CleanTech Report 2020.11.24

Global investors plan to double their renewable holdings in next 5 years.
Renewables were sole source of new US generating capacity in last quarter.
Saudi Arabia's ACWA Power set to raise $1 Billion in Islamic bond sale.
Australia’s $16 Billion solar project will be the world’s biggest.
Coal India to invest over $760 Million over 4 years into solar.
Solar energy on track to power London Rail Link by 2022.

CleanTech Report November 24th 2020

M&A

Vesper Energy Secures Letter Of Credit Facility For Up To $100 Million

Cision

Vesper Energy – a leading developer, owner and operator of utility-scale renewable energy assets – announced it closed a new letter of credit (LC) facility with Macquarie Group (“Macquarie”) for up to $100 million. The LC facility will empower Vesper Energy to fast-track the development of its current 3 GW solar and 2.5 GWh energy storage pipeline in North America. The company will use the LC facility to cost-effectively post securities for power purchase agreements (PPAs) and interconnection agreements with energy transmission networks like PJM, CAISO and ERCOT.

Investors Plan Major Move Into Renewable Energy Infrastructure

The Guardian

Global investors managing nearly $7n (£5.2bn) of assets plan to almost double their spending on renewable energy infrastructure over the next five years amid deepening concerns over the fossil fuel industry’s climate plans, according to a report. A survey of institutional investors found that they are planning to increase their renewable energy investments from 4.2% of their overall portfolio to 8.3% in the next five years and 10.8% within the next decade to about $742.5bn.

Boralex Announces Agreements To Acquire Interests In Seven Solar Plants In The US For $216.5M

Nation Talk

Boralex Inc. (TSX: BLX) (“Boralex” or the “Corporation”) is pleased to announce that Boralex US Solar CIA LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Corporation, has entered into binding agreements with Centaurus Renewable Energy LLC (“CRE”) and certain other investors to acquire their controlling interests in seven solar plants, located in the United States, for a purchase price of $CA283 million (US$216.5 million). CRE and other investors will retain certain non-controlling interests in the assets resulting in total net installed capacity to Boralex of 118 MWac.

 

NORTH AMERICA

Dominion Energy Executes 75 MW Power Purchase Agreement With Savion Solar Project

Web Wire

Savion, LLC today announced that Dominion Energy Virginia signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) to receive 75 MW of renewable solar power with Wythe County Solar Project, LLC, located in Wythe County in Southwest Virginia. The power purchase agreement is subject to approval from the Virginia State Corporation Commission as part of a recent Dominion Energy filing.

 

Renewables Were Sole Source Of New US Generating Capacity In Last Quarter

Renew Economy

Figures published by the US Government’s Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) show that renewable energy sources have been the sole source of new capacity added between June and September. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s latest “Energy Infrastructure Update” for September revealed that renewable energy sources have accounted for nearly two thirds, or 64.1%, of the 16,886MW of new utility-scale capacity added over the first three quarters of 2020.

 

Bifacial Solar Panels Are No Longer Exempt From US Section 201 Import Tariffs

PV Magazine

As of today, the Section 201 tariff exemption for imported bifacial solar modules has been repealed — with the panels now subject to a 20% penalty, the same tariff imposed on almost all imported crystalline silicon solar panels since 2018. Here is the U.S. Court of International Trade’s ruling. The tariff is scheduled to drop to 18% in February of next year. The Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA) is opposed to these tariffs. In a recent press briefing, Abby Hopper, CEO of the trade organization said, “We are asking President-elect Biden to remove those tariffs a year early.”

 

LATIN AMERICA

Green Recovery In Mexico

IPS

The alarms warning against climate inaction have sounded for years. Almost a year into the hardest pandemic and maybe the worst economic recession my generation has seen, expert voices everywhere are claiming this to be the golden opportunity to do something to right our course and even find a silver lining in this unfortunate situation, by funding the economic recovery of COVID-19 with a green stimulus package. This approach could help move humanity into more sustainable economic growth and towards a slightly more attainable path towards the 1.5°C goal.

Bringing Solar Power To Puerto Rico 

Grist

In October, Casa Pueblo finished its most ambitious project yet. With funding from a charitable foundation, the Adjuntas Pueblo Solar initiative installed 1,000 new solar panels in the town’s central plaza, creating a microgrid that will provide 220 kilowatts of affordable, reliable electricity to 18 stores, restaurants, and warehouses. The businesses pay a governing body, made up of those businesses’ owners, to maintain the grid. The resulting profits go toward financing solar panels for low-income families in Adjuntas and paying local residents to install them.

China Power Giant Makes Foray Into Mexican Renewables With Zuma

JWN

China’s State Power Investment Corp. is expanding in Latin America’s clean-energy market by acquiring Mexico’s largest independent renewables company. The energy giant known as SPIC bought Zuma Energia through its Hong Kong-based unit China Power International Holding, according a press release provided by a spokesperson for Zuma. He didn’t disclose the price. SPIC has more than $170 billion in assets across 41 countries, including wind, solar and hydropower projects in Brazil and Chile.

 

EUROPE

Solar Energy On Track To Power London Rail Link By 2022

Reuters

Solar power will be used on a major railway line into London from early 2022, the company behind the project said on Monday, as Britain aims for net-zero emissions within three decades. Riding Sunbeams, a social enterprise, said it would use a 2.5-million pound ($3.34-million) government grant to build a community-owned solar farm to help power trains on the line that links the capital with the southern seaside town of Eastbourne.

Denmark Moves Forward With Energy Islands

Offshore Wind

Back in June, Denmark approved the development of the two energy islands, one in the North Sea and one in the Baltic Sea, with a combined capacity of 5 GW. Both energy islands must be connected to other countries’ grids and be completed by 2030. The parties behind the country’s climate agreement have now selected an area some 20 kilometres south and southwest of the Bornholm island in the Baltic Sea for the development of wind farms with a combined capacity of 2 GW.

Panasonic Explores A European Battery Deal With Norway’s Largest Energy And Industrial Companies

Tech Crunch

Panasonic,  one of the world’s largest manufacturers of lithium-ion batteries, has signed a preliminary agreement with the Nordic energy company Equinor and engineering and industrial company Norsk Hydro to collaborate on building a battery business in Northern Europe. The three companies said that over the coming months they’ll work to assess the market for lithium-ion batteries in Europe and explore the potential for building a big battery business in Norway.

 

ASIA

Coal India To Invest Over $760 Million Over 4 Yrs In Solar To Cut Costs

Reuters

Coal India Ltd, the world’s largest coal miner, said on Monday it would invest 56.50 billion rupees ($763 million) by March 2024 to build 14 solar projects to help power its mining operations and cut costs. The state-run company will fund nearly two-thirds of its plan to construct rooftop and ground-mounted solar power projects with a capacity of 3,000 megawatts (MW) with cash.

Adani Solar To Add 2 GW Cell And Module Capacity At Mundra

The Hindu

Adani Solar (Mundra Solar PV Ltd.), the solar PV manufacturing and EPC arm of Adani Group, is evaluating a 2 GW cell and module expansion at its manufacturing facility in Mundra, Gujarat. This is to strengthen its position as India’s largest and most technologically advanced player with a total capacity of 3.5 GW of high efficiency cells and modules, an Adani Group spokesperson said.

Trina Solar Purchases 1.2 Billion Units Of 210mm Monocrystal Silicon Wafers In Cooperation With Zhonghuan

Cision

On 19 November 2020, Changzhou Trina Solar Energy Co., Ltd. (hereinafter Trina Solar) and Tianjin Zhonghuan Semiconductor Co., Ltd., (hereinafter Zhonghuan) signed a framework contract. Under the contract, Trina Solar intends to purchase 210mm monocrystal silicon wafers from Tianjin Huanou International Silicon Material Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Zhonghuan. During the proposed procurement period between January 2021 and December 2021, the estimated total contract value is about 6.552 billion yuan (including tax) with no less than 1.2 billion pieces.

 

MENA

Steinitz Convenes Team To Raise Israel Solar Energy To 30% By 2030

JPost

The inter-ministerial team working to advance Israeli production of solar energy met for the first time on Monday, the Energy Ministry reported. The team was formed after the government’s decision to increase solar energy production to 30% of Israel’s energy consumption by 2030. “We have taken on a massive mission — to increase the production of solar energy. The decision we passed in the government sets a huge challenge for us to reach 30% solar energy by 2030,” said Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz.

Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power Set To Raise $1 Billion In Sukuk Sale 

Bloomberg

Saudi Arabia’s Acwa Power International, half-owned by the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, is planning to raise about $1 billion by selling Islamic bonds early next year, according to people familiar with the matter. The company, one of the largest developers of power plants in the Middle East, has appointed the Saudi unit of HSBC Holdings Plc and Samba Capital to advise on the issuance, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. The sukuk, as Islamic bonds are known, will be used to help fund Acwa’s share of an $8 billion acquisition of gasification and power assets at Jazan on Saudi Arabia’s west coast.

Solar Car-parks Project At Mina Al Fahal In Oman Now Complete

ZAWYA

A path breaking solar car park project launched by Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) at Mina al Fahal in Muscat is now complete. A PDO official commented that this will pave the way for ‘green energy’ and power the head office and surplus electricity will be fed back into the local grid. Speaking on the sidelines of the Environmental Forum 2020, held recently under the auspices of Dr Khalfan bin Said al Shueili, Minister of Housing and Urban Planning, PDO’s Executive Director of External Affairs and Value Addition, Engineer Abdulamir bin Abdul Hussein al Ajmi, said the company has installed sufficient numbers of solar panels atop car parks at its Mina Al Fahal complex.

 

AFRICA

Kenya Power Rattled As More Clients Opt For Solar

AllAfrica

The growing shift to solar power systems by heavy-consuming industrialists seeking reliable and cheaper supply has rattled electricity distributor Kenya Power amid thinning revenues. The utility firm said some of its industrial customers — who account for about 54.8 pe cent of its sales revenues — are gradually shifting to own-generated solar power, dealing a further blow to its already dwindling finances.

Africa Became A Hotspot For Renewable Energy

OilPrice

Africa’s installed capacity of renewable energy, which stood at 12.6 gigawatt (GW) in 2019, is set for consecutive years of growth, a Rystad Energy analysis shows. The continent’s capacity is forecast to reach 16.8 GW in 2020, add another 5.5 GW in 2021, and further climb to 51.2 GW in 2025, led by growth in solar and wind projects in Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco and Ethiopia.

Seven Renewable Energy Startups Awarded $10,000 Development Grant

Enviro News

The seven companies represent start-up businesses from around the country, whose innovative products span a variety of renewable energy services from mobile solar-powered charging systems, battery operated solar generators, waste to gas technologies and a patented solar inverter system, to name a few. The training programme, run in partnership with Clintonel Centre (Aba) and Start Innovation Hub (Uyo), sought to identify promising off grid energy start-ups in other emerging centres of technology innovation in Nigeria. The programme has reportedly helped the entrepreneurs to upskill significantly and the grant winners are expected to use the $10,000 to refine their product concepts, build out prototypes, recruit staff and pilot solutions.

 

 

AUSTRALIA

Australia Moves Into Top Three Countries For Renewable Investment

Reuters

Australia has moved into the three most attractive countries in the world for renewables investment for the first time due to rapid solar photovoltaic (PV) deployment, research showed on Tuesday. In a bi-annual index of the top 40 renewable energy markets worldwide by consultancy EY, the United States held on to top spot, followed by China.

Victoria Budgets $540 Million To Develop Six New Renewable Energy Zones

Renew Economy

Victoria’s Labor state government has set aside $540 million to develop six dedicated renewable energy hubs across the state, as it works to unlock – and accommodate – gigawatts-worth of new large-scale solar and wind power on the path to 50% renewables by 2030. The half a billion for renewable energy zones was announced in Tuesday’s 2020/21 State Budget as part of an “unprecedented” $1.6 billion spend on renewable and smart energy initiatves, including the $797 million set aside for energy efficiency that was announced last week.

Australia’s Ambitious $16 Billion Solar Project Will Be The World’s Biggest

Oil Price

The world’s most ambitious renewable energy project to date is the proposed Australia–ASEAN Power Link. This project would combine the world’s largest solar farm, the largest battery, and the longest undersea electricity cable. The 10 gigawatt (GW) solar farm would cover 30,000 acres in Australia’s sunny Northern Territory. That is about the equivalent of 9 million rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) panels. The solar farm would be paired with a 30 gigawatt-hour (GWh) battery storage facility to enable round-the-clock dispatch of renewable power. It’s not enough to build a solar farm in the middle of nowhere if you can’t get the power out. The project currently envisions an 800-kilometer high-voltage overhead power line to transmit 3 GW to Darwin on the northern coast of Australia’s Northern Territory. From there, it would transfer to a 3,700 km 2.2 GW undersea power line to Singapore. Sun Cable, a Singapore-based company founded in 2018, is behind the proposed $16 billion project.

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