The AES Corporation (A)

The AES Corporation, an independent power producer, faced a conflict between its 'least-cost' strategy—which relied on coal—and its commitment to social responsibility. To address the projected 15 million tons of carbon emissions from its Thames plant in Connecticut, the company evaluated several offset options, including energy conservation, carbon scrubbing technology, and reforestation in tropical developing countries, while also considering a long-term strategic shift toward natural gas or renewables.

• The AES Corporation, an independent power producer co-founded in 1981, operated under a strategy of providing the "least cost" energy supply, which typically favored coal due to its abundance in U.S. reserves and price stability. However, the company's value system prioritized "Social Responsibility" as the first and conditional order of business, creating a conflict because coal-fired cogeneration plants are "significant emitters of carbon dioxide."
• The Thames coal-fired cogeneration plant in Montville, Connecticut, was designed to provide 181-megawatts of power to Connecticut Power & Light and steam to Stone Container Corporation. AES estimated that the facility would emit "over 15 million tons of carbon over its expected 40 year life," a factor that was not included in the original project planning or cost estimates.

APA

Trent, M. (1992). The AES Corporation (A). World Resources Institute. https://pdf.wri.org/bell/case_1-56973-122-5_full_version_a_english.pdf

Chicago

Trent, Marcy. The AES Corporation (A). World Resources Institute, 1992. https://pdf.wri.org/bell/case_1-56973-122-5_full_version_a_english.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Trent |first1=Marcy |title=The AES Corporation (A) |publisher=World Resources Institute |date=1992 |url=https://pdf.wri.org/bell/case_1-56973-122-5_full_version_a_english.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{trent1992aes, author = {Trent, Marcy}, title = {{The AES Corporation (A)}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {1992}, url = {https://pdf.wri.org/bell/case_1-56973-122-5_full_version_a_english.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }