CleanTech Report 2020.09.29

Congress passes clean tech and jobs bill.
Bord na Móna to raise €1.6 billion for climate action.
Irish Bank AIB issues $1.2 billion green bond.
Array Technologies to launch $100M IPO.
Tesla's unveils faster, cheaper, bigger batteries.

CleanTech Report September 29th 2020

M&A

Thailand’s Gulf Energy Officially Takes 50% Stake In German Offshore Wind Farm

Offshore Wind

Thailand’s Gulf Energy Development Public Company Limited has officially taken over the 50 per cent stake in the Borkum Riffgrund 2 offshore wind farm from Global Infrastructure Partners. In July, Gulf acquired 50 per cent shares of Borkum Riffgrund 2 Investor Holding (BKR2) through its subsidiary Gulf International Holding (GIH) which entered into a share purchasing agreement with GIP.

Bord Na Móna To Raise €1.6 Billion For Climate Action

Agriland

Bord na Móna is to raise €1.6 billion to fund a series of climate action projects across its 200,000ac landholding. The company has appointed Goodbody Corporate Finance to manage the fundraising for a series of large-scale climate action projects, including: wind energy; solar energy; battery storage; biomass; and renewable gas.

Array Technologies To Launch $100 Million IPO

PV-Tech

US-based solar tracker manufacturer Array Technologies is seeking to raise up to US$100 million through an initial public offering (IPO). Documents filed with the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) yesterday (22 September 2020) reveal that the company intends to list on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker ARRY, with the company’s parent ATI having turned to banking giants Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, Barclays and UBS Investment Bank to facilitate the raise.

 

NORTH AMERICA

Congress Passes Bill Supporting Jones Act Enforcement

Marine Link

The U.S House of Representatives passed the Clean Economy Jobs and Innovation Act (H.R. 4447) aiming to reform U.S. energy policy and authorize significant investment in the transition to greater use of low-carbon energy. The legislation, which addresses a wide range of energy topics and initiatives, includes an amendment by Congressman John Garamendi (D-Calif.) which would enforce Jones Act requirements for all offshore wind development, construction, production and servicing.

 

Schneider Electric Recognized By The Climate Group’s RE100 For Sustainable Efforts

Canadian Manufacturing

Schneider Electric has been recognized as the 2020 Clean Energy Trailblazer by The Climate Group’s RE100. This is the first year of the RE100 Leadership Awards, which recognizes companies going above-and-beyond to accelerate a clean energy future. Schneider Electric was awarded based on its commitments to the clean energy transition. This includes the company’s own sustainability and CO2 reduction targets, the company’s portfolio of EcoStruxure technologies to enable its customers to likewise decarbonize their operations through renewable electricity, alongside its clean energy advisory services and Access to Energy program, which addresses energy access globally.

 

Tesla’s New ‘Tabless’ Cell Design

Business Insider

In a nutshell, the new design does away with a “tab” that connects the battery cell and allows it to discharge and recharge energy. The bigger 4680 cell can handle more power, and Tesla maintains that it will be faster and cheaper to produce. And because it’s larger than the 2170 cell, which is now arranged in elaborate packs that form the floor of Tesla’s vehicles, the 4680 cell can add stiffness to the middle of a vehicle, subtracting a bunch of complicated parts in the process.

 

LATIN AMERICA

Enel Preps To Reorganise Renewables In Central And South America

Renewables Now

Italian energy major Enel SpA is initiating the process to reorganise its non-conventional renewable energy businesses in Central and South America into its Chile-based, majority-owned unit Enel Americas SA. The transaction will require an amendment of the by-laws of Enel Americas to eliminate existing limitations whereby a single shareholder cannot hold more than 65% of the voting rights. A month ago, the Italian group raised its stake in Enel Americas to 65% by settling two share swap transactions with an unnamed financial institution.

Sustainable Microgrids In Latin America Empower The Poor

Borgen Magazine

Access to electricity has the power to change lives and transform economies. In developing regions of the world, vast swaths of the population lack adequate access to electricity and energy services. To reach these disconnected regions of the countries, often rural, the government will either commission costly and environmentally unfriendly extensions to centralized power grids or send unreliable diesel-powered electrical generators to these desolate areas. Through technological innovation, however, companies and countries have developed sophisticated solutions to such energy distribution problems: sustainable microgrids in Latin America.

Impact Finance Demonstrates Remarkable Progress and Untapped Potential

SSIR

Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil are important because of their economic robustness and the relatively advanced incorporation of impact finance into their markets. Ecuador, as a nation that has made far less progress with impact finance, reveals important challenges and opportunities for the field. Each country and the region as a whole have many stories to tell when it comes to the scale at which they’ve embraced impact finance, the infrastructure and institutions they possess to support the field, and the insights their experiences provide.

 

EUROPE

Poland’s Plan To Phase Out Coal Mines, Opens The Door For Solar Energy Projects

International Business Times

Warsaw predicted photovoltaic power – the method by which solar cells convert energy from the sun to generate electric power — will dominate the country’s energy profile by 2040. By that point, Poland’s solar capacity – that is, the maximum output of electricity from solar power – is expected to surge to 16 gigawatts from 2.5 gigawatts currently.

First Solar’s Thin-Film PV Modules Chosen For Largest Urban Solar Power Plant In Europe

Clean Technica

A solar power plant being built in Bordeaux, France, on a former landfill is expected to be the largest “urban” solar PV power plant in Europe. The factory is using solar modules from American solar presenter delivernment is firm First Solar (Nasdaq:FSLR). The Series 6 modules are some of the most reliable in the solar industry. First Solar backs that up with a 25 year product warranty. Additionally the company notes that “First Solar is one of only five modules in the world to pass Atlas 25+, the Thresher and TUV Long-Term Sequential Tests.” Also buried on the module product page is the news that First Solar’s thin-film solar PV modules have “the best environmental profile in the industry.” They are the “lowest carbon” solar modules on the market, if First Solaris to be believed.

Irish Bank AIB Issues $1.2 Billion Green Bond

ZAWYA

Irish bank AIB has issued a 1 billion euro ($1.2 billion) green bond for the financing of low-carbon projects, it said on Wednesday. Banks which issue green bonds use the funds raised to finance or re-finance eligible green projects such as renewable energy projects, low carbon offices and the construction of energy efficient homes. AIB said it is the first Irish bank to complete an issue of green bonds.

 

ASIA

Solar Applied Materials To Invest Nt$1 Billion To Build A Tainan Plant

Taipei Times

Solar Applied Materials Technology Co, a part of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s “green supply chain,” has pledged to invest NT$1 billion (US$34.1 million) to build a new plant at the Tainan Technology Industrial Park, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. SOLAR has been collaborating with TSMC to extract precious metals from waste and reuse them as “sputtering target” material in high-end semiconductor manufacturing, a TSMC press release issued in May said.

India Offers $100 Million Line Of Credit To Sri Lanka For Solar Projects

The Hindu

India has offered a Line of Credit worth $100 million to Sri Lanka for three solar projects in the country, according to an official statement from Colombo. India’s High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Gopal Baglay called on Minister of Power Dullas Alahapperuma and reiterated India’s commitment towards a strong and multi-faceted bilateral partnership including in the power sector, the Indian mission said in a statement.

Power Major Dvc Moots 1,776 MW Floating Solar Projects To Add Capacity

Business Standard

State-owned thermal power major Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) will focus only on solar projects to add capacity, a top official said. It has already mooted 1776-MW floating solar projects in four of its dams in West Bengal and Jharkhand, the two states that jointly own the corporation along with the Union government.

 

MENA

Israeli Government Agencies Invest More Than $3 Million In Alternative Energy R&D

South Africa Today

The Israel Innovation Authority (IIA) and the Israel Ministry of Energy are publishing two joint calls for proposals to fund energy-related projects. The calls, in collaboration with the Smart Transportation Administration in the Prime Minister’s Office, will have a total value of NIS 12 million ($3.4 million). The funds will be divided into two groups: the first NIS 10 million will focus on the energy market – such as fossil fuel substitutes, water, and natural resources – and the remaining NIS 2 million will fund research in promoting renewable energy and energy efficiency in the manufacturing industry.

$50 Million Caribbean Renewable Energy Fund To Extend Energy Access To Rural Communities In Belize

MENA FN

The UAE-Caribbean Renewable Energy Fund (UAE-CREF) has committed to developing Belize’s largest renewable energy rural electrification project, which will bring modern electricity services to three remote communities in the country for the first time.

Renewables Appetite Continues In The Middle East Despite Pandemic

ZAWYA

Despite an abundance of fossil fuels and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, countries in the Middle East are still forging ahead with international and local renewables projects. The oil-rich Gulf region is among the areas benefiting most from the global appetite for these projects. The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman are the four countries in the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council that have developed renewables projects over the last few years.

 

AFRICA

EmPowering Africa’s Most Vulnerable – Access To Solar Energy In Complex Crises

Relief Web

Half of Africa’s population lack access to electricity. This has vast implications on people’s health and safety, education, social inequality and economic growth. Displaced people are particularly vulnerable and solar power can be part of the solution. This new report, published by NORCAP and Boston Consulting Group, shows what actions and actors are needed to accelerate the use of clean energy among displaced and host communities.

Nigerian Clean Energy Bill 2020

Nigerian Watch

By 2050, our crude oil will be useless as no one will want it. I can even see the UN introducing new environmental; regulations that may limit its use. Our first priority must be to get all new industrial concerns to generate their own power. Nowhere in the world today are industrial start-ups dependent on the national grid for their power supply.

Kenya’s Greenlight Planet Raises $90M To Expand Energy Access Across Sub-Saharan Africa

Techmoran

Greenlight Planet, operating the Sun King brand with over 1.3 million products sold in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Nigeria, and South Asia, has secured $90 million in new funding to expand its Pay-As-You-Go (PAYG) solar consumer financing business across its markets. The new debt and equity investments were provided by European development finance institutions CDC Group, FMO, and Norfund, along with impact investors ResponsAbility, SIMA Funds, Symbiotics, Global Partnerships, and private equity firm ARCH Emerging Markets Partners’ Africa Renewable Power Fund.

 

 

AUSTRALIA

New Zealand’s Parliament Goes Solar, Schools To Phase Out Coal Boilers

Renew Economy

New Zealand’s parliament building – known as the Beehive – is set to enjoy the benefits of solar power, as well as an improvement in energy efficiency measures, as part of a NZ$2.4 million (A$2.23 million) initiative. “When the Zero Carbon Bill passed with unanimous support last year, most people would have expected that Parliament go another step and work to cut its own emissions,” New Zealand minister for climate change James Shaw says.

Independent MP Helen Haines Unveils $483 Million Plan To Develop A ‘Sunbelt’ Of Renewable Energy Projects

Smart Company

Federal independent MP Dr Helen Haines has unveiled a $483 million plan to develop a ‘sunbelt’ of locally owned renewable energy projects across regional Australia. The Local Power Plan, launched by Haines this week, would establish 50 hubs in regional centres to support everyday communities to develop their own renewable energy projects. The idea is to ensure Australians in regional communities reap the benefits from small, mid and large scale renewable energy projects being built in their area.

Massive New England Solar And Big Battery Project Names EPC Contractor

Renew Economy

Development of Australia’s largest hybrid solar and big battery facility, the 720MW New England solar farm, moves a step closer after an engineering, procurement and construction contractor was locked in for the job. Developers UPC\AC Renewables Australia said on Monday that the Australian arm of Spanish-based company Elecnor had been appointed as the EPC contractor to deliver the first 400MW stage of the project.

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