Engie North America – Rhea Cherian – 2021

Goals

ENGIE North America, a major renewables and energy services company, recognized the need to develop options for an end-of-life program for its wind and solar assets in the United States and Canada and was simultaneously interested in expanding its pollinator planting program from distributed solar to include grid scale solar. Through the Climate Corps program, Environmental Defense Fund Fellow Rhea Cherian was enlisted to research and map processes that could achieve both goals.

Solutions

For both projects, Rhea consulted and worked with internal, external, domestic, and international experts to understand the landscape, identified relevant data, and synthesized processes that would ultimately enable ENGIE North America to streamline operations and make more informed decisions.

For the end-of-life programs, Rhea developed processes which accounted for various factors faced by both distributed and grid scale solar and wind projects such as finances, logistics, and regulations.

For the expansion of ENGIE North America’s pollinator program to grid scale, Rhea developed comprehensive BMPs that cover a project from development to construction and through operation in detail while also accounting for each site’s unique scenarios. These BMPs will serve as input for future growth of local fauna and vegetation on ENGIE North America’s renewables sites.

Potential Impact

With the goal to be Net Zero Carbon by 2045, ENGIE S.A., the parent company of ENGIE North America, can utilize these programs and practices and apply them to existing and future renewables assets to reduce its carbon footprint and improve the local environment even further.

By taking these steps now, ENGIE North America is paving the way for a brighter and more sustainable future for all.