FirstEnergy Corp. FE recently announced plans to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and has taken steps to gradually lower carbon footprint. The company will be gradually implementing certain initiatives over the next few years, which will assist it to achieve its emission reduction goal.
Steps Toward Carbon Neutrality
FirstEnergy has set a midterm goal of 30% reduction in greenhouse gases within the company's direct operational control by 2030 from the 2019 level. Long-term goal of 100% carbon neutrality by 2050 will be achieved through replacement of conventional utility trucks with electric and hybrid vehicles, and replacing other aging equipment that emit greenhouse gasses. The company will also seek approval in 2021 to construct a solar generation source of at least 50 megawatts in West Virginia.
FirstEnergy will also assist customers to properly manage their energy use through the usage of advanced technology and lowering emission from its small regulated generation fleet, while preparing for the transition from coal-fired power in West Virginia by 2050.
In 2015, FirstEnergy announced plans to achieve a 90% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from 2005 levels by 2045. The new announcement shows FirstEnergy’s commitment toward achieving carbon neutrality.
Transition in Utility Space
A transition is quite evident in the U.S. utility space, with more and more companies coming out with detailed plans to lower emissions and achieve carbon neutrality. A few utilities in the United States have already started working to become net-zero emission companies over the next few decades.
Even with efficient utilization of electricity, the demand for electricity is going to increase in the United States in the coming decades. Utilities like Xcel Energy XEL, Duke Energy DUK and DTE Energy DTE, among others, have chalked out plans to achieve net-zero emissions within 2050.
Zacks Rank
FirstEnergy currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Price Performance
In the past three months, shares of the company have lost 0.6% against the industry’s 7.7% growth.
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FirstEnergy Corporation (NYSE:FE): Free Stock Analysis Report
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