Sustainability Reporting Initiative
Air
Our projects reduce greenhouse gas emissions and promote cleaner air.
We remain committed to producing renewable energy exclusively. By avoiding fossil fuel combustion for electricity generation, renewable energy projects promote cleaner air while reducing greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions. During operation, our hydroelectric, wind and solar facilities produce no air pollution and no significant GHG emissions.
The annual GHG emissions offset by Innergex’s production of clean, renewable energy in 2019 was approximately 5,671,704 metric tonnes of CO2 avoided, or the equivalent of removing 1,225,335 gasoline passenger vehicles driven for one year1.
¹ Based on Innergex’s 2019 Production Proportionate of 8,021,758 MWh, and calculated through https://www.epa.gov/energy/greenhouse-gas-equivalencies-calculator
GHG Inventory
Fighting climate change is one of the key principles at Innergex. Generating renewable energy exclusively means we are a low emitting source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, relative to other energy sources, that promotes cleaner air as our facilities produce no air pollution and no significant GHG emissions. In 2014, we conducted our first GHG accounting of Scope 1 emissions resulting from our operations, which at the time included Canada and the United States.
The results illustrated that our facilities produce electricity with no significant amounts of GHG emissions and in fact the amounts of renewable energy generated offset more than our own modest emissions (such as from vehicles or short-term backup generation due to outages). In 2019, we committed to disclosing our GHG emissions on an annual basis going forward. Increasing our output of renewable energy will allow us to make a bigger contribution in the fight against climate change to help build a cleaner future.
Our Scope 1 GHG emissions in 2019 were calculated from:
- Combustion of gasoline in company-owned cars, utility vehicles such as pick-up trucks, all-terrain vehicles, boats and snowmobiles used by facility operators for on-site operations and maintenance; and
- Combustion of diesel in heavy equipment (e.g. boom trucks, backhoes) and emergency back-up generators.
Our Scope 2 GHG emissions in 2019 were calculated from:
- Our energy consumption at our offices; and
- Our energy consumption at our facilities.
Innergex remains committed to producing 100% renewable energy and will not consider adding any technology that emits CO2 from generating electricity to our portfolio of assets.
Direct and Indirect Greenhouse Gas Emissions (kg CO2e)
| Emission Type | 2019 |
| Scope 1 Direct Emission | 2,095,706 |
| Scope 2 Indirect Emission | 1,948,212 |
| Scope 1 + Scope 2 Total | 4,043,918 |
| Scope 1 Halocarbon releases | 2,864,990 |
| Total CO2 Emissions including halocarbon releases | 6,908,908 |
| kg CO2e / MWh energy produced | |
| Total GHG Intensity | 0.504 |
| Total GHG Intensity with halocarbon releases | 0.861 |
Note: Halocarbons in this context refers to sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) and methane (CH4). In 2019 we had three sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) releases from high-voltage electrical systems at two of our facilities, resulting in a release of a total of 171.74 lbs. The majority of the loss occurred during construction of a substation at a facility in the United States.
Project Construction
During construction periods, due to their very nature, there are measurable amounts of GHG emissions from activities. These emissions are the result of operating heavy-duty machinery, transportation of materials, project assembly and other related works. Construction phases at our facilities, depending on their generation type and size (MW), can be completed in as little as 12 months up to as long as 36 months.
In 2019, Innergex had two projects that completed construction activities, both in the United States.
Policies
Innergex’s policies are designed to guide the Corporation and its employees to ensure compliance in all aspects of its business. These policies ensure the sustainable growth of the Corporation through supporting employees with information-sharing and training, providing transparency with shareholders and the public, and clearly laying out the Corporation’s vision for ethical and acceptable behaviour. Policies related to this section include:
Please note: On May 23, 2019, the Corporation announced completion of the sale of its wholly owned subsidiary Magma Energy Sweden A.B., which owns an equity interest of approximately 53.9% in HS Orka hf, owner of two geothermal facilities in operation, one hydro project in development and prospective projects in Iceland. As a result, they are not included in this document.
