How a Coal Plant Is Making Room for Wind, Solar to Cut Emissions

• February 27 2018
• Chris Martin

AES Corp. is using giant coal plants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Yes -- coal plants.

AES Corp. is using giant coal plants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Yes -- coal plants.

Under pressure from activist investor ValueAct Capital Management to cut pollution, Arlington, Virginia-based AES is changing how it operates traditional generators that once ran at full speed. By burning less coal as the sun rises and wind kicks up, AES has found it can make room for more wind and solar on the grid, helping cut its pollution per megawatt by 25 percent over four years, Chief Executive Officer Andres Gluski said on a conference call Tuesday.

“At certain hours of the day, very cheap renewables will allow us to decrease our carbon footprint,” Gluski said. “But at the same time take advantage of our coal plants, using them basically like large batteries.”