TenneT has joined six other European transmission system operators (TSOs) in an open letter to suppliers and service providers in the energy industry calling for sustainable products and solutions in this market.
The goal is to enable the purchasing departments of the TSOs to make “greener” purchases in the future.
“As TSOs, we are at the centre of the energy transition by our societies and economies with the goal of creating a more sustainable and carbon-free world,” write the signers REN (Portugal), RED (Spain), Terna (Italy), national grid (Great Britain), elia group (Belgium) and Rte (France) as well as TenneT (Netherlands and Germany). The TSOs therefore share in the responsibility to act sustainably even beyond their core business and to reflect on the decisions made when purchasing materials and services.
As European utility companies, the seven TSOs would like to take the lead in this transition. The procurement departments wish to play a pioneering role with increasingly “green” purchases. This means placing a greater emphasis in the future on the factors of environment, biological diversity, recycling and social impact with regard to purchased equipment and services.
“We welcome and endorse new ideas for meeting conventional needs with innovative solutions,” say the seven TSOs. Almost all areas of business could become “greener” and more sustainable by investing in innovative technologies.
“All suppliers – established and new – are encouraged to contribute to this development. We will take this new trend into account in our future selection and/or awarding criteria,” declare the authors of the open letter, which TenneT alone has sent to roughly 2,600 companies that it works with. The spectrum ranges from painting companies to leasing companies to part suppliers.
TenneT itself has been certified according to DIN ISO 50001 since 2015 as an energy-efficient company and has established the goal of climate-neutral operation by 2025. The first measures on the way to this goal include optimization of the company’s own energy consumption. In the area of transformers, for instance, all new and replacement units in the substations of TenneT Germany consume up to 90 percent less energy for their cooling systems.
Other measures consist of innovations in offshore grid connections that lead to fewer and smaller buildings and systems (meaning less consumption of copper, steel and energy), optimization of overhead lines to reduce electricity transmission losses, low-energy outdoor lighting of facilities, smart building management and successive conversion of the fleet to electric vehicles.
