Enbridge: Our Plan to Achieve Net Zero by 2050
Originally published in Enbridge's 2020 Sustainability Report
Modernization and innovation
At Enbridge, we encourage innovation at all levels of our organization, across and within all business units, through a structured framework that helps us gather and act on ideas. By applying innovation to our energy transportation and distribution systems, we can increase energy efficiency while minimizing the emissions intensity of current infrastructure. In 2012, we completed a multi- year, multi-million dollar cast iron pipe replacement program that switched out approximately 1,800 km of aging cast iron and bare steel pipe with coated steel and plastic pipe. As a result, GDS reduced its annual fugitive GHG emissions (mostly methane) by around 145,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e). Today, we are focused on replacing older equipment with new technology to capture vented methane emissions and enhance leak detection. The first phase of GTM’s modernization program is expected to reduce GHG emissions on our Texas Eastern pipeline by more than 180,000 tCO2e annually beginning in 2024. Future phases of modernization have the potential to remove up to 850,000 tCO2e of additional GHG emissions each year from our gas transmission facilities by 2034.
We are employing an innovation framework along with predictive analytics to reduce overall energy consumption while reducing GHG emissions. Since the introduction of our innovation framework two years ago, more than 5,000 employees have signed in to
our ideation platform with nearly 3,000 taking part in ideation challenges—ranging in size from enterprise- wide opportunities to reduce GHG emissions and energy consumption to department-level challenges seeking to uncover opportunities for process innovations. These opportunities to contribute ideas and comments have helped build a catalogue of more than 300 innovation and R&D opportunities. See our 2020 Innovation Report to read our case studies.
Solar self-powering our assets
We are executing on a strategy that connects our renewable power expertise—which we’ve developed over the past 20 years—with our goal to reduce our operational emissions. We are putting our know-how to work by building and operating renewable power generation facilities that meet our own electric power requirements.
We have an initial development opportunity of 15 to 20 solar self-power projects and we’ve put the first of these in place already. The first project on our natural gas transmission system was placed into service in Lambertville, NJ, in October 2020.
The 2.25-MW project is expected to reduce GHG emissions from electricity generation by nearly 60,000 tCO2e over its lifetime. Another 2.5-MW solar project entered into operation at our Heidlersburg, PA compressor station in May 2021. We expect similar facilities to begin operating on our gas transmission network over the next two to three years.
We are also exploring a number of projects along our LP rights-of-way. Our 10.5-MW Alberta Solar One project reached commercial operation in April 2021 and is providing power to our Liquids Mainline. The facility is designed to supply the energy equivalent to powering 1,850 homes, offsetting about 13,300 tCO2e annually. We’ve identified and are developing similar self-power solutions for pump stations across our network of liquids pipelines.
Procuring low-emission power
We are also pursuing opportunities to meet our electricity needs through the purchase of power from less emissions intensive sources of electricity. Our strategy includes policy advocacy to support the implementation of efficient and effective policies designed to reduce the carbon footprint of electricity grids across North America. This is particularly important as we seek to reduce Scope 2 emissions associated with our liquids pipeline assets.
Offsets and carbon credits
We plan to reduce the vast majority of our emissions using the pathways identified above. Yet, we will look to develop or acquire offsets where necessary to balance residual emissions or as a strategy to advance cost- effective climate solutions.
