Around the globe renewables updates; more finance sector news
Skim the rest as well as we go around the globe on renewables and see some important finance sectors stories.
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Peter
Observations, Comments & Questions
Have a quick look through the self-driving vehicle stories and tell me at what level of autonomy you think we are presently. Among the stories you may want to read: Self-Driving’s Trough of Disillusionment Continues from Bloomberg Hyperdrive.
I’m keeping my comments short this week, but offer a few highlights I came across:
- From Bloomberg Green: The global assets under management of mutual funds and exchange-traded funds with climate change as a key theme almost tripled last year to $177 billion, according to analysts at Morningstar Inc. In all, 76 new climate-focused funds were introduced in 2020, bringing the worldwide total to about 400 offerings. For some pointers on how to think about your options, consider checking the quick guide included here.
- From Rethink Energy: Financial results from full-year 2020 show that the “big five” solar manufacturers – Longi, Jinko, Trina, JA Solar, and Canadian Solar – have increased their collective module output by 93% and operating income by 34.4%. There are now eleven Chinese manufacturers with a net operating income of over $1 billion. This reflects the general rapid growth of the Chinese solar industry, which invested between $30 billion and $50 billion in manufacturing capacity expansions.
Technology Spotlight: Driverless Vehicles
How This Company Has Beaten Tesla With The World’s First Autonomous Electric Truck | Forbes
Tesla’s Chinese rival Xpeng ups the self-driving game with world’s first mass-produced LiDAR in P5 sedan, defying Elon Musk | South China Morning Post
Autonomous Electric Vehicle Olli Now on Roads in Knox County, Tennessee | Clean Technica
..and a collection of other self-driving tech stories:
Walmart joins Microsoft and Honda in $2.75B round into GM’s Cruise | Silicon Angle
Ford unveils new hands-free driver-assist system ‘similar to Tesla Autopilot’ coming to Mustang Mach-E | Electrek
Toyota partners with Apex.AI to develop autonomous platform | Electrek
Domino’s launches autonomous pizza delivery with self-driving robot car (Houston) | Motor Authority
New technology using laser light for Autonomous vehicles | Kyocera
Technology
Hydrogen
Hyzon Motors, Raven SR to build 100 waste-to-hydrogen hubs | H2 View
Hyzon Motors has inked a deal with renewable fuels company Raven SR to build up to 100 waste-to-hydrogen production hubs across the US, and globally, which the two firms say will produce green hydrogen at costs comparable to grey hydrogen.
Energy Storage
Canada-based Hydrostor to develop 1 GW of compressed air storage in California by 2026 | PV Magazine
Two projects in California will fill part of the 1,600 MW of long-duration energy storage that state regulators have said is needed by 2026.
Solar and Wind
Germany sets bigger wind and solar auctions for next few years; triple in 2022 to 6 GW | RenewEconomy
Germany’s governing coalition has agreed higher renewable expansion goals for next year but failed to set longer-term targets for the years up to 2030.
German solar generates 40 GW for the first time; 8% of generation | PV Magazine
Germany is currently seeing cool, sunny weather, which is ideal for PV power generation. According to Energy Charts, the photovoltaic systems installed in the country have cracked the 40 GW mark for the first time.
Brazil reaches 5 GW of signed solar PPAs + 1.5GW Wind | PV Magazine
A new CELA Clean Energy Latin America study looks at 70 power purchase agreements signed for wind and solar PV projects in Brazil.
Turkey’s 1 GW PV tender sees lowest bid drop to $0.022/kWh | PV Magazine
The first phase of the procurement exercise is expected to be finalized by the end of the week. The record low bid, for Turkey, was submitted for a 10 MW project in the Antalya region, in the sunny southern part of the country.
South Australia sets record as electricity prices consistently plunge below zero | PV Magazine
Rooftop solar has caused South Australia’s average daytime prices to consistently fall below zero for the first time in the history of the National Electricity Market, the Australian Energy Market Operator said in its new quarterly report this week.
New York plans to build 20 renewable energy projects in 2020 | Power Technology
The Government of New York has unveiled plans to build more than 20 renewable energy projects across the state this year.
Chinese companies to build 1.1GW of solar projects in Brazil; $1B estimated cost | Power Technology
China Development Integration (CDIL) and China Machinery Engineering (CMEC) have signed a development agreement to invest and finance a 1100MW solar project in Port Açu and other locations in Brazil.
Orsted signs 200MW Texas Armadillo solar PV offtake with Merck | reNEWS.BIZ
Orsted in the US has signed a power purchase agreement with pharmaceutical company Merck (MSD), for output from the 200MW Armadillo Solar Center in Texas.
Egypt’s largest private 200MW solar plant proposal lines up $114MM financing | IFEEFA
Solar developer ACWA Power has secured a total US$114 million from financial institutions to fund the construction of what it claims will be Egypt’s largest private solar plant.
Transportation
Tesla says it will power all Superchargers with renewable energy this year | Electrek
Tesla apparently made an Earth Day announcement that flew under the radar: The automaker intends to power all Supercharger stations with renewable energy this year.
Siemens installs over 1,000 on-street EV chargers in City of Westminster, London borough of 250,000 | Current±
Westminster City Council is celebrating the installation of over 1,000 on-street electric vehicle (EV) chargers as part of its rollout with Siemens.
United partners with corporate America to ramp up sustainable fuels; 3.4 million gallons in 2021 | Green Biz
United Airlines is doubling down on a still-nascent path to decarbonizing its operations — sustainable aviation fuel.
Finance & Consumers
Four out of five Australians want electric vehicles, and most are happy to pay more | The Driven
Most Australians are eager to make the switch to electric vehicles, but see a lack of supportive government policies as a key barrier to uptake, according to the results of a new study.
Blackrock launches Paris-aligned funds; now managing over $200B in sustainability funds, double YE2020 | edie
The world’s largest investor BlackRock has unveiled two new temperature-based exchange funds aimed at helping investors align portfolios with the pathways of the Paris Agreement.
UK’s food and drink sector targets net-zero emissions by 2040 | edie
The Food and Drink Federation (FDF), which represents more than 300 companies, has today (27 April) unveiled an ambition on behalf of the sector to reach net-zero emissions by 2040.
Investors worth £10trn outline policy vision for sustainable finance in net-zero transition | edie
UKSIF, which represents more than 260 members with more than £10trn of assets under management, has called on the Government to better support a ‘just’ transition to net-zero.
Policy
Province of BC to invest $130 million toward ZEV initiatives, charging | Electric Autonomy
The province of British Columbia released the details of their 2021 budget, which includes a new half-billion dollar investment in its CleanBC climate strategy — including $130 million to support the transition towards zero-emission vehicles.
Biden releases money in push to modernize US electric grid | AP News
The federal government said Tuesday it is making more than $8 billion available to build and improve the nation’s transmission lines as part of its efforts to improve America’s aging electric grid and meet President Joe Biden’s ambitious clean-energy goals.