The AES Corporation (NYSE:AES) Q1 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Andres Gluski: Yes. Thanks for the question. Look, what I’d say is that we have a very interesting pipeline, which we’ll be discussing on Monday of green hydrogen projects. We really think we’re a leader here. We have the most advanced and lowest carbon emitting project in Texas here in the U.S. But we also have projects in Los Angeles. We have projects in Houston. We have projects in Brazil for export, and we have projects in Chile for the — for our corporate clients or the mining sector. So we’ll be providing more color there. Now in the specific case, for example, Texas, we do co-own the electrolyzers as well as the renewables with our joint venture partner of Air Products. And the reason for that is to really maximize the value of the project because even though the project will be basically co-locating all the renewables with the electrolyzers, it is interconnected with the grid.

So there could be occasions just to give you a hypothetical polar vortex in Texas where the most profitable use of our renewables is to inject them into the grid and actually not run the electrolyzers. And so we wanted to have all of our interests aligned. So there will be some projects like that where we also own the electrolyzers as well. In the case of Texas, it’s a take-or-pay with Air Products, but there are other ones in which we would be selling possibly selling green hydrogen to our corporate customers to whom we’re already selling renewables. So that’s the reason for calling it out. Also, as you know, AES next looks at what’s next in terms of technologies. So we’re also, I would say, have it there so that we can look at what new technologies help us produce green hydrogen, cheaper and better for our clients.

So that’s the reason for calling it out there.

Richard Sunderland: Got it. That’s very clear. Sticking with the SBU theme, energy infrastructure, are you able to disclose how much of that is called today?

Steve Coughlin: Yes. So we have roughly a little bit shy of 7 gigawatts of coal today, and that includes some of the assets that we’ve already announced sales and retirement of including, for example, Mong gang in Vietnam, some of the retirements in Chile, and Ventanas, for example, so that number is coming down rapidly, but that’s roughly what’s in the base of energy infrastructure today.

Richard Sunderland: Just this on an EBITDA contribution basis or a percentage of SBU basis?

Steve Coughlin: Yes. So on a percentage, so what we’ve talked about is it’s about $0.30 of EPS is coming from coal today. Now what’s important is that is — that’s not all necessarily going away. For example, we are converting the Petersburg 3 of 4 units in Indiana under the integrated utility in Indiana. So this will leave — this will actually be a new investment to do the gas conversion, and so there’ll be earnings from the rate base and the increasing rate base from that asset. And then in other cases, we are looking at some additional conversion opportunities for these. And then, of course, where there is sales, we’ll have proceeds from those sales to then recycle capital into the renewable and utility growth segments.

Richard Sunderland: Got it. Very helpful. And then just one more for me. in consideration of the Warrior Run termination relative to the $400 million to $600 million asset sale target, where are you currently with announced and closed transactions relative to that range?