Connecticut's Energy Evolution
No one can deny the many regulatory and consumer changes we’ve seen after over 100 years in the energy sector. Our focus has always been on taking advantage of new technologies, fuels and methodologies in order to keep us at the forefront of our industry and thus provide the best service to our customers. Here are a few energy hot topics that are just as important for you as they are for us as a business:
Electrification in CT
States across New England, including Connecticut, have their eye on electrification as the solution to meeting federal greenhouse gas mandates in the coming years. They want to incentivize homeowners to replace their oil or gas heating systems with electric heat pumps in order to achieve the ultimate goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. While on the surface, this plan seems straightforward, however there are many reasons for homeowners to be wary:
1. Electric Heat Pumps:
While electric heat pumps have become fairly common as a supplemental heat source over the past decade, they become problematic and extremely inefficient when the temperatures drop below freezing – a frequent occurrence during a New England winter!
2. Electricity Generation:
Currently only 5% of CT’s electricity is generated by renewable energy sources. Increasing this percentage by any substantial amount (80% is the current target being discussed) would not only be extremely costly to ratepayers but risky. There is no guaranteed output from wind and solar. Places like Texas and Germany learned the hard way this winter when they experienced frozen turbines and snow-covered solar panels. It will be many years before electricity can make a valid claim to being truly renewable, causing this shift to be vastly premature.
3. Electric Grid:
It will be no surprise to CT residents that we have the highest average electricity retail price among the lower 48 states. And after most of us were left in the dark for over 8 days last August, there isn’t much faith in the condition of the grid. Putting all of our eggs in the electric basket could be costly and inconvenient for many years to come.
The Strength of BioHeat®
As an industry, we have been working for the past two decades to forge our own path to net-zero emissions. The fuel we deliver today is called BioHeat®, a blend of ultra-low sulfur heating oil with biodiesel, a domestic, sustainable and renewable energy source. Currently, we deliver a 5 to 7% biodiesel blend to your homes. As an industry, we have committed to increasing that blend to 20% by 2023, 50% by 2030 and to have a net-zero carbon footprint by 2050!
To further this goal, a coalition of US energy fuel dealers and Midwest farmers have established Project Carbon Freedom to support the mission of advancing liquid biofuels as a solution to quickly, safely and affordably transition the country to a carbon-free way of life.
The economics of moving towards a 100% biodiesel blend have a long reach for many sectors including agriculture, manufacturing, service and transportation. Today, the biodiesel industry supports over 62,000 domestic jobs and billions in paid wages; as biodiesel consumption continues to ramp up, so will the economic benefits.
For consumers, the benefits are two-fold: a transition to higher biodiesel blends can occur with little to no impact on the consumer, and it will not only reduce their carbon footprint but higher levels of biodiesel have been proven to reduce service-related issues in heating equipment.
To learn more about electrification, Project Carbon Freedom and BioHeat®, visit ProjectCarbonFreedom.com