Beyond the Checkbox: The Critical Role of Time Matching in Achieving True Green Energy

Had a cool chat with Killian Daly last week.

Killian is executive director of EnergyTag, an independent non-profit defining and promoting Net-Zero aligned electricity carbon accounting, enabled by real-time tracking with granular certificates. He underscored a future where innovation meets sustainability to achieve Net Zero energy objectives.

The Pivotal Role of Time Matching:

Time matching — the alignment of energy consumption with renewable energy production on an hourly (or even more granular!) basis — stands as a cornerstone for genuine sustainability. This approach is not merely a regulatory checkbox but a fundamental shift towards ensuring that green energy projects have a tangible impact on actually reducing carbon emissions. The importance of getting time matching right cannot be overstated, as it directly influences the environmental integrity of projects, and therefore their viability too.

New to this concept? Watch the short video below.

Moving Beyond ‘Spreadsheet Management’:

The current reliance on spreadsheet-based management for tracking and complying with energy regulations is insufficient for the complexities of today’s green energy landscape. The shift towards more sophisticated — software-based — tools promises a more accurate, efficient, and scalable solution. Tools that facilitate real-time, granular tracking, interfacing with granular certification, are essential for bringing time matching efficiently to the forefront.

Good Portfolio and Risk Management:

Killian also highlighted the benefits of combining multiple renewable energy sources in your energy contract mix, alongside thinking about storage and demand flexibility. This approach mitigates risk and ensures a more stable and sustainable energy supply. For many applications, this is the only way of effectively managing the transition to a time-matched portfolio of energy sources for companies’ optimized energy consumption, aligned with their sustainability goals.

The Green Hydrogen Horizon:

A significant area of application that Killian highlighted for these innovations is the production of green hydrogen. The regulatory environment, both in the US and the EU, is increasingly underscoring the need to source energy locally and on a granular level for a qualification as green hydrogen producer. This will also be increasingly tied to subsidy schemes.

Conclusion:

We will pivot to more granular and accurate methods of energy sustainability accounting. The related emphasis on time matching is coupled with the move away from outdated energy management and tracking practices towards a comprehensive software technology-driven approach to meeting tomorrow's green energy challenges. This evolution not only aligns with upcoming regulatory demands, but also opens opportunities for improved economic competitiveness.

We organized a webinar on this topic too. Watch the recording below.