Have Some Renewable Energy With Your Rivian R2 Pre-Order

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The Intertubes lit up this week with reviews that the EV startup Rivian has already acquired greater than 100,000 pre-orders for its new R2 mid-sized SUV, however that’s not the one information the corporate is raring to share. Earlier this week Rivian additionally took pains to level out that renewable power is entrance and heart in its plans to create a holistic zero emission driving expertise for its prospects.

Wow, 100,000 Pre-Orders For The New Rivian R2 EV

If you happen to’re questioning why greater than 100,000 individuals would pre-order an electrical automobile when EV gross sales are supposedly dropping, that’s a very good query. The reply is that gross sales will not be dropping, not less than not from a big-picture perspective. Nevertheless, the numbers indicate that Tesla sales have been dropping within the US, at the same time as gross sales total proceed to get pleasure from a rising tide. Whatever the motive for the falloff, Tesla has left an enormous gaping gap for other EV makers to refill.

That features Rivian. The corporate launched in 2009, proper across the time Tesla launched the Roadster EV. It has been taking part in catchup ever since. Ford likes to say that it’s #2 in US electric vehicle sales behind solely Tesla, however Rivian is jockeying to contend as nicely. (see extra Rivian background here).

Native radio station WGLT (a public service of Illinois State College) received the news on the 100,000+ pre-order story earlier this week.

“The R2 is being sold as, amongst different issues, a extra reasonably priced possibility in contrast with Rivian’s current lineup,” noticed WGLT reporter Colin Hardman on July 21. He cited Rivian VP of producing Tim Fallon, who mentioned that the corporate is “nicely over a 100,000 pre-orders for R2, and people proceed to climb — they usually actually climb organically.”

“As we actually push R1 and R1 gen 2 and proceed to get our present product on the market, the R2 continues to extend in pre-orders,” Fallon added.

Extra Renewable Power With Your R2 Pre-Order

The 100,000 pre-order mark is fairly spectacular, although Rivian has a protracted technique to go earlier than it may well match the two million+ pre-orders reportedly acquired by Tesla for the Cybertruck.

Extra to the purpose, Rivian adopted up the WGLT story with a extra emphatic thumbs-up for renewable power in a press launch on July 22, main off with the remark that “the complete advantages of EVs will solely be realized if we cut back the carbon emissions from the power wanted to energy them.”

“That’s why we’re investing in constructing a carbon-free grid — and it means you assist wind, photo voltaic, and other clean energy projects each time you cost your Rivian. The extra you drive, the extra you assist speed up the shift to renewable power,” Rivian explains.

Renewable Power, ESG, & The Three Cs

That’s a very good level. Although EVs have a a lot smaller carbon footprint than gasmobiles, it’s a bit disheartening to spend so much of chilly, laborious money on a battery-powered automobile that recharges with the assistance of coal or pure fuel energy vegetation.

Rivian’s funding technique didn’t simply pop up out of the blue. Company renewable power consumers started flexing their power to move markets in the course of the Obama administration. Rivian is constructing on that effort, however with a extra intentional deal with advantages past decarbonization. The corporate teamed up with The Nature Conservancy final yr to develop a soup-to-nuts strategy to renewable power investing that’s in line with the ESG (atmosphere, social, governance) investing principles broadly utilized by monetary corporations (see extra ESG background here).

The mashup between The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and Rivian additionally displays a strategic response to opponents of rural solar projects. Builders are starting to appreciate that the case for renewable power must develop past clear kilowatts, to have interaction precise individuals.

“Our strategy ensures clear power improvement drives native financial development, protects ecosystems, and will increase power entry and affordability, whereas sustaining monetary viability,” Rivian explains, referring to the “3C toolkit” developed in collaboration with The Nature Conservancy.

The 3C objectives — local weather, conservation, and neighborhood — are outlined in a white paper produced by Rivian and TNC, which makes the case for renewable power tasks that aren’t scattered willy-nilly all around the panorama.

“Company procurement insurance policies can influence the clean energy market to maneuver past conventional concerns and prioritize essential co-benefits extending past the achievement of company sustainability objectives,” the authors clarify, in what feels like a ringing endorsement for ESG investing with out incurring the wrath of anti-ESG politicians.

Extra Renewable Power For Extra Rivian Drivers

If you happen to’ve been listening to in regards to the Starfire Photo voltaic challenge in Kentucky, that’s one results of the renewable power collaboration with TNC. The 2 companions teamed as much as interact in an influence buy settlement with the large 800-megawatt solar array, offering the developer BrightNight with the monetary safety to maneuver ahead with development.

“To ice the inexperienced cake, the Starfire photo voltaic array will sit on the location of the Starfire Coal Mine, which covers elements of Perry, Knott, and Breathitt counties,” CleanTechnica noticed earlier this yr. One other 1,000 megawatts are coming if and when Brightnight builds a brand new 20-mile transmission line.

Although most of Rivian’s renewable power tasks are photo voltaic, the corporate does have a few fascinating hydropower tasks within the cooker. One in every of them includes the Atlanta agency Emrgy, which has give you a compact different to conventional hydropower. As an alternative of counting on the water stress created by large dams, Emrgy leverages on the ambient move of water, deploying canals and different water methods.

Renewable Power & Group Advantages

Maybe essentially the most impactful funding Rivian has made thus far is an settlement with the agency Pivot Power, which focuses on neighborhood photo voltaic tasks. Group photo voltaic refers to PV arrays that native ratepayers can subscribe to, offering direct entry to renewable power no matter whether or not or not they’ll set up photo voltaic panels on their very own property.

Earlier this yr, Pivot introduced introduced a 60-megawatt collaboration with Rivian, underneath which Rivian will buy RECs (renewable power certificates) from 50 megawatts’ value of photo voltaic, along with subscribing to 10 megawatts of neighborhood photo voltaic. This explicit settlement falls into the class of “impression RECs,” which means REC agreements that contain neighborhood advantages over and above merely producing extra zero emission electrical energy.

“Affect REC agreements reminiscent of this one are designed to channel clean energy resources into areas poised for brand spanking new photo voltaic improvement and contribute to local people initiatives,” Pivot defined in a press launch dated Might 22.

“Rivian’s partnership permits extra photo voltaic tasks to be strategically developed in places with few photo voltaic assets,” Pivot added, noting that the brand new tasks will probably be situated in a area with a very soiled grid.

“By supporting these new-build distributed photo voltaic tasks via this REC buy settlement and neighborhood photo voltaic subscription, Rivian may have an outsized impression on emissions reductions on this area,” Pivot emphasizes.

It’s a secure wager that different EV makers are paying consideration. Rivian notes that the 3C toolkit is free for sharing, so maintain an eye fixed out for extra neighborhood photo voltaic exercise to return. Simply keep in mind it’s 3C, not ESG.

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Picture (cropped): Rivian prospects on the pre-order list for the new R2 electric SUV can sit up for extra renewable power for his or her zero emission experience (courtesy of Pivot Power by way of Rivian).