The green revolution is upon us. Enbridge is a critical energy infrastructure business known for transporting oil and natural gas. It also has a sizeable renewable segment. What you might not be aware of is how well that stacks up in the renewables space and how such companies are including non-renewable power in their total outputs.
For capacity context, the International Renewable Energy Agency released its 2020 Renewable Capacity Statistics which provides insights into the sector as a whole.
I have ranked Enbridge with various renewable companies in terms of current net capacity (the maximum output of electricity a generator can produce under ideal conditions) minus natural gas capacity, which according to the International Renewable Energy Agency is an alternative fossil fuel. Definitions for what constitute renewable natural gas vary and you will see further examples below, but this number is included where available. The only outputs considered are strictly renewable: solar, water, wind, biomass, and geothermal power. I have not included energy generation statistics (how much energy is actually output) because this varies based on operating capacity and conditions (eg. weather events will lower output).
All data has been sourced from the latest publicly available ESG or Annual Reports and provided below.
| Company | Net Renewable Capacity (MW) |
|---|---|
| Brookfield Renewable | 18,884 |
| Innergex Renewable | 2,742 |
| Boralex | 2,455 |
| Enbridge | 1,727 |
| Algonquin | 1,456 |
| Northland Power | 1,323 |
| Transalta Renewables | 1,619** |
** **Transalta Renewables as at Dec 31 2020 listed only gross renewable MW and not net, which is significantly lower.
Brookfield Renewable: by far the largest output capacity and zero natural gas facilities. The majority of net capacity comes from Hydro and Wind.
Innergex Renewable: The majority of net capacity comes from Wind and Hydro. Again no natural gas.
Boralex: 82% of net capacity is derived from Wind. Least diversified of the group.
Enbridge: Majority of renewable capacity generated by Wind. Renewables represent 3% of EBITDA and appx. $200MM in annual contracted revenues.
Combined Current Renewable Power Generation outputs:
• 1,392 MW is generated by North American wind facilities;
• 255 MW is generated by European offshore wind facilities;
• 80 MW is generated by North American solar facilities in operation
Algonquin: The latest data from 2021 sources showed FY19 figures. You will see coal listed here: the Asbury coal plant was closed in March 2020. Furthermore, a significant portion of their capacity is from natural gas (50%), which is from non-renewable sources and thus not included.
Northland Power: Included in their total output is ‘efficient’ natural gas, which accounts for ~60% of net capacity. While the outcome is reduced emissions, it is still not a renewable source and therefore not included in total renewable capacity.
Transalta Renewables: Similar to Algonquin and Northland, a significant portion of capacity is from natural gas (~60%). I was unable to find updated net capacity statistics, which are significantly lower than gross, thus TA ranked last.
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Net capacity is an important metric in measuring where a renewable company stands, but it is not the only one. Revenues are impacted by total output and pricing, of which the weather events in Texas provided an eye-opening example. Nevertheless, what we see from the above comparison is that Enbridge is already well positioned amongst common North American “renewable” names, albeit far behind big players like Brookfield. Looking through the above company ESG and Annual Reports highlighted further forays into traditional renewable sources, while also noting investments in renewable natural gas. Let’s not forget the critical role Enbridge will play in RNG transmission alongside their own RNG production.
Make of this information what you will. The market is currently discounting their business with the secular oil decline, and not fully considering Enbridge’s ability to innovate and partner alongside a growing global energy infrastructure network, particularly in the NG/RNG space. I am bullish.
More details/visuals at: https://latecycle.com/2021/04/18/enbridge-critical-infrastructure-in-the-green-revolution/
Submitted April 23, 2021 at 10:52AM by LostInAntiquity https://ift.tt/3azK2b1
