Monday, December 23, 2024

Energy Capacity News

Britain announces plan to encourage the development of clean energy projects

The UK launched on Friday a plan that will make it easier for developers and investors to build clean energy project, which they hope will help them meet their climate targets as well as create jobs. The UK has set a goal to decarbonise the power sector largely by 2030. This will reduce its dependence on gas-fired plants and increase its renewable energy capacity rapidly. Last month, the National Energy System Operator said that a new system of connecting projects to the grid and a restructured planning process would be required to meet the target.

Low wind and cold weather prompts prices to be at their highest level in two years

The European power market saw a new high of two years on Wednesday, amid cold temperatures and low wind supplies. LSEG's analysis showed that the demand for electricity in the region was increasing, while wind and gas generation declined. However, solar and coal production was on the rise. At 0850 GMT the French baseload day-ahead was up 12.8% to 190 euros ($199.65). This is the highest since December 2022. The German contract equivalent was bid at 312, which is well above the previous closing of 245 Euros/MWh. This level was last seen December 2022.

India will mandate the use of solar cells made locally in all clean energy projects by June 2026

From June 2026, Indian clean energy companies will have to use solar photovoltaic modules made from local cells by a list of approved companies. This is a measure to reduce imports from China, the top supplier. India has already required the use of solar cells made in India for government projects. The government intends to increase the non-fossil energy capacity of its country to 500 GW from 156 GW currently. India currently has a capacity to produce solar PV modules of around 80 gigawatts, while its capacity to manufacture cells is slightly over 7 GW.

Continuum Green Energy Files for $430 mln India IPO

Continuum Green Energy, an Indian power company, filed a 430.26-million rupee ($36.5-billion) initial public offering on Monday to capitalize on the growing demand for clean energy in India. In India, the renewable energy sector is growing rapidly. However, most of India's power is still generated by coal. To reduce carbon dioxide emissions, the government aims to add 500 gigawatts of clean power by 2030. Large power producers have also pledged to increase their green energy capacity. Investors are increasingly betting on clean energy to be the future buzzword.

BOEM ID's Environmental Measures for NY Bight Wind

(c) artjazz / Adobestock

In support of the Biden-Harris administration’s goal of deploying 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) today issued a Record of Decision identifying environmental measures expected to be applied to future wind energy development of the six lease areas offshore New York and New Jersey in an area known as the New York Bight. BOEM estimates that full development of the six lease areas could generate up to 7 GW of offshore wind energy, enough to power up to two million homes.

Adani allegations bring India's clean-energy conundrum to the forefront

The allegations of bribery against Adani Group's founder Gautam Adani highlight the increasing difficulty that India's renewable energy developers have in finding buyers for their power. Officials say that while India's central governments wants to move away from coal-fired power generation and towards renewable energy sources, state-owned companies in charge of supplying electricity have been slow to strike deals. U.S. officials allege that Indian billionaire…

India's floating-solar plans face opposition from fishermen

But he fears his livelihood could evaporate if plans to install a huge floating solar farm on the Nathsagar reservoir go ahead. The government is considering a project to blanket about 7,500 hectares of the 350-sq km reservoir near the town of Paithan in Maharashtra state with floating photovoltaics, part of an ambitious push to create 500 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2030 - enough to power hundreds of millions of homes in the world's most populous nation.

Sources say that a JV of green arms from India's NTPC and ONGC has bid $650 mln for Ayana Renewable.

Two people who were involved in the deal said that a joint venture between India's NTPC Green Energy, and ONGC Green Energy was the highest bidder on Ayana Renewable Power. They bid $650 million. People said that the venture had outbid JSW Energy to secure the renewable energy company backed by the quasi-sovereign fund National Investment and Infrastructure Fund. Ayana Renewable Power is owned by NIIF (British International Investment Fund), Green Growth Equity Fund and British International Investment Fund.

Climate Investment Funds Board backs $1 billion Turkey grid upgrade project

Climate Investment Funds, a multilateral lender, has announced that it will provide an initial investment of $1 billion to support a plan to upgrade Turkey’s electricity grid to handle more renewable energy. The CIF board approved a $70million investment from its Renewable Energy Integration Investment Platform (REI), with the goal of attracting an additional $790million to expand and upgrade transmission infrastructure, and $330million for technology. The…

Repsol targets renewables deals, seeks 'solution' for North Sea business

Josu Imaz, the chief executive of the Spanish oil company Repsol, said that the company is currently working on new deals for its renewable operations both in Spain and in the United States. It also wants to find a solution to its exploration and production business in the North Sea. Repsol has a strategy that focuses on selling minorities in renewable projects, to fund the expansion of green energy capacity and biofuels. It also focuses its upstream activities on key markets such as the U.S.

Sources say that bids for a new Italian energy hub are due on October 31.

Two sources familiar with the matter have said that bidders for a stake of a future venture combining the assets of Italian energy company Sorgenia and those of solar power company EF Solare must submit their binding offers by the end October. One of the sources stated that the buyer would acquire a 27.6% stake, currently held by Spanish fund Asterion in Sorgenia. This would allow him to become an investor in a new, unified energy company with a stake worth around 1 billion euro ($1.1 billion).

India's Jakson Green closes to $476 million in funding for renewables capacity expansion

Krishnan Kannan, the Joint Managing Director of India's Jakson Green, said that they are closing in on raising more than 40 billion rupees ($476.4 millions) to expand their renewable energy capacity. By early 2026, the privately-held company will have an additional 1 gigawatt of capacity. "We're working with a partner strategic to attract the investment." Kannan said that the investment for this 1 GW will be approximately 40 billion rupees, with a mix 75% of debt and 25% of equity.

Tata Power, an Indian company, will invest $14.3 billion in Rajasthan over a period of 10 years.

Tata Power, an Indian company, announced on Monday it would invest 1.2 trillion rupees (14.32 billion dollars) over the next ten years in Rajasthan in the north of India. The majority of this money will go towards renewable energy projects. Tata Power and the State signed an agreement for the development of renewable energy projects. This includes solar module manufacturing, solar roofs installations, transmission projects, distribution projects, nuclear plants, and electric vehicle charging.

Solex Energy, an Indian company, plans to invest $1 billion by 2030 in order to expand its manufacturing

Solex Energy, a solar module manufacturer in India, announced on Monday its intention to invest $1 billion to expand their existing capacity and enter the solar cell manufacturing business by 2030. Vipul Shah, director of Solex, stated that the company has been in discussions with multiple investors, including international green funds and private equity firms, to raise as much as 12-15 billion rupees (140-180 millions dollars) via debt and equity. Solex will increase its annual module production capacity from 700 megawatts to 1.5 gigawatts before the end this year.

Credit Agricole, a French bank, has bought stakes in 11 wind farms

Credit Agricole, a French bank, announced on Friday that it had purchased stakes up to 32 percent in 11 wind farms located in France. By 2050, France aims to be carbon neutral by having 45 gigawatts of offshore wind installed. Due to the complex permitting procedures and multiple appeals filed against projects, France is behind other countries in offshore wind. The European Union also wants to see more wind power in this region. In July, it signed a deal with Deutsche Bank for the financing of more investments in that sector.

Official from the Energy Ministry says Indonesia targets 5GW of wind energy by 2030.

Indonesia plans to increase its wind power capacity from the current 0.5 gigawatts to 5 gigawatts by 2030, according a Friday statement made by an official of the energy ministry. This is a 10-fold improvement over their previous plan. This is also 30 times the current installed wind power capacity in Indonesia, which is only 152.3 megawatts. The Indonesian state-owned utility company Perusahaan Listrik Negara has been revising its decade-long plan for power supply, known as RUPTL, in order to meet the more ambitious targets of the government on renewable energy.

Brazil's mega dams were supposed to lead the way for a greener future. Climate change came next

The drought has exacerbated the problem of underperformance. When he first came to power in the early 2000s, Brazil's President Luiz inacio Lula da silva bet his green future on "run-of river" megadams - whose turbines move by natural river flow rather than cascading water from towering dams. Santo Antonio Jirau and Belo Monte have been built in the Amazonian rainforest despite the strong opposition of environmental groups. They are now among the five most powerful dams within the country.

IRENA report: Record growth in renewables fuels cost-competitiveness

A report released by the International Renewable Energy Agency on Tuesday showed that solar, wind, and other renewable sources were cheaper than fossil fuels. This shows the competitiveness of these sources. To reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and to meet climate change goals, countries are trying to reduce their reliance on fossil energy sources such as coal and natural gas. The U.N. Climate Meeting last year set the goal to triple renewable energy capacity globally by 2030.

Masdar, a UAE-based company, buys Brookfield Saeta in a $1.4 billion deal

The United Arab Emirates renewable energy company Masdar announced on Tuesday that it had reached an agreement with Canada's Brookfields to purchase green energy firm Saeta Yield in a $1.4 billion deal. Masdar will acquire 745 megawatts in Spain and Portugal (mostly wind assets) and 1.6 gigawatts in projects in development. This is one of the biggest deals of this kind in the Iberian Region. It is Masdar’s second major green energy deal to be signed in Spain in the last few months, which is one of Europe’s biggest wind and solar markets.

EMBARGOED - IEA: IEA's climate goal of triple renewable energy worldwide by 2030 is within reach

The International Energy Agency stated in a Tuesday report that a goal of triple the global renewable energy capacity and reducing fossil fuel consumption by 2030 is achievable. However, it will take a massive push to remove bottlenecks, such as grid connections and permitting. New York Climate Week, where leaders in government and business are gathered to discuss climate change, coincides with the release of this report. At the COP 28 Climate Summit in Dubai, almost 200 countries agreed to achieve net zero emissions by the energy sector before 2050.