AES as a committed partner of COP 27

In November 2022, the 27th Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC (COP 27) will take place in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, with a view to building on previous successes of the Paris Agreement and COP 26 and paving the way for future efforts to tackle the global challenge of climate change.

For 10 days, at COP27, delegates will discuss how to implement the shift towards a low carbon economy. Topics covered will include, among others:

The role of Governments to put in place policies to promote a fair and just transition to decarbonization and to attract investors by setting up a predictable framework (Decarbonisation Day).
Combining different technologies with renewable energy and hydrogen playing a key role. Smart grids, energy efficiency and energy storage will be elements of discussions that will contribute towards a much-needed comprehensive vision of how energy ecosystems can evolve (Energy Day).
Finance which plays a critical role in meeting the targets of the global climate agenda. Discussions will revolve around "innovative and blended finance and financial instruments, tools, and policies" (Finance Day).

AES’ commitment towards a responsible green transition

AES will participate at COP27, reflecting the company’s commitment and efforts to achieve net-zero emissions from electricity by 2040 and towards a responsible green transition. We support the objectives of the Paris Agreement to limit the average rise in global temperature to 2°C above preindustrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the increase to 1.5°C. We are taking concerted action to transform our own portfolio to reduce carbon emissions while working to develop new solutions that are designed to enable our customers to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels.

Last year, as a key stakeholder involved in COP26, the AES Corporation announced its partnership with the Chilean government for the development of an additional 1.563 MW of battery-storage capacity, contributing to the decarbonisation of the country. AES also announced its partnership with Microsoft for the development of renewable data centres through which AES is decarbonising the energy-intensive data storage industry.

How AES is globally driving the green transition

In line with this strategy, AES will bring to COP 27 its experience of cooperating and co-creating energy solutions with customers: in 2021, we concluded an agreement to supply 24/7 carbon-free energy for Google’s data centers in Virginia; in May this year, AES entered into two renewable energy Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with Amazon to help Amazon stay on path to power its global operations with 100% renewable energy by 2025. We are also working with some of the world’s largest metal mining companies in their transition to renewable energy in South America, essentially reducing the emissions of major supply chains.

Furthermore, over the past years, AES has taken decisive action to create innovative solutions to allow companies and industries to rapidly decarbonize. At the core of our innovation strategy is AES Next, our business and technology incubator. AES Next works to identify new and innovative business ventures that provide leading-edge and greener energy solutions that add value today and that will drive our business in the future.

In the area of battery storage, Fluence, created as a joint venture between AES and Siemens, has more than 2.7 GW of projects across 24 countries worldwide. The other three scalable ecosystems include 5B, a leading solar technology company, working to deploy solar technologies around the world by making them more accessible, resilient, and faster to deploy; Uplight, a market leader in cloud-based energy efficiency providers globally and a certified B Corporation that works with over 80 electric and gas utilities; and Motor a unique electric vehicles subscription service .

At AES, we believe that discussions at global, regional and national levels on energy matters are essential to addressing the climate emergency, as it requires large-scale emission reduction by all actors. This can only be accomplished through multilateral and regional cooperation.

AES also believes that cooperation between investors and authorities is crucial to reach shared objectives and enable a sustainable energy transition that supports targeted investments and the development of innovative solutions.

How AES is helping Bulgaria with its green transition

In this context, AES Bulgaria and the Bulgarian Ministry of Energy signed a Memorandum of Understanding to share knowledge and experience in innovative technologies and explore new opportunities for innovative energy solutions. AES will collaborate and assist the country to achieve its goals in the European Green Deal for 2030 and 2050 by providing AES affiliates’ knowledge and experience in innovative technologies and their market integration. Specifically, we will explore the opportunities for the deployment of a solar project with a generation capacity of around 100MW together with a battery energy storage system (BESS). AES Bulgaria will also assess the feasibility of a stand-alone grid scale BESS project of 80MWh in the area of Sofia.

AES Bulgaria is also examining its options of converting/co-firing TPP AES Galabovo to other technologies following the expiry of the PPA it has in place with Bulgaria in May 2026. At the moment, the following technologies are under consideration: natural gas/hydrogen, biomass or waste-derived fuel (Solid Recovered Fuel or “SRF”). In parallel, AES Bulgaria is exploring the feasibility of deploying Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage solutions at TPP AES Galabovo.

AES is committed towards a responsible green transition. To this, both globally and locally, we bring our cooperative spirit and innovative solutions to the table. Through our technology and knowhow, we aim to help COP 27 realize its objectives.

Keywords: COP27, green transition, Paris Agreement, Power Purchase Agreement, COP27, climate change, decarbonisation, net-zero, innovation, hydrogen, battery-storage, Bulgaria, just transition