As the nation’s largest consumer of coal, AEP is keenly aware of the impact its
operations have on the environment. We consume approximately 77 million tons of
coal each year to produce electricity for our customers. It goes without saying
that we continuously strive to improve the performance of our power plants to reduce
the cost of operation and the emissions that normally result from burning coal.
Now we face a new challenge: How do we ensure a sustainable electricity future in
a carbon-constrained world. There is a global urgency to address the emissions of
greenhouse gases, especially CO2, from vehicles, manufacturing processes and electric
power plants.
As we have in the past, AEP is once again stepping forward to take a leadership
role in the development and deployment of technologies and programs designed to
reduce the level of our emissions that are regulated under federal guidelines, along
with the carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases we contribute to the atmosphere.
But we can’t do it alone. To arrive at a reasonable, achievable solution requires
collaboration – between companies, governments, nations, environmental groups and
various other stakeholders.
Through our participation in the World Business Council for Sustainable Development,
we are working with electric utilities from around the world to develop a roadmap
that we believe provides guidance for new technology development and deployment,
outlines the need for new policies and makes detailed recommendations for individual
solutions. We also are working with many other organizations in the U.S. and internationally
with the same objective of finding the best solutions. The Council’s report,
Powering
a Sustainable Future: Policies and measures to make it happen (and its technology
solution booklet, Powering Sustainable Solutions: Policies and measures), provide
valuable insights into the promise and challenges involved in developing sustainable
resources.
AEP is a leader of technical innovation in the electric utility industry, producing
a “century of firsts” from new power generation techniques to efficient, reliable
transmission design. In addition, AEP continues to play a leadership role in pioneering
ways to produce power more cleanly and efficiently and to mitigate the environmental
impacts of our business. In this way, we carry on the proud tradition that will
benefit our customers, shareholders and others for years to come.
For more information, please see AEP’s Climate Change discussion in our Corporate Sustainability report.
