CleanTech Report March 31st 2020 |
AFRICAAfrican Development Bank To Provide Underserved Communities In Nigeria With Sustainable Energy Solutions The African Development Bank and the Government of Nigeria have launched the National Electrification Project (NEP), to address critical energy access deficits by channeling private sector investments into mini grid and off-grid solutions. European Union Grants €90.4M For Green Economy In Uganda A grant agreement has recently been signed between the European Union and Uganda. Brussels grants €90.4 million to support the green economy in Uganda. This initiative should attract investment from European companies in this East African country. South African Hydrogen Breakthrough With Shell’s Backing Hydrox Holdings engineers, based in Strydompark, Randburg, have shot the lights out with a unique hydrogen electrolyser leap forward that deploys innovative patented and already trade-marked local technology that facilitates the use of far fewer components and generates significant cost savings. |
ASIAThai Energy Firm To Invest $457M In Vietnam Solar Farms Thailand’s Super Energy Corporation has announced it will invest $457 million in four solar power plants in southern Vietnam. The company said in a recent statement that it would pay $72.9 million to acquire a controlling share in four solar power projects run by state-owned utility Vietnam Electricity (EVN) in Binh Phuoc Province, 120 km to the north of Ho Chi Minh City. Chinese Manufacturer To Build World’s Biggest Solar-Panel Plant GCL System Integration Technology Co plans to build the world’s biggest solar-panel manufacturing plant, with capacity to meet half of global demand. The Chinese manufacturer plans to invest 18 billion yuan to construct a facility in eastern Hefei province that will be able to produce 60 gigawatts of solar panels a year, GCL System said in a filing to the Shenzhen stock exchange on March 27. Orsted Weighing Nearly $13B USD In Local Projects The potential investments by Orsted A/S would include the Greater Changhua 3 wind farm, which it plans to bid for in the next round of auctions if the conditions are “manageable,” Orsted president for Asia-Pacific Matthias Bausenwein said in a telephone interview. |
AUSTRALIAAcciona To Build Huge 1GW Wind Farm In Queensland After Landing Cleanco Deal Spanish renewable energy giant Acciona is to build a 1GW wind farm in Queensland – the largest in Australia – after signing a deal with the state government’s newly created state-owned clean energy generation company Cleanco. Australia’s New Community Solar, Solar-Storage, ‘Solar Hydro’ And Solar Hydrogen Projects In the past couple of weeks, national and state government organisations in Australia have announced various stages of consideration for solar projects with a range of advanced and innovative storage solutions attached. Via the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), the national government said last week that it is funding a feasibility study for a 4MW / 50MWh solar ‘thermal hydro’ electric plant which has been proposed by Melbourne-headquartered startup RayGen. Australian Researchers Make Lithium Extraction Breakthrough Researchers led by Monash University have made a discovery that will dramatically reduce lithium-from-brine extraction times. The innovative breakthrough is as simple as a sieve. |
EUROPEHungary Allocates 131.4MW Of PV In Renewables Auction Solar developers secured 131.4 MW of the capacity awarded in the auction, while a biomass installation accounted for the remaining 500 kW of capacity. The national energy regulator will provide 15-year feed-in premium payments to the winning projects. Mitsubishi Spearheads €4.1B Swoop For Dutch Energy Firm Eneco Japanese conglomerate teams up with compatriot Chubu Electric Power to acquire the largest utility in the Netherlands. Industrial conglomerate Mitsubishi Corporation and Japanese utility Chubu Electric Power have finalised their takeover of Dutch energy firm Eneco, in a €4.1bn deal aimed at expanding the energy and engineering giants’ renewable energy capabilities in Europe, they announced this week. TOTAL Acquires Wind Assets, Expands Renewable Portfolio TOTAL S.A. TOT announced that its unit Total Quadran has acquired Global Wind Power (GWP) France, a company with a 1000-megawatt (“MW”) portfolio of onshore wind projects, including 250 MW scheduled to come on stream by 2025. |
LATIN AMERICAJICA To Lend $100M To Ienova For Solar Projects In Mexico The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed an up-to-USD-100-million (EUR 90.9m) loan agreement to support the solar photovoltaic (PV) projects of Mexican energy company Infraestructura Energetica Nova SAB de CV, better known as IEnova. Energy In Peru – Investors Set Eyes On New Legal Frameworks Peru is one of Latin America’s best performing economies of the last few decades. Although 2019 was a year of slowdown due to a number of factors – such as lower raw materials prices, delays at mining projects due to socio-environmental problems, reduced public infrastructure investment due to corruption scandals, and climate problems that impacted the fishing industry, economic growth reached 2.4%, well above the 0.1% achieved by Latin America and the Caribbean as a region, as estimated by ECLAC. Chilean Renewables Share Slightly Up Chile’s renewable energy sources, excluding large hydro, generated 1.309 GWh in February, down by 5.5% month-on-month, according to the latest report by the Chilean national energy commission (CNE). |
MENASaudi Arabia’s Radical New Oil Strategy Saudi Arabia’s recent decision to crank up oil production represents a dramatic shift in its thinking about energy markets and its own reliance on oil revenues. Gone are the days when Saudi oil reserves were prudently managed for future generations. By no longer maintaining a specific oil-price band or retaining spare production capacity, the Kingdom is stepping away from its longstanding role as the market’s swing producer. $275M Finance Secured For Oman’s First Solar PV Project ACWA Power, along with project partners Gulf Investment Corporation (GIC) and the Alternative Energy Projects Co (AEPC), announced it had secured $275 million from six lenders to complete the finance for the $400 million 500MW Ibri II solar project, which will be funded on a 70:30, debt-to-equity basis. Egypt Raises Renewables Share In Energy Mix By 3.3% Power generation in Egypt from new and renewable sources has reached 2,871 megawatts per hour (MWh) in 2017/2018, up by 3.3% from 2,780 MWh during 2016/2017. In 2017/2018, the domestic natural gas consumption increased by 7.8% to 44,726 tonnes from 41,503 tonnes during the earlier year, according to data by the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS). |
NORTH AMERICAArizona Commission Signals Support For 100% Clean Energy By 2050 Arizona could join 16 other states and territories that have targets of 100% clean or renewable electricity by 2050 or sooner. Thirty-two groups in Arizona have called for 50% renewables by 2030. Tesla Details Plan To Build One Of The Biggest Batteries In The World Tesla is bidding to build one of the world’s largest batteries, planning documents reveal. The company has outlined plans to build 244 Megapacks in Hawaii, each with around three megawatt-hours of capacity, to offer 810 megawatt-hours of total storage. Electrek reported Sunday that the project will discharge energy at a rate of 135 megawatts. California Sets Goal To Double Clean Energy By 2030 California on Thursday adopted a new emissions target for its electric sector that would double the state’s clean energy capacity over the next decade and close the door to development of new natural gas plants, but green groups said the goal was not aggressive enough. |
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