Southern Co

Southern Company plans to have more fossil fuel plants than almost any other US-based utility in 2050. It is committing to a pathway with high locked-in emissions from fossil fuel-based electricity generation, which therefore risks it being left with stranded assets because of regulatory, legal or market changes. The company also intends to continue investing in natural gas. To minimise these risks, Southern Company should fully commit to net-zero emissions by 2050 and not rely on carbon capture and storage (CCS) delivering the emissions reductions required for the low-carbon transition.

Southern Company lost US$6.4 billion on its coal gas (gas from coal) sequestration research project at the Kemper plant. This illustrates that such CCS projects have high financial risk when alternative, renewable fuel sources exist. If Southern Company is committed to CCS, then it should work with other electric utilities to invest the significant resources needed to make it a reality.

Southern Company plans to invest in renewables but also to continue investing in and relying on large amounts of fossil fuel generation. Its target for 2050 is low-to-zero carbon, which the company understands to mean an 80% reduction from 2007. This would result in a still considerable 31 million metric tons of emissions per year in 2050.

There is little detail in Southern Company’s plans beyond an aspiration to increase renewables and to reduce emissions by 50% by 2030, a target which it is well ahead of achieving because of replacement of coal with gas that will not enable longer term net-zero emissions. Southern Company intends to install 4 GW (less than 9% of its total 2018 capacity) of renewables between 2017 and 2022.

Southern Company and its subsidiaries continue to lobby against climate change legislation while maintaining a portfolio with 77% energy generation from fossil fuels. The company recently issued a new target for 2050 that contains significant negative emissions (emissions captured with technology), implying that it intends to maintain fossil fuel assets past that time.

Southern Company has closed over 4 GW of coal capacity but also converted 3.3 GW to gas. Since 2007, the company has increased renewables from 1% to 10%. Coal and gas have decreased from 85% to 75%.

Southern Company remains committed to fossil fuels despite recent progress on renewables and building new nuclear plants. The company has been one of the largest funders of anti-climate policy, and so its low-carbon transition plan conflicts with its continued negative climate lobbying.