Melanie Nakagawa, Microsoft Chief Sustainability Officer, announced the Policy Brief at the COP event, “Jump Starting the Global Deployment of Nuclear Energy”, hosted by the United States Government and the Export-Import Bank of the United States. As reported in the Policy Brief, “Microsoft is one of the largest purchasers of renewable energy in the world (totaling 19 gigawatts of contracted renewables capacity to date)… Renewable energy alone, however, will not get us all the way there. Firm carbon-free technologies will be pivotal, as a complement to renewables, both to provide reliable electricity access across the globe and to progress decarbonization to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change. Facilitating the pace and scale of the deployment of carbon-free technologies is critical.”
The policy brief outlines the importance of carbon-free electricity, the role of advanced nuclear and fusion energy, and how that plays into a decarbonized energy future and the policies to guide the company’s advocacy in this space.
With Terra Praxis REPOWER, Microsoft is working with its customers and partners in the nuclear energy industry to streamline the permitting process using digital platforms and AI to reduce the cost and time for completing licensing and permitting activities. Such activities are crucial to unlocking the full potential of the industry for carbon abatement and economic benefit.