Over the last week and a half, all eyes have turned to Glasglow for COP26. Hosted by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the annual conference opened on October 31 and will continue to bring together world leaders and representatives through November 12. Events taking place during the conference range from working groups to keynote addresses, with a range of topics including policy, technology, socioeconomic factors, data, strategic plans, and more.
The conference has already produced a number of headlines. We have seen dramatic images representing the impact that climate change has already had on our world – including Tuvalu’s foreign minister, Simon Kofe, giving his address standing knee deep in water in an area that was once dry land. We have seen Frankie the Dinosaur take a humorous approach, urging humans to take immediate collective action and avoid extinction. Global campaigns such as The Race to Zero have brought together participants from the public and private sectors to demonstrate a commitment to creating a net zero economy. We have seen a plethora of nations commit to new or enhanced climate goals. It is all certainly a step in the right direction, but is it enough?
Looking beyond the rousing speeches and public proclamations, some have criticized the event as being nothing more than a PR stunt engineered to placate the public and distract from a lack of meaningful work. Commercial and financial representatives from the private sector have been called out for “missing the point” by placing emphasis on net-zero projects that still fail to transition away from fossil fuel dependence. In research done leading up to the event, the Washington Post found that global emissions data is often under reported, outdated, and lacking in standardization, making it very difficult to actually quantify progress, impact, or accountability.
What is abundantly clear is that we must maintain and grow momentum through action.
Here at GridMarket, we were built on action.
Our platform is a project implementation vehicle, helping partners achieve their energy goals by deploying optimal distributed energy technologies. Now more than ever, it is critical to accelerate processes and find economically viable solutions that can be developed, sustained, and replicated. There is impact at scale, and our platform’s disruptive approach revolutionizes traditional energy feasibility and development practices to help partners hit net-zero commitments, increase resiliency, and achieve real value.
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to climate action, and our platform reflects that. Examples of our partners include a Pacific island nation transitioning to renewable generation for resiliency and energy independence, a cold storage warehouse implementing solar and battery storage for reduced operating costs, an automotive manufacturing portfolio with sites across the United States looking to hit ambitious sustainability goals, and a pioneering microgrid at an urban low-income housing complex that helped the local utility defer an expensive substation upgrade. Next generation analytics, remote capabilities, automated scenario planning, centralized data capture, and transparent, compliant processes make the platform a flexible fit for partners of all sizes, anywhere around the world. GridMarket flips the script on traditional energy studies and one-off projects by taking a customized, holistic approach and finding the opportunities that best meet the identified need.
Climate change is no longer a distant threat – the impacts are being felt around the globe in real time. Major events like COP and local, associated events that take place throughout the year are crucial for momentum and progress, but there must be operational changes happening on a global scale. These operational changes can happen through the exciting new technologies that are being developed, tested, and used in the market. Renewable generation is key, and with every passing day it becomes easier to harness, control, monitor, and use. Our platform can facilitate these changes, making embracing the future of energy simple, low-risk, and impactful.
To learn more about GridMarket’s energy transformation platform or to view case studies on how the platform has been the vehicle for progress for governments, utilities, commercial and industrial portfolios, and individual energy consumers, please reach out to info@gridmarket.com or visit the resources page.