Plantd, a company that specializes in carbon-negative building materials, has announced a solar plan that will help it reach nearly 100% carbon negativity in its end-use products, according to a September press release on Newswire.
The company manufactures building materials made from fast-growing perennial grass. It now has plans to build a 30-acre solar farm that will power its production facilities, which rely wholly on electric technologies.
The solar farm is expected to generate 25% more electricity than the company needs, and the remainder will be sent to the local community at a highly subsidized cost, saving money for energy users.
Plus, the plan will help address rising global temperatures. Currently, about 60% of electricity in the United States comes from dirty energy sources, such as coal, oil, and natural gas. When burned, these fuels pollute the air and drive the warming of the planet, which is leading to more catastrophic weather events that threaten lives and property.
Meanwhile, adopting clean, renewable energy like solar can help us fight these consequences. In fact, the United Nations cites estimates that renewable energies could decarbonize 90% of the power sector by 2050.
In recent years, the U.S. has seen a wave of change in the adoption of solar.
For instance, some states are trying to make this technology more accessible, including Massachusetts, whose House of Representatives passed a bill that addresses several problems faced by solar and clean energy storage in the state.
Elsewhere, California has plans to transform an old oil town into the world's first geological thermal energy storage site for storing solar power to be used when the sun is not shining.
Nathan Silvernail, co-founder and co-CEO at Plantd, noted that construction is one of the biggest contributors to rising global temperatures, while energy is No. 1.
"Producing sustainable building materials is a pivotal first step," he said, per Newswire. "Still, it won't be enough if the energy used to power those production operations continues to pollute the environment. By powering our operations with 100% clean energy, we're reducing our footprint across the board, not just shifting the burden and hoping someone else will grab the baton."
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