CleanTech Report June 30st 2020 |
NORTH AMERICACIT Leads $85M Financing For 80-Megawatt Pioneer Solar Project The financing was arranged on behalf of project sponsor Idemitsu Renewables (formerly Solar Frontier Americas), a solar project developer that has built and sold hundreds of megawatts of utility-scale solar power since 2015. The project will sell power to Intermountain Rural Electric Association (IREA), a nonprofit electric distribution cooperative based in Sedalia, CO. Amazon’s Carbon Footprint Rises 15% As Company Invests $2 Billion In CleanTech Amazon announced that its carbon footprint rose 15 percent in 2019, meaning the online retail giant emits the carbon equivalent of running 13 coal fired power plants all year, according to the CBC. That also included an 18 percent rise in emissions from fossil fuels. That announcement was made in tandem with a significant investment in clean technologies. AES Releases Massive 1 GW Renewable Project Solicitation AES has released an RFP for the purchase of up to 1 GW of new renewable projects as part of its partnership with Google. Here’s a breakdown of the technologies and terms the solicitation is seeking. As part of a partnership with Google that began in November to help the company reach its clean energy goals, AES has released a massive request for proposals (RFP) seeking to purchase up to 1 GW of energy, environmental attributes, ancillary services, and capacity from new renewable energy projects. |
LATIN AMERICAKhiron Completes 1 MW Solar Energy Park in Colombia Khiron Life Sciences Corp., a vertically integrated cannabis leader with core operations in Latin America and Europe, announces the completed installation of a state-of-the-art 2,600 panel solar park that will generate electricity to power the Company’s production facility in Doima, Colombia. Canadian Solar Seals Brazil Solar Offtake Double Canadian Solar has signed two private power purchase agreements (PPA) for a total of 274MW of solar photovoltaic capacity in Brazil. The agreements are with Braskem and COPEL Energia. Latin America’s Potential Green Hydrogen Economy Latin America counts some of the globe’s most abundant and cost competitive renewable energy resources including hydroelectricity, solar, and wind. The elements that make the region a world-leader in renewables can facilitate a similar ascension for clean hydrogen production this decade. But it is important to note that in order to spur investment, economies of scale must be supported and enhanced through policy and market incentive programs. |
EUROPEMacquarie’s Green Investment Group To Develop 1 GW Solar And Battery Portfolio The Green Investment Group, once owned by the UK Government and now owned by Australia’s Macquarie Group, will partner with UK renewable energy developer Enso Energy to build a pipeline of solar and battery projects across the UK which will start with an initial 1GW of subsidy-free solar capacity. Floating Solar Industry Pulls Together To Develop Recommended Practices Floating solar power plants have gone from a super niche sector of the solar market in 2012 and 2013 to a pretty popular option in 2020. It’s still not anywhere near as mature as on-land utility-scale solar power, though, so it seems sensible to pull the industry together and collect useful tips and experience for a set of recommended practices. Hence a new global consortium to create just that. Altor Acquires Minority Stake In OX2 Altor Fund V has signed an agreement to acquire a 30% stake in renewables developer OX2 and enter a partnership with majority owner Peas Industries. Altor, whose funds have invested more than $4.2bn in more than 60 predominantly Nordic companies since their inception, said this would allow it to support the company on its continued growth journey and to continue to lead the shift to renewable energy in Europe. |
ASIAPFC, REC And IREDA May Restrict Funding To Power Projects Based On Chinese Equipment The practice would first be adopted in the power sector, where state-owned Power Finance Corporation (PFC), Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) and Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) propose to restrict financing to states that are developing projects in power generation, transmission and distribution that use Chinese equipment. Double-Sided Solar Panels That Track The Sun Could Produce 35% More Energy The concepts of both solar panels that track the sun and double-sided solar panel arrays have existed independently before now, but researchers have looked at the benefits of combining them for the first time. Taiwan Plans To Auction Off 5 GW Of Offshore Wind By 2023 The ministry expects to hold what would be Taiwan’s third auction round in the second quarter of 2021, offering 1 GW capacity in the process. The country’s fourth and fifth auction rounds will be for 2 GW and will take place in 2022 and 2023, respectively. |
MENASaudi Arabia Aims To Produce World’s Lowest-Cost Electricity During the “Don’t Forget Our Planet” conference, organized by Saudi Arabia’s Future Investment Initiative Institute (FII-I), which discussed environmental sustainability, Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman said that the Kingdom aims to produce 50 percent of its electricity from renewables by 2030, stressing the Kingdom is planning to expand the use of wind energy. Morocco Announces Projects Worth $2.4 Billion The Moroccan Investment Development Agency (MIDA) said it had identified 45 projects in various parts of the North African country to be offered to the private sector within a strategy to spur investment and create jobs for Moroccans. Quoted by the Arabic language daily Hespress, he said renewable energy projects account for nearly 33 percent, with a total value of 7.72 billion dirhams ($804 million). Oman’s Power Sector Subsidy Soars To $1.63 Billion In 2019 Government subsidy to Oman’s electricity sector rose 10.9 per cent to reach a record RO 624.69 million (approximately $1.6 billion) in 2019, notwithstanding far-reaching measures adopted in recent years to reduce state assistance to this key industry. |
AFRICAZimbabwe’s Centragrid Makes Plans To Scale Up Solar Output Zimbabwe has one hydropower plant at the lake Kariba and four coal-fired generators with a total combined capacity of 2,240 MW. Between 2018 and 2019 a severe drought reduced the water levels at the Zambezi River where the Kariba South Power Station is situated, triggering poor output. Nigeria Loses $28 Billion Annually To Power Shortages The World Bank has approved $750 million credit support for Nigeria’s power sector, saying that the country loses about $28 billion annually to power shortages. Meanwhile the Senate investigation committee on power has reported that only two out of the six power generation companies, GENCOs, in Nigeria are meeting targets. The two are Transcorp Power and Geregu Power. Namibia’s ANIREP Takes Control Of Solar IPP, EPC Businesses Namibian investor Alpha Namibia Industries Renewable Energy Power Limited said it has completed the acquisition of majority stakes in two solar photovoltaic (PV) sector companies. |
AUSTRALIAPlans For Australia’s Biggest Wind Farm Unveiled For Queensland’s North The $2 billion plan, revealed on Friday to the local Townsville paper, are being developed by a newly formed company called North Queensland Renewable Energy Zone (NQREZ), formed by a group of local engineers and grazier. Huge 720 MW Solar Farm And Very Big Battery Approved For Connection To NSW Grid Plans to build a 720MW solar farm and a very big battery of around 400MWh in the New South Wales New England region have cleared another major hurdle, after locking in a grid connection agreement with network provider Transgrid. Developer UPC\AC Renewables Australia said on Thursday that it had signed an agreement with Transgrid for connection to the 330kV transmission line from Tamworth to Armidale in northeast NSW and delivery of connection services over the life of the massive solar and storage project. Australia’s First Renewable Energy Zone Receives 27 GW Deluge Of Applications Plans to establish the first of three ‘renewable energy zones’ (REZ) in the Australian state of New South Wales have seen an overwhelming level of interest, with a call for proposals chalking up a nine-fold oversubscription. NSW deputy premier John Barilaro said yesterday that the state government had received 113 registrations of interest, totalling 27GW, looking to connect to the 3GW REZ in the Central-West and Orana regions of NSW following a two-week proposal window launched in late May. |
Dominate the CleanTech Industry by Creating Incredible Value |