Source: independent.co.uk
America's biggest coal producer is taking the plunge on renewables by launching a joint venture in solar power.
Peabody Energy Corp. announced on Tuesday that it has launched R3 Renewables with two investment firms to build utility-scale solar projects on or near former coal mining operations.
The St. Louis-based company will develop 3.3 Gigawatts (GW) of solar - enough to power about 2 million homes - and 1.6 GW of battery storage capacity over the next five years. R3 Renewables will develop on large tracts of land in Indiana and Illinois.
"We are pleased to announce this new joint venture as part of Peabody's commitment to be the coal producer of choice, creating additional value from our existing assets, supporting our own and our customers' ESG ambitions and providing added economic benefits for the communities in which we work and live," said Jim Grech, President and CEO of Peabody.
Peabody betreibt seit fast 140 Jahren Kohlebergbau und ist in New South Wales, Australien, sowie in den US-Bundesstaaten Wyoming, Alabama, Indiana und New Mexico tätig.
The company did not report the size of the investment but it appears that its primary focus will remain in the fossil fuel industry. The Independent left a message for Peabody's representative seeking comment.
Coal is the dirtiest, most carbon-intensive of fossil fuels. While it generated 24 per cent of US electricity in 2019, the fossil fuel accounted for about 61 Prozent der CO2-Emissionen der Branche.
Im Jahr 2020 erzeugten erneuerbare Energiequellen - einschließlich Wind, Wasserkraft, Sonne, Biomasse und Erdwärme - etwa 21 % des Stroms in den USA, nur noch übertroffen von fossilem Gas.
In the same year, use of renewables surpassed both nuclear and coal for the first time in history, reported the US Energy Information Administration.
Im Rahmen der US-Pläne zur Bewältigung der Klimakrise hat Präsident Joe Biden zugesagt, das Land von fossilen Brennstoffen zu entwöhnen, bis 2035 einen sauberen Energiesektor und bis spätestens 2050 eine Wirtschaft mit Netto-null-Emissionen zu schaffen.
