POWER February 2023 - 22

UTILITY SPOTLIGHT
A Strategy Primed for Unprecedented
Changes
2. Constellation Energy's 32.4-GW generating fleet produces an output that is nearly 90%
carbon-free. The company owns a fleet of 23 nuclear plants with a combined capacity of 20.9
GW, along with 8.8 GW of natural gas and oil generating plants, and 2.7 GW of renewable assets.
Courtesy: Constellation Energy
Exelon, which comprises its six regulated
electric and gas utilities, and Baltimorebased
Constellation Energy, a spinoff
comprising its 31-GW competitive generation
fleet and customer-facing businesses.
The business separation concluded in
February 2022.
A Generating Giant with Nuclear at Its
Core
Though Constellation Energy has officially
functioned as an independent, publicly
traded company for only a year, the
company appears to have emerged with
a sharply defined purview and strategy.
Today, the company is primarily a power
supplier-one of the largest competitive
electric generation companies in the
U.S.- that holds a 32.4-GW fleet (Figure
2). Its generating profile is composed of
21 GW of nuclear plants from 23 units,
which provide baseload zero-emission
power, and 12 GW of natural gas, oil,
hydroelectric, wind, and solar assets,
which provide baseload, intermediate,
and peaking functions.
Its generating assets are spread
across five segments. These include 11.9
GW in the Midwest, spanning the western
half of PJM and most of the Midcontinent
Independent System Operator
(MISO); 10.5 GW in the Mid-Atlantic,
which covers the eastern half of PJM
Interconnection; 3 GW in the New York
Independent System Operator (NYISO);
3.6 GW in the Electric Reliability Council
of Texas (ERCOT); and another 3.3 GW in
other power regions, including New England,
the South, the West, and Canada.
Constellation, however, also holds
a " customer-facing " business, selling
electricity, natural gas, and other energy-related
products and solutions to 2
million customers, including distribution
utilities, municipalities, cooperatives,
22
commercial and industrial (C&I), governmental,
and residential customers
in competitive markets across multiple
geographic regions. In 2021, Constellation
supplied about 140 TWh of electric
power load through the retail market and
800 billion cubic feet of gas-mainly to
C&I customers-and 65 TWh of power
load through wholesale channels across
competitive load procurements and bilateral
sales to municipalities, co-ops,
banks, and other wholesale entities.
Another notable element of Constellation's
businesses is its " energy solutions "
arm-one of the largest of its
kind in the U.S.-which it describes as
a " non-commodity element " that functions
to provide its customers with sustainability,
efficiency, and technology
solutions. " The ongoing ability to optimize
energy consumption for customers
allows us to support customer demands
with the right combination of technology
and efficiency program options, " the
company says. " For example, our CORe
[Constellation Offsite Renewables] product
serves C&I customers' sustainability
needs by matching contracted, third-party
renewable generation with customer
desire to add additional carbon free generation
to the grid (additionality) and geographic
preference. "
Finally, the
company's
looking solutions are fostered by
forwarda
dedicated
commercialization team,
Constellation Technology Ventures,
which invests in and collaborates with
portfolio companies to deploy valuedriving
products and technologies
across its broad customer base, such
as for electric vehicle and charging infrastructure,
sustainability monitoring
and reporting tools, distributed energy
resources and financing solutions, and
a web-based energy marketplace.
www.powermag.com
Constellation notes that these businesses
evolved from a mission it
inherited from Exelon to provide environmentally
friendly energy. Today,
Constellation is striving to own 100%
carbon-free generation by 2040, with
an interim goal of going 95% carbonfree
by 2030 (though Constellation noted
that will depend on " policy support
and technology advancement " ). It is
also working to reduce its operationsdriven
emissions by 100% by 2040,
and reduce its methane emissions 30%
from 2020 levels by 2030.
Another key aspect of its strategy
involves reducing its supply chain emissions.
The company is committed to
providing " 100% of C&I customers
with customer-specific information on
their GHG [greenhouse gas] impact
for facilities contracting for power and
gas supply from Constellation including
mitigation opportunities that include
24/7 clean electric use, " it notes. A final
but significant goal involves committing
to enable future technologies and business
models that could drive a clean energy
economy.
Constellation said its strategy responds
to " unprecedented changes " in
the U.S. energy sector that are poised
to " increase the demand for reliable,
clean power generation. " While recent
government and corporate policies have
targeted accelerated decarbonization,
recent policy support for nuclear energy
is rooted in bolstering energy security,
reliability, and diversification, it notes.
The strategy also caters to rapid electrification
of the U.S. economy, and evolving
customer preferences that favor
clean energy, choice, and digitization.
" We expect widespread electrification
could result in U.S. electricity demand
to nearly double from what it is today by
2050, " it said.
However, " The foundation of our sustainability
approach is our best-in-class,
carbon-free, 24/7
generation
assets,
which enable us to produce more clean
energy than any generation company in
the U.S., " the company stressed. " We
believe our generation fleet is uniquely
positioned to support reaching cleanenergy
targets at the state and national
levels. Our world-class nuclear operations
are a cornerstone in the response
to the climate crisis, and these assets
are durable with the potential to operate
well into the 2050s and 2060s and
potentially beyond. "
POWER | February 2023

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POWER February 2023

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