Plus: Sustainable finance tent gets bigger; Texas solar growth wows; more hydrogen news
Hi Everyone,
I decided to send this as a ‘special issue’ in that it is not the usual two weeks since my last update. The reason is there is was just too much piling up in the draft to warrant holding it back. A big contributor to the stories is the summit President Biden convened this week, prompting plenty of country leaders to commit to more ambitious emissions reductions targets to achieve by 2030, effectively with 8 years to do so. It’s why you’ll see I pulled the “Policy” section up to the top where you’ll see what I mean. Common to all these announcements is the lack of plans to achieve them, with many questioning how realistic they are.
Check out my Observations and Comments before jumping to the rest of the headlines, which is worthy of a skim for sure.
I am still waiting to hear back from you on what you’d prefer to see more of/less of. Send me a quick note please.
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Until next time, stay well!
Peter
Observations & Comments, plus some Feature Stories
You’ll see I’m drawing your attention to the projected growth in solar in Texas. I came across two solar project stories for Texas as proof points. Check out that scale though. Texas added 2.5GW of solar in 2020, with 4.6GW projected for 2021 and 5.4GW in 2022. Wow. That is about triple what is expected in California in the same time. What’s the rush? A 26% federal tax credit that ramps down to 22% in 2023 and 10% in 2024.
Another week passes and yet more ‘sustainable finance’ initiatives are announced. The latest: over 160 global financiers managing over $70 trillion formed a coalition backed by the United Nations, U.S. and U.K. that requires them to zero out the carbon emissions of their investments by midcentury. OK, that has to be the biggest one I’ve heard of so far. Frankly, there are so many of these investor and banking type initiatives that it is hard to make sense of them all. In broad strokes, all investments are being looked at through a climate lens. An example of what this means in practice: investors in coal expect four times the return on investment than those in renewables, according to a study by the University of Oxford (The Guardian)
Honda is taking the scenic route to ditching gas powered vehicles, saying it will go all-electric by 2040 – that is, 100 percent battery- or fuel-cell-electric. Many others have set earlier dates. Honda Plans to Dump Internal-Combustion Engines by 2040.
Another Canadian single-seat three-wheeled electric vehicle is in the works – but this one is narrow enough to use bike lanes. Canadian billionaire develops one-seat electric vehicle to fight traffic woes. The other 3-wheeler comes from Vancouver-based ElectraMeccanica, called the Solo.
Check out this new tracker of renewable energy deals in Canada, unveiled this week by the Business Renewables Center-Canada. A very handy resource. I’m a fan of the well-constructed graphic – it really tells the story. And where are all these renewable projects you ask? Alberta – it’s got the market and regulatory systems that enable corporate procurement of renewable energy.
Policy
UK to legislate 2035 emissions cut target of 78%, among most ambitious globally | AP News
The UK will commit in law to cut emissions by 78% y 2035 compared to 1990 levels, the government announced on Tuesday.
EU Reaches Climate Deal on Binding Goals That Change Everything | Financial Post
European Union lawmakers reached a late-night deal to make the bloc’s ambitious climate goals (55% reduction by 2030) legally binding, paving the way for a torrent of new rules and standards to overhaul the entire economy.
Biden pledges to cut greenhouse gas emissions by up to 52% by 2030 | Axios
The Biden administration is moving to address global warming by setting a new, economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions reduction target of 50% to 52% below 2005 levels by 2030.
Trudeau increases Canada’s 2030 emissions target to 40-45%, up from 30% | Global News
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday that Canada is increasing the country’s targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 40 to 45 per cent of 2005 levels by 2030.
Canada commits $5B to Net-Zero Accelerator, decarbonization, carbon capture | National Observer
The 2021 federal budget would slash corporate taxes for zero-emission technology manufacturers, offer tax credits for carbon-capture initiatives and spend billions of dollars on projects to cut carbon pollution and boost climate resiliency.
Twelve U.S. Governors urge Biden to back phasing out gas-powered vehicle sales by 2035 | Reuters
The governors of a dozen U.S. states including California, New York, Massachusetts and North Carolina called on President Joe Biden on Wednesday to back ending sales of new gasoline-powered vehicles by 2035, a dramatic shift away from fossil fuels.
Japan Pledges Stricter 2030 Emissions Reduction Target; 46% by 2030, up from 26% | BNN BloombergJapan will strengthen its 2030 emissions reduction commitments under the Paris Agreement, amid an effort to become carbon neutral by the middle of the century.
Finance & Consumers
Biggest financial players back net zero | UN
Over 160 firms with $70 trillion in assets have joined forces behind a common goal: steer the global economy towards net-zero emissions and deliver the Paris Agreement goals.The new Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), chaired by Mark Carney, UN Special Envoy on Climate Action and Finance, brings together leading net-zero initiatives from across the financial system to accelerate the transition to net-zero emissions by 2050 at the latest.
JP Morgan Chase pledges $2.5trn to climate and sustainability this decade | edie
US-based finance giant JP Morgan Chase has unveiled plans to provide more than $2.5trn of finance to sustainable development projects by the end of 2030.
Investors managing $11 trillion call on banks to phase out fossil-fuel lending | BNN Bloomberg
Investors managing $11 trillion have called on the world’s biggest banks to phase out financing of fossil-fuel companies and throw their weight behind the goals of the Paris climate agreement. Asset managers, including Federated Hermes Inc.’s EOS division and Pacific Investment Management Co., have asked 27 banks to commit to eliminating emissions across their operations by 2050, including those generated from lending, trading and underwriting, and set interim reduction targets.
Visa pledges net zero by 2040, wants cardholders to see their emissions | BNN Bloomberg
Visa Inc. will aim to achieve net-zero greenhouse-gas emissions by 2040 after already reaching carbon neutrality across its own operations last year.
Technology
Hydrogen
German utility drops plans for LNG gas import terminal, to focus on green hydrogen instead | RenewEconomy
German utility company Uniper has dropped plans for an import terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the German port of Wilhelmshaven and now plans to build a green hydrogen hub at the site.
Shell, Harbour Team Up in U.K. Carbon Capture, Hydrogen Project | BNN Bloomberg
Royal Dutch Shell Plc is joining a project to build what could be one of the U.K.’s first large-scale carbon capture and hydrogen hubs as the oil major refocuses toward cleaner energy and slims down its traditional business.
Retired coal-fired plant in New Mexico to be reignited with blue hydrogen | Energy Live News
The upcycling of the retired generation station is expected to help achieve net zero emissions dispatchable power and the ability to supply commercial-scale clean fresh water, which is produced from the combustion of hydrogen.
French giant Total Eren signs on to massive 8GW green hydrogen project in WA | RenewEconomy
French renewable energy giant Total Eren will partner with Perth-based Province Resources to develop a plan for a massive 8GW green hydrogen facility in Western Australia, another boost for Australia’s rapidly emerging green hydrogen industry.
Chevron, Toyota look to partner on hydrogen | Business Wire
Chevron and Toyota announced a memorandum of understanding to explore a strategic alliance to catalyze and lead the development of commercially viable, large-scale businesses in hydrogen, with the goal to advance a functional, thriving global hydrogen economy.
Carbon Capture
Australia plans to spend $417M on hydrogen, carbon capture | AP News
Australia’s prime minister has proposed spending an extra 539 million Australian dollars ($417 million) on hydrogen and carbon sequestration projects, seeking to burnish his government’s green credentials ahead of a climate summit to be hosted by President Joe Biden.
Energy Storage
Battery Startup Comes Out of Stealth to Seize On Investor Frenzy | BNN Bloomberg
Massachusetts-based Factorial Energy has come out of stealth mode with a next-generation battery candidate to try and tap the growing interest. Factorial says it has built a solid-state battery, a new way of making batteries that experts think could take over from the current generation of lithium-ion cells.
Solar and Wind
Texas likely to add record utility-scale solar capacity in the next two years | EIA
Developers break ground on 613MW Aktina Texas solar; operational by mid 2022 | reNEWS.biz
Rosendin Renewable Energy Group and Tokyo Gas America have started construction of the 631MW Aktina solar farm in the US state of Texas.
National Grid Renewables constructing 275-MW solar + storage project in Texas | Solar Power World
Home Depot and Hershey among purchasers of power from National Grid Renewables‘ Noble solar + storage project under construction in Denton County, Texas. Noble will be 275 MW of solar and 125 MWh of battery storage.
Ikea to invest €4bn in renewable energy by 2030 | The Guardian
Ikea plans to accelerate its investment in renewable energy by spending an extra €4bn (£3.4bn) by the end of the decade to build wind and solar farms, while fitting its stores with electric vehicle charge points.
US Renewable PPA prices up as permitting, interconnection bottlenecks delay new projects | Utility Dive
Overall renewable PPA prices have increased 11.5% year-over-year since the first quarter of 2021 as demand for renewable energy continues to grow.
Amazon Invests in Nine New Renewable Energy Projects around the Globe, adding 1.5GW | Yahoo
Amazon is now the largest corporate buyer of renewable energy globally and in Europe with 206 projects around the world, enough to power millions of homes a year. With more than 2.5 GW of capacity in Europe, and 8.5 GW of renewable energy capacity globally, Amazon is on a path to 100% renewable energy by 2025.
Oceanex Energy hopes to develop more than 9GW of offshore and floating wind farms in Australia, and another 3GW in New Zealand.
Gigawatt-scale Queensland wind complex gets development green light | RenewEconomy
Acciona’s plans to develop a massive wind energy precinct with a capacity of more than more than 1000MW in south-west Queensland have been given the green light by the state government’s State Assessment and Referral Agency.
Poland’s PGE eyes 600 MW of solar at Europe’s largest coal-fired plant | Renewables Now
Polish utility PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna SA (WSE:PGE) on Wednesday announced plans to deploy 600 MW of solar, and potentially some wind power capacity, at the site of its Belchatow coal-fired power plant in Lodz Province, central Poland.
Blue Elephant Energy, UKA partner to develop 500MW solar projects in Germany | NS Energy
The portfolio comprises 11 solar projects in development stage, with individual capacities ranging between 20MW and 130MW.
Developer secures first approval for 300 MW unsubsidized solar plant in Germany | PV Magazine
The Anklam municipality approved the resolution for the project construction. The land-use planning for what could become the largest planned photovoltaic power plant in Germany to date can now begin.
Solar PV manufacturing in Europe coming back; plans for 5GW facility in Spain unveiled | PV Magazine
With transport costs from China representing 10% of PV module costs, domestic manufacturing in Europe is becoming more attractive.
Spanish developer plans 1 GW solar plant coupled to 80 MW of storage, 100 MW electrolyzer | PV Magazine
Soto Solar has submitted the project proposal to the Ministry of the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (Miteco). The solar plant could start production in 2023 or 2024 and will have a generation capacity of more than 2,000 GWh/year.
Transportation
Toyota Begins Electrification Push With New EV SUV, Platform | BNN Bloomberg
Toyota Motor Corp. is speeding up its previously sluggish push into electric vehicles with the release of its first SUV built on a new EV platform developed by the Japanese automaker to build out its electric fleet over the coming years.
Amazon installs more than 800 EV chargers at UK sites | edie
Amazon has confirmed that more than 800 electric vehicle (EV) charging points have been installed across its UK sites with “hundreds more” scheduled, as part of an ongoing partnership with Suffolk-based EO Charging.
Toronto Transit green-lights purchase of 300 new electric buses, to start rolling in 2023 | Electric Autonomy
The Toronto Transit Commission, which already operates North America’s largest electric bus fleet is looking to spend $300 million on their green fleet expansion, which includes key partnerships with Toronto Hydro and Ontario Power Generation.
Cadillac is going electric – every new vehicle will be all-electric starting now | Electrek
GM’s Cadillac brand is going electric, as the automaker confirmed that every new vehicle will be all-electric starting now.
Circular Economy
Shampoo bars and sustainable shoes: Rounding up the big Earth Day product announcements | edie
A string of big-name brands, including SC Johnson and Vans, have bolstered commitments on resource use or launched products with circular economy principles to mark Earth Day 2021. Here, edie rounds up the announcements.