CleanTech Report May 12th 2020 |
AFRICAKenya And Uganda Hit By Power Blackout, Electricity Back In Most Of Kenya Kenya and Uganda were hit by power blackouts on Saturday, and Kenya Power said the outage on its grid was caused by a fault on a high voltage line but that it had restored supply to most parts of the country. African Clean Energy’s Off-Grid Solar Power Technology A Dutch-South African social enterprise African Clean Energy is providing an off-grid energy solution that enables decentralized access to clean energy in rural, “bottom-of-the-pyramid” households in Sub-Saharan Africa. The company is perhaps best known for its ACE 1 energy system, a solar-biomass hybrid cookstove that pairs thermal and electric power generation to minimize smoke emissions, while providing access to electricity for charging and lighting. MIGA Grants $116 Million In Guarantees For 4 Renewable Projects The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), a subsidiary of the World Bank Group, has recently issued guarantees amounting to some 116 million dollars to support four renewable energy power plant projects in South Africa. The future plants, with a combined installed capacity of 288 megawatts, will be built and developed by the energy company BioTherm Energy, a subsidiary of Actis. |
ASIAAzerenergy Recovers 250 MW Of Capacity Of Modular Power Plants Azerenergy OJSC has restored 250 MW of “lost” generating capacity of 6 modular power plants in Azerbaijan from September 2018, the energy operator reported on May 8. “The rehabilitation program, launched in September 2018, covers 12 power plants, 6 of which are modular type power plants, such as “Sangachal”. To date, within the framework of the program it has been restored 250 MW of “lost” capacities of all 6 modular power Japan’s Renova Takes Part In 144 MW Wind Portfolio In Vietnam Japanese renewable power producer Renova Inc (TYO:9519) announced on Friday it is taking part in the construction of 144 MW of onshore wind parks in Vietnam. The Tokyo-based company has entered into a 40/60 partnership with local power producer Power Construction Joint Stock Company No. 1, also know as PCC1, to implement three onshore wind projects with an individual capacity of 48 MW. Floating Solar Energy Projects Gain Traction In Asia With offshore wind farms making inroads in Japan and attracting huge investments from overseas sponsors, promoters and lenders in Taiwan, another asset class – floating solar energy – is gaining ground as a number of Asian countries add renewables to their energy mix. |
AUSTRALIAAustralia Backs BP’s Study To Produce Hydrogen From Wind, Solar BP Plc has won Australian government backing for a feasibility study into producing hydrogen using wind and solar power to split water and converting the hydrogen to ammonia in Western Australia. The Australian Renewable Energy Agency said on Friday it would provide A$1.7 million ($1.1 million) toward the A$4.4 million feasibility study, part of a push by the government to make the country a major producer of hydrogen by 2030. Record Growth In Rooftop Solar Pushing Coal Out Of Australia Market Strong growth in rooftop solar installations has continued to push coal fired generation out of the Australian electricity market, a new audit of the National Electricity Market has shown. The continued strong growth in uptake of rooftop solar, which supplied more than 16 per cent of South Australia’s total electricity consumption over the last summer, and 7.7 per cent of Queensland’s consumption over the same period, has worked to drive fossil fuel generators out of the market. Queensland To Play Home To The Biggest Solar Farm In Australia Australia is almost ready to get its hands dirty, with the biggest solar farm in the country’s history planned for Queensland. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told online crowds at the Smart Energy Council Summit last week that the development comes with the intention of using more renewable energy projects to help restore the economy from coronavirus. |
EUROPEMulti-Million Euro Solar Power Investment To Power 10% Of Irish Homes The ESB has entered into a multi-million euro partnership with an Irish-owned solar energy company to develop ground-mounted solar projects, with the aim of powering 10% of Irish homes. The goal of the ESB and Harmony Solar is to deliver over 1,000MW of solar projects to power 230,000 homes by 2030, with an initial investment of €30 million. Portugal Preparing Several Billion-Dollar Clean Energy Projects Portugal is aiming to leap, rather than tip-toe, out of their lockdown initiatives by launching a series of clean energy projects that could generate 5.5 billion euro in European energy investment. IBM Teams With 3 European Power Grids To Build Green Energy Blockchain Platform IBM has created a blockchain consortium with three of Europe’s electricity grid operators to help smooth the transition to renewable sources of energy. Blockchain tech is employed as an accounting system so that consumers charging their electric vehicles (EV) or using home batteries can interact with the three transmission system operators (TSOs). |
LATIN AMERICAShell Eyes Brazil For Renewable Energy Shell received authorization from Brazil’s power regulator Aneel to develop three solar power projects in Minas Gerais state. With nearly 457MW Minas Gerais has Brazil’s largest installed solar power capacity, due to high solar incidence and local government incentives. Brazil Switches On 300 MW Of Wind, Solar Power In April In all, the country added 320.45 MW of new capacity last month, with wind and solar contributing 94% of that. The combined output of the new additions is enough to power a city of 375,000 inhabitants, the agency pointed out. Mexico’s President Is Betting Big Against Renewables The country’s National Energy Control Center, or Cenace, announced it would suspend grid connections of new solar and wind farms until further notice earlier this week. The motivation behind the decision was the intermittency of solar and wind power generation, which, according to the state-owned power market operator, could compromise Mexico’s energy security in difficult times. |
MENASilk Road Fund Takes 49% In ACWA Power Renewable Energy Platform Saudi Arabia-based developer, owner, and operator of power generation and water desalination plants, ACWA Power has completed the transaction with Silk Road Fund, with the Chinese investment fund being introduced as a partner with 49% stake in ACWA Power’s renewable energy platform. ACWA Power Renewable Energy Holding — also referred to ACWA Power RenewCo — owns a number of its existing renewable energy projects. Israel Bets On 2GW Of Solar Energy minister Dr Yuval Steinitz would have Israel invest to deploy a 2GW solar fleet in the coming years, coupled with funding for the streamlining of permits for wind projects, grid upgrades, energy efficiency schemes, alternative transport fuels and other areas. Saudi SABIC To Build One Of The World’s Biggest Mega-Battery Factories Saudi petrochemical giant SABIC has established a joint venture company to build one of the world’s biggest utility-scale battery factories. SABIC unit Nusaned Investment has teamed up with SCHMID Group to develop the vanadium redox flow batteries. |
NORTH AMERICAGoogle Ramps Up Carbon Intelligent Computing For Data Centres Google now geared up their efforts and developed a new carbon-intelligent computing platform. A first-of-its-kind system for its large data centres that can manipulate the timing of computation tasks so that the services use non-carbon power sources when there is an ample amount of solar or wind energy. For instance, when solar energy peaks towards noon, the carbon intelligent platform shifts the tasks to use this power. US Renewable Energy Surpasses Coal Every Day For An Entire Month In a first for any month, renewables from solar, wind, and hydropower generated more electricity than coal on every day in April 2020, according to new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). This impressive stretch actually began on March 25, when utility-scale solar, wind and hydro collectively produced more than coal-fired generation, and has continued for at least 40 straight days through May 3, the EIA’s Hourly Electric Grid Monitor shows. Elon Musk Wants To Build 1,000 Solar Roofs A Week Elon Musk told shareholders on an earnings call that he wants to ramp up to putting Tesla Solar Roofs on 1,000 houses a week. That’s after setting (and achieving, Musk says) a goal to make sure Tesla has enough of the solar tiles in the supply chain. |
Dominate the CleanTech Industry by Creating Incredible Value |