| | APRIL 20258RENEWABLE ENERGY ­ A MORE ADAPTIVE AND RESPONSIVE CHOICEBy Warren Boutin, Vice President, Customer Grid Electrification Solutions and Experience, Eversource EnergyAre big power plants a thing of the past? Are millennials demanding cleaner, renewable power generation? What will the grid of the future look like? Is anyone willing to pay a premium for clean, renewable power, and, if so, at what price? Are shareholders demanding CEOs consider environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues? These are some of the bigger questions facing the utility CEO's, regulators, and lawmakers in today's marketplace. To address these and other questions, we have put together a diverse cross-functional team to develop a strategy to move forward. The team consists of stakeholders from across the company, including executives from gas, electric, water, engineering, operations, strategy, legal, and customer service. While we don't see traditional power plants being completely phased out soon, the power generation sector will need to adapt and be responsive to the clean carbon reduction mandates in place across New England. The successful power plants of the future must look at sustainable natural gas generation options, including the procurement of responsible natural gas or leading technology produced natural gas. An example of responsible natural gas would be acquiring natural gas from traditional sources with a third-party rating agency to verify the extraction processes, ensuring it meets the highest standards to minimize environmental impacts. Another option would be renewable natural gas, which is gas supplied from wastewater treatment plants, landfill sites, and dairy farms with the gas going through Warren BoutinIN MY OPINION
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