CleanTech Report 2020.03.10

Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power sign $2.5 billion energy agreements in Uzbekistan.
Renewable energy investments to top $35 billion in MENA.
Duke Energy ups growth plans by $6 billion in US.
$1.8 billion PV Bond in Latin America.

CleanTech Report March 10th 2020

AFRICA

Greenlight Planet Creates Jobs For More Than 2000 Women In Rural Kenya

BizTech Africa

Greenlight Planet, a global leader in solar home energy solutions has created job opportunities for more than 2000 women in rural Kenya. This represents nearly 50% of the commission sales agents that sell and service the company’s Sun King solar products to the underserved communities in rural Kenya.

Botswana Approves License For Proposed 300MW Sese Power Station

Investing

Botswana energy regulatory authority approves electricity generation license for proposed 300mw Sese power station.

Afc Leads $63m Investment In Renewable Energy Project In Djibouti

Africa Global Funds

Africa Finance Corporation has announced a $63m strategic investment to construct and operate a 60MW wind project in the Ghoubet area, near Lake Assal in Djibouti. AFC has made this investment as lead developer together with Great Horn Investment Holdings (GHIH) and inviting further investment from Climate Fund Managers (CFM), and FMO, the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank.

 

ASIA

Azerbaijan Looks To Renewables To Meet Growing Power Demand

Eurasia.net

In discussions about renewable energy, Azerbaijan is not the first country that springs to mind. As one of the world’s top 25 oil and gas producers, Azerbaijan is better known for its substantial Caspian Sea hydrocarbon reserves and ambitious pipelines shipping oil and natural gas to Russia, Turkey, and Europe.

Solar Power Plant In China Produces 100MW

TechAcute

Two years ago in December 2018, China put into operation its first 100MW solar power plant in Dunhuang City, Gansu province. The solar power plant has a heat-absorbing tower rising 260m above the ground. The molten salt tower-type solar power plant covers a field of 7.8 square kilometers. Using 12,000 large-size reflection mirrors, the power plant is capable of generating power all day long, providing 390 million kWh of electricity per year.

Actis Buys 600MW, Expands India Solar Portfolio To 2.3GW

Knowridge

Acme Cleantech Solutions, one of the largest solar power companies in India, has sold 600 megawatts of solar power capacity to Actis. Brookfield, another major investor in Indian renewable energy market, had also expressed interest in Acme but was outbid by Actis.

 

AUSTRALIA

New England Solar Farm: Approval For $768 Million Project Outside Uralla

The Armidale Express

A massive solar farm in Uralla has been given the tick of approval from the Independent Planning Commission. The 720-megawatt New England Solar Farm will see 2.4 million solar panels installed on farm land just six kilometres east of the town.

Brazil’s Grupo Energia Sets Up Australian Renewables Office In Melbourne

Renew Economy

Brazilian renewables consultancy Grupo Energia has set up shop in Australia, choosing Victoria for its regional head-quarters based on the supportive policies of that state’s Labor government. Grupo Energia specialises in advisory, management and operation support for solar, wind, hydro and other renewable power generation projects, as well as in energy storage and power transmission management.

New Zealand’s Growing Utilization Of Solar Power

Business Scoop

While it is unlikely that NZ will move over to solar power alone, since the country has access to valuable other renewable energy sources like wind and hydro, the increased popularity of solar is a welcome relief for the environment. The move to renewable energy is also important in the light of dwindling fossil fuel supplies, which currently still makes up two-thirds of the country’s main energy supply but which can no longer be sustained long-term.

 

EUROPE

EIB signs 250 Million Euro Loan Agreement With Tennet For New Dutch Power Line

Reuters

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed a 250 million euro ($284 million) loan agreement with TenneT Holding IPO-TTH.AS to help finance a new high-voltage transmission line in the Netherlands, the German-Dutch grid company said.

Iberdrola Buys Stake In $2.7 Billion French Offshore Wind Farm

Bloomberg

Want the lowdown on European markets? In your inbox before the open, every day. Sign up here. Iberdrola SA agreed to buy the 30% stake it didn’t already own in a wind farm project off the coast of France that will cost an estimated 2.4 billion euros ($2.73 billion) to build as the Spanish utility pursues its fast expansion in the clean power market.

Work Starts On The Netherlands’ Largest Solar Farm So Far

Dutch News

The project, covering 100 hectares and with 300,000 panels, is a joint initiative between local construction company Avitec and solar park builders Solarfields from Groningen. Production has been estimated at 120 megawatts, enough for some 30,000 households.

 

LATIN AMERICA

Public Tenders Added 80% Of Current Renewable Capacity In Latin America, Caribbean

Saur Energy

On the occasion of Mexico WindPower 2020, the Latin American Energy Organization (OLADE) and the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) have published a joint report Competitive Processes for Financing Renewable Energy Projects which found that over 80 percent of current renewable energy capacity in Latin America and the Caribbean has been driven by public tenders and auctions.

AES’ 1.6GW Push, Biggest PV Bond

PV-Tech

Chile and Colombia are to witness major additions of solar and wind projects under plans by AES Gener, who has spent nearly two years boosting its foothold in both countries. Late last week, the developer said it will invest funds of US$1.8 billion to deploy a 1.6GW green energy pipeline across the two Latin American markets. The firm will finance the push with a mix of cash, third-party partnerships and a yet-to-be-approved US$500 million capital increase.

A 20-Year Power Supply Deal For 238MW Of Solar In Brazil

PV Magazine

French developer Voltalia has contracted to supply solar power to Brazilian thermoplastic resin company Braskem. The solar plant which will generate the electricity is planned as an expansion of two facilities allocated by the Brazilian government in a public renewable energy auction.

 

MENA

Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power, Uzbekistan Sign $2.5 Billion Energy Agreements

Gulf Business

On Sunday, Saudi Arabia’s utility developer ACWA Power revealed that it had signed three agreements, potentially worth up to $2.5bn, with Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Energy. The agreements include a $1.2bn investment for the development, construction and operation of a 1,500MW Combined Cycle Gas-Turbine (CCGT) power plant.

Renewable Energy Investments To Top $35 Billion USD

Technical Review

Investment in renewable energy in the MENA region will top US$35bn per year by the end of 2020, said a report at the Middle East Energy expo in Dubai

Azelio Launches Renewable Energy Storage Project In Morocco

ZAWYA

Azelio, a Swedish company specialising in thermal energy storage with dispatchable power production when and where it is needed, has inaugurated its renewable energy storage project at Noor Ouarzazate solar complex in Morocco.

 

NORTH AMERICA

Duke Energy Ups Its Growth Plans By $6 Billion

Flipboard

Utility Duke Energy reported 2019 earnings not too long ago. They were solid, coming in a bit above the midpoint of its guidance range. Operationally it was a good year, too, with both reliability and customer satisfaction increasing. It also offered up an updated long-term outlook for its capital spending plans. Once again, it was good news. Here’s a quick rundown of why this is important and how the company is planning to spend its shareholders’ money.   

Ultrathin Organic Solar Cell Is Efficient And Durable

TechXplore

Scientists from the RIKEN, in collaboration with international partners, have succeeded in creating an ultrathin organic solar cell that is both highly efficient and durable. Using a simple post-annealing process, they created a flexible organic cell that degrades by less than 5 percent over 3,000 hours in atmospheric conditions and that simultaneously has an energy conversion ratio—a key indicator of solar cell performance—of 13 percent.

Green Energy’s $10 Trillion Revolution Faces Oil Crash Test

Bloomberg

Green investments have soared since then. Some $1.2 trillion has been poured into renewable energy, and global electric vehicle sales reached 2 million last year. Bloomberg NEF expects as much as $10 trillion poured into clean energy by 2050.

 
 

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