Now you can integrate carbon pricing with your financial evaluation for on-site clean energy

What does it mean for Lumen customers?

Lumen customers can now specify an optional carbon price (e.g., $40/ton) to generate a new revenue line item in Lumen’s dynamic financial models. This revenue line item can be considered equivalent to what that customer might have spent on a carbon removal project, except with the impact instead accomplished through deploying solar or batteries. Adding an optional carbon price allows our customers to accurately quantify the impact of emissions offset in dollar terms and effectively increases the expected returns of a project beyond utility cost savings.

Lifetime CO₂e reduction per MW solar deployed

Note: CO₂e reduction is mapped to local energy grids. The chart above indicates how much lifetime CO₂e would be reduced for every MW of solar deployed in a given a local grid balancing area (e.g., a MW of solar deployed in the Georgia balancing area would yield a greater lifetime reduction in CO₂e than one deployed in the Maine balancing area).

How does the grid emissions forecasts work?

Lumen’s local grid forecast offers simulated hourly data on emissions, costs, and operations for various projected futures of U.S. electricity markets through 2050. Unlike traditional approaches to carbon forecasting, which are often backwards looking, Lumen’s forecast is designed to support forward-looking analysis. Lumen’s forecast takes into account factors like:

• Regional Grid Carbon Intensity: Lumen’s forecast provides detailed data on CO₂ emissions per unit of electricity across different sub-state regions called balancing areas. This granularity helps measure the relative impact of deploying clean energy in a high-carbon intensity region versus a low-carbon intensity region.
• Marginal Emissions Curves: Lumen’s forecast also includes information on how carbon intensity fluctuates throughout the day. This effectively accounts for effects like the “duck curve,” where additional solar is generated at times of day that are already greener than others such as evenings and mornings.
• Future Decarbonization Projections: Lumen’s forecast accounts for anticipated changes in grid carbon intensity over time, considering factors such as policy developments, technological advancements, and increased deployment of renewable energy sources. This forward-looking perspective accounts for how future projected additions of renewables will influence grid emissions in the future.‍
• Renewable Energy Production Variability: Lumen’s forecast models renewable energy output based on weather patterns and climate data, recognizing that factors like sunlight availability and regional climate conditions significantly affect solar energy generation and the associated emissions reductions.

Why Does This Matter Now?

For organizations with ambitious net-zero goals, it has been historically difficult to quantify the impact of emissions offset. Lumen’s new tool is a new way to do so, leveraging the best of publicly and privately available research. 

We’ve released this tool with the aim of continuing to enable our customers to make smarter, data-driven decisions about their clean energy investments.

"Many of Lumen’s customers are on the front-lines of deploying on-site clean energy across portfolios that span hundreds or even thousands of buildings. We built this tool in direct response to customers searching for a better way to economically quantify the carbon impact of their investments. Amidst a shifting landscape, we’re proud to push the boundaries of a more sustainable built environment.” said Peter Light, CEO of Lumen Energy

Take Action Today

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