; Oncor Electric
Delivery Company LLC's (Oncor) ability to eliminate or reduce its
quarterly dividends due to regulatory and governance requirements
and commitments, including by actions of Oncor's independent
directors or a minority member director; volatility in foreign
currency exchange, inflation and interest rates and commodity
prices and our ability to effectively hedge these risks; changes in
tax and trade policies, laws and regulations, including tariffs and
revisions to international trade agreements that may increase our
costs, reduce our competitiveness, or impair our ability to resolve
trade disputes; and other uncertainties, some of which may be
difficult to predict and are beyond our control.
These risks and uncertainties are further discussed in the
reports that Sempra Energy has filed with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). These reports are
available through the EDGAR system free-of-charge on
the SEC's website, www.sec.gov, and on
the company's website, www.sempra.com. Investors
should not rely unduly on any forward-looking statements.
Sempra North American Infrastructure, Sempra LNG, Sempra
Mexico, Sempra Texas Utilities, Oncor and Infraestructura
Energética Nova, S.A.B. de C.V. (IEnova) are not the same
companies as the California utilities, SDG&E or
SoCalGas, and Sempra North American Infrastructure, Sempra LNG,
Sempra Mexico, Sempra Texas Utilities, Oncor and IEnova are
not regulated by the CPUC.
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