CleanTech Report August 18th 2020 |
M&AEnergia’s Owner ‘Plans To Sell It Later This Year’ In Deal Worth €2 Billion Squared Capital hopes to sell Irish energy group Energia later this year in a deal worth €2 billion, according to reports on Wednesday. Called Viridian Group until a 2019 rebranding, Energia, supplies gas and electricity to 750,000 customers across Ireland, North and South. MOTIVE Expands Solar Power Efforts Through The Acquisition Of DS Energy Solutions MOTIVE, a leading provider of design and construction services, announces the acquisition of DS Energy Solutions to offer customers a turnkey solar power solution. Effective July 1, 2020, MOTIVE acquired DS Energy Solutions assets, employees and customer contracts, but the company will continue to operate as DS Energy Solutions, a division of MOTIVE. Peck Company Holdings To Acquire Sunworks Creating An Leading Solar EPC With National Presence Peck Company Holdings, a leading commercial solar engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) company and Sunworks, Inc. , a provider of solar power solutions for agriculture, commercial and industrial (“ACI”), public works and residential markets, today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Peck will acquire Sunworks in an all-stock transaction, pursuant to which each share of Sunworks common stock will be exchanged for 0.185171 shares of Peck common stock (subject to certain adjustments). |
NORTH AMERICAHuck Capital And Schneider Electric Announce Partnership To Deliver Energy-As-A-service Schneider Electric and Huck Capital have partnered to combine Schneider’s industry leading expertise in renewable energy microgrids and Huck’s sustainability-focused investment to form a new company. The new company will deliver energy-as-a-service to owners & operators of commercial and industrial buildings in North America by developing and operating on site microgrids up to 5MWp. Loanpal Joins Forces With Blackston To Deploy $300 Million Of Residential Solar Loans Loanpal, a U.S.-based residential solar financing provider, announced on Thursday it has joined forces with Blackstone, through funds managed or advised by GSO Capital Partners, to invest in up to $300 million of residential solar loans originated and serviced on the Loanpal platform. Founded in 2003, Loanpal claims it has experience with more than $27 billion in funded loans, saving over 125,000 customers across all 50 states. Tesla Begins Construction Of World’s Largest Battery Storage Facility Tesla and PG&E recently broke ground on a record-setting energy storage system in Moss Landing (Monterey) California that, once complete, will be the largest such installation in the world. The battery park will be able to dispatch up to 730 megawatt hours (MWh) of energy to the electrical grid at a maximum rate of 182.5 MW for up to four hours using 256 of Tesla’s lithium-ion (Li-ion) Megapacks. Tesla and PG&E will have the option to upgrade Moss Landing’s capacity to bring the system up to 1.2-gigawatt-hours which could, according to Tesla, power every home in San Francisco for six hours. |
LATIN AMERICAMexico’s Renewables Fiasco Keeps Getting Worse Investor interest in Mexico’s emerging renewables market was at an all-time high when Andrés Manuel López Obrador came to power in December 2018. Less than halfway through the president’s first term, expectations have hit rock-bottom, the market is in tatters — and the coronavirus pandemic is making things worse. Argentina Postpones The Signing Of RenovAr Round 3 Contracts Argentina has again postponed the final date for contract signing for projects awarded in the third round of renewable tenders RenovAr. In a resolution published in the country’s official gazette, the energy ministry said the limit date to sign the awarded contracts with wholesale market administrator Cammesa would be postponed from July 1 to November 30. Brazil’s Omega Eyes Private Contracts, Auctions Brazilian renewables energy company Omega Desenvolvimento is looking into corporate power purchase agreements (PPAs) and auctions held by local energy companies to develop its wind and solar projects, the new CEO, Rogerio Zampronha, told Reuters. |
EUROPEEnefit Green’s Renewable Electricity Production Up 30% On Year In July Enefit Green, renewable energy subsidiary of state-owned Estonian energy group Eesti Energia, produced 84 gigawatt-hours of renewable electricity in July, 30% more than in the same month in 2019 when the company’s renewable energy production totaled 64 gigawatt-hours, informed LETA/BNS. Germany May Join International Solar Alliance Germany has expressed interest in joining Gurugram-headquartered International Solar Alliance (ISA), said two people familiar with the matter. The move will add heft to the country’s credentials and the first treaty-based international government organization headquartered in India. “Germany is interested in joining the ISA and there have been meetings on the same,” said one the people cited above, requesting anonymity. Europe’s Big Oil Companies Are Turning Electric Late last month, Royal Dutch Shell won a deal to build a vast wind farm off the coast of the Netherlands. Earlier in the year, France’s Total, which owns a battery maker, agreed to make several large investments in solar power in Spain and a wind farm off Scotland. Total also bought an electric and natural gas utility in Spain and is joining Shell and BP in expanding its electric vehicle charging business. |
ASIACanadian Solar To Construct One Of The Largest C&I Solar Rooftop Projects In Malaysia Canadian Solar Inc. (the “Company”, or “Canadian Solar”) (NASDAQ: CSIQ), announced today that it has commenced construction on one of the largest commercial and industrial (“C&I”) rooftop solar projects in Malaysia, in collaboration with Antah Solar Sdn. Bhd. and Eleaps Sdn. Bhd. The 5 MWp project will span an area of over 26,000 m2, and is located in Penang, Malaysia. India Auctions 1.2 Gigawatt Solar Capacity At US¢3.24 Per Kilowatt-hour The tender was floated by NTPC Limited, India’s largest power generation company. It sought bids for the development of 1.2 gigawatts of solar PV capacity. The maximum allowed tariff bid was Rs 2.78 (US¢3.71) per kilowatt-hour. The tender received a healthy response from developers. A total of six developers had submitted initial bids to set up 1.7 gigawatts. The initial bids were submitted by ReNew Power, O2 Power, AMP Solar, Sungrow, Tata Power, and Azure Power. Indian Govt To Allocate Port Areas For Solar Factories The Indian government is planning to make land in port areas available to companies for the construction of solar equipment factories in a bid to reduce imports from China, local news outlet LiveMint reported citing two people in the know. A senior government official, requesting not to be named, said that the ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) is holding talks with ports to offer land for solar equipment manufacturing. |
MENAJapan To Provide $330M For Qatar Mega Solar Power Plant Japan will provide financial assistance to help build one of the world’s largest solar power plants in Qatar, local media reported on Thursday. According to Kyodo News, the state-backed Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and Mizuho Bank will extend a $330 million syndicated loan for the 800-megawatt project in Al Kharsaah, a village in western Qatar. Egypt Scraps Solar Tender While Manufacturer Launches PV Assembly Line The Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) has cancelled its 200MW tender to establish a solar photovoltaic power plant in the West Nile area. According to local media Daily News Egypt, EETC has informed the 13 companies that had qualified to bid for the project, of its decision to scrap the tender. Saudi Arabia’s NEOM Picks Major US Firm As Infrastructure Development For Cognitive Cities Accelerates NEOM Co. has awarded a contract to US-based Bechtel for executive project management work on the development of the primary, base infrastructure for NEOM as the giga-project advances work to create the world’s leading destination to attract talent and investment. NEOM, a beacon for the future of urban living, selected Bechtel to oversee and create resource-efficient utilities and a highly advanced transport system to connect NEOM’s cognitive cities. |
AFRICACape Town Vows To Continue Renewable Energy Fight The City of Town says it will continue with its fight to be allowed to buy electricity from renewable energy independent power producers (IPPs). This after the city was this week dealt a blow when the Pretoria High Court handed down judgement in the City of Cape Town’s case against the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) and the minister of mineral resources and energy. Mali-based Energy+ Raises Over $1 Million In Funding Mali-based off-grid solar startup, Energy+ has raised over a million US dollars funding from a number of financiers. The consortium of financing partners includes: VentureBuilder, which led the round, a grant from United States African Development Foundation (USADF) and a debt facility from Cordaid Investment Management (Cordaid). Energy+, which was founded in May 2017, will channel the funds towards scaling its off-grid business across Mali, by expanding its “pay-as-you-go” and cash sales offering available through its retail network. Solar Projects Earmarked To Support N’Djamena Surrounds In Chad Argentine conglomerate Alcaal Group has signed an MoU with Chad’s Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Energy for a 200MW solar PV with a battery storage component located near the capital city of N’Djamena. The company had visited Chad at the beginning of August to discuss the prospects for investing in the country’s agribusiness and renewable energies, Idriss Déby, the central African country’s president, announced. |
AUSTRALIAAustralia Aims To Become Renewable Energy Export Superpower Last month the Australian government awarded “major project status” to Sun Cable, a A$22bn (US$16bn) solar power project in Northern Territory, a remote region more typically known as a source of liquefied natural gas. The designation aims to fast track construction of the world’s largest battery, a solar farm and a 3,700km electricity cable to supply A$2bn a year of green energy to Singapore by 2027. The $16 Billion Plan To Beam Australia’s Outback Sun Onto Asia’s Power Grids The Australia-ASEAN Power Link, which is part-owned by two Australian billionaires and was endorsed last month by the Australian government, may be the most ambitious renewable energy project underway anywhere. It could mark a new chapter in the history of energy: the intercontinental movement of green power. Renewables Retailer ZEN Energy Splits From SIMEC Group South Australian renewable energy retailer ZEN Energy has split from entrepreneur Sanjeev Gupta’s SIMEC group of companies. According to an announcement, SIMEC ZEN Energy has de-merged into SIMEC Energy Australia and ZEN Energy, with the latter retaining the energy hardware solutions and retail energy businesses from the previous entity. |
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