AES Executive Vice President and President of Global Renewables Bernerd Da Santos discusses why AES has invested heavily in several key renewables-based technologies that will play a crucial role in ensuring energy security while addressing the preeminent challenge of climate change.

Google announced a goal to operate on 100% carbon-free energy by 2030 and set this goal knowing that a 24/7 carbon-free energy solution didn’t yet exist. AES and Google partnered together to develop a world-leading 24/7 carbon-free energy solution where we supply Google’s data centers with time-matched carbon-free energy through a custom mix of solar, wind, hydropower and battery energy storage resources.

Revolutionizing Mississippi’s energy landscape is just one of the benefits of the AES partnership with Amazon for the state’s first utility-scale wind farm. The 184.5 MW wind farm is expected to generate enough clean electricity to power over 80,000 homes while preserving agricultural land uses and generating tens of millions of dollars in local tax revenue.

Since our founding, AES has been a pioneer in energy innovation — from the first battery energy storage solution to one of the largest green hydrogen projects. We've always at the forefront of change.

Driven by leading expertise in innovation, efficiency and technological cost reduction, AES and Air Products joined together to build the United States’ first mega-scale green hydrogen production facility in Texas. Green hydrogen is essential technology for reaching net zero emissions goals, particularly in difficult to decarbonize sectors like transportation and industry.

AES was selected by the U.S. Department of Energy to receive grants of up to $2.4 billion as part of two regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs. Together with our joint venture in North Texas with Air Products, it consolidates AES' position as one of the leaders in producing green hydrogen in America.

AES partnered with X, the moonshot factory to develop grid virtualization technologies that facilitate decarbonization, improve efficiency and reliability, optimize for renewables and enhance prediction and planning for weather events. This is just one of our innovative solutions to global energy challenges derived from a 10-year strategic alliance with Google.

Since 2016, AES El Salvador, in alliance with the Ciudad Mujer program by the Ministry of Local Development, has supported career development for 650+ women by providing technical training for women electricians through the Residential Electrical Installations Course. This course is aimed at women who wish to acquire the skills and knowledge to carry out reliable, efficient and safe electrical installations and receive a certification as Electrical Technicians by the General Superintendency of Electricity and Telecommunications (SIGET).

AES and LineVision launched a joint project to assess how Grid Enhancing Technologies (GETs) may increase transmission capacity on the existing power grid. Through this pilot, we will gather data using Dynamic Line Ratings (DLR) to evaluate how LineVision can optimally integrate power from renewable energy sources.

Juan Ignacio Rubiolo, Executive Vice President and President, Energy Infrastructure, discusses how achieving a clean energy future requires meaningful consideration of the unique circumstances of each country and customer, and must balance environmental sustainability, energy security and resilience, and affordability and inclusiveness.

Energas and AES Dominicana’s joint venture EnaDom broke the Dominican Republic’s reliance on oil by shifting conventional energy generation to natural gas. We achieved this through newly developed infrastructure and delivery solutions where these did not exist, converting 750 MW to cleaner, more reliable energy and saving the country over $3 billion, eliminating 892,000 tons of CO2 emissions annually.

AES Andes is creating the world’s first project in the world to convert a coal-fired power plant into a 560 MW emissions-free storage system using molten solar salts. The project also involves training the workers at the current power plant in the new technology to preserve employment opportunities.

AES Brasil, together with SENAI, graduated 100+ talented women from the Technical Specialization course in Maintenance and Operation of Wind Farms. AES Brasil’s Cajuína Wind Complex will become the second wind project to be operated entirely by women, following our Tucano Wind Complex in Bahia. These two wind farms are now the first in the country to have exclusively female teams overseeing local operation and maintenance.

AES’ Grafton solar project is an innovative 2 MW AC community solar farm with 1.4 MW AC of battery energy storage that combines clean energy production, crop cultivation, and research partnerships to advance the field of agrivoltaics.

In 2022, AES retired 206 MW of coal generation and signed agreements for 431 MW of new solar, wind and energy storage projects in Hawaii. In advance of retirement, we worked with stakeholders to develop a responsible transition plan.