Power through the energy transition
A tech-enabled transformation can help accelerate the path to a carbon-free future.
The U.S. built its economy and infrastructure over the course of 200 years on the back of fossil fuels—now we are trying to reach net zero in just 20 years.
Government requirements and societal demands to address climate change—particularly through a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions— are blending into a related and immediate need to address the nation’s aging energy generation, transmission, and distribution infrastructure. Utilities simply don’t have the resources and budget to achieve net zero on their own, particularly on a short timeline.
Such a massive, multi-pronged effort to simultaneously upgrade and decarbonize power across the U.S. requires joint government-business collaboration and funding to support development and deployment of new technologies.
The clean energy transition is the most exciting development I’ve seen in my 40-plus-year career. The opportunity for innovation, for job growth and for investment is unprecedented. Our government is fully on board, sponsoring investment via the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. And companies are fully committed and prepared to collaborate with each other and the government to accelerate transformation.
Jim Ajello
Senior Advisor and former Chief Financial Officer, Portland General Electric Company
Electric utilities
U.S. electric utilities need to optimize their energy supply, transmission, and distribution to meet 24/7 electricity needs.
Carbon-free, reliable, cost-effective generation
Electricity suppliers that want to meet the energy transition challenge now and plan for the future should evaluate sustainable technologies according to three stages of maturity:
Basic. Mature renewables such as wind and solar are proven assets with lower risk of becoming unprofitable. However, utilities are struggling to support their integration, and significant infrastructure investment is needed to withstand peak demand.
Interim. Innovations including batteries for energy storage are proven and in use but immature. Development continues and profitability risk is moderate.
Advanced. Laboratory-proven technologies need to be tested in large-scale industrial applications. Pilots are underway with significant R&D investment.
How KPMG can help
KPMG brings practical guidance and solutions to help you navigate the journey and realize value quickly—whatever your starting point or industry. We help clients achieve greater value from business transformation by helping accelerate the process of turning vision into reality, improving performance and profitability, and increasing operational efficiency and resilience.
Our people make a difference by becoming deeply ingrained in your business using data-led insights and advanced technologies to drive change, efficiencies, and resilience. From strategy through execution and beyond, we help clients integrate multiple transformation initiatives to create the smooth orchestration of a complete transformation. Doing so allows us to provide better, faster outcomes and greater organizational agility.
Dive into our thinking:
Power through the energy transition
Download PDFExplore more
Meet our team
