Plus: Biden bars Chinese solar, Lots of wind power projects, Amazon and BASF sign up PPAs
Hi Everyone,
Happy summer! I’ll be taking a long break, perhaps a month, so enjoy this latest update.
Thanks to those of you who are forwarding on to others and welcome to those new subscribers that recently joined. Not you? Well then, help out spreading the word and encourage others you know to get on the distribution list!
An advance Happy Canada Day and Independence Day respectively to the Canadians and Americans.
Thanks,
Peter
Observations & Comments
The signals from the finance sector continue to pile up – check out the stories in the Finance & Sentiment section.
The biggest policy decision has to be the Biden Administration barring imports of solar panels linked to forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region.
Toyota remains the hold-out on going all electric, while Honda announced plans to phase out gas powered vehicles by 2040. Check out Transportation.
More companies are turning to power purchase agreements (PPAs) for wind and solar to meet their climate aspirations, with Amazon and BASF figuring prominently here this week – see Solar & Wind.
Finance & Sentiment
Engine No. 1 Is Coming to Shake Up the $6.5 Trillion ETF Market | BNN Bloomberg
Not content with roiling a major oil company and sending shock waves through the market, Engine No. 1 is looking to kick start a mini-revolution in how trillions of dollars of passive cash engages with Corporate America.
UN to align $85bn pension pots with net-zero; sets precedent for others | edie
This week, the UN’s Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF) set new targets to reduce investment-induced emissions by 29% on a year-on-year basis for 2021. Through to 2025, it is targeting a reduction of 40%, also against a 2020 baseline. The Fund has already divested from coal but will now look at what combination of other engagement and divestment is needed across other “priority sectors”, namely oil and gas, utilities, steel, cement and transport. It claims its new targets are aligned with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5C trajectory.
Given that the UNJSPF represents the pensions of more than 130,000 individuals, covering £61.5bn, Make My Money Matter believes that the move will press other schemes to follow suit.
Ikea and Rockefeller foundations pledge $US1bn for “reliable, renewable” energy access | RenewEconomy
The IKEA Foundation and The Rockefeller Foundation announced on Monday plans to create a $US1 billion initiative to designed to bring renewable energy to over three billion people without electricity or with unreliable electricity, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 1 billion tonnes.
Target pledges to reach net-zero and become a ‘circular’ business by 2040 | edie
US retail giant Target has outlined a sweeping new sustainability vision through to 2040, including commitments to net-zero emissions and eliminating waste.
Technology
Hydrogen
“Clearly unacceptable:” Morrison government blocks massive Pilbara renewable hydrogen hub | RenewEconomy (initial and follow-up)
“Minister Ley last week found that a revised proposal, involving expansion through the Eighty-mile Beach RAMSAR site and an ammonia plant, was ‘Clearly Unacceptable’ in accordance with the EPBC Act,” the spokesperson said. “The proponent can resubmit a revised proposal.” The original approved proposal for the Asian Renewable Energy Hub that can provide 9GW of wind and solar renewable energy (approved in December 2020) remains in place.
Energy Storage
Construction begins on Spain’s first battery gigafactory | pv magazine
The factory is located in Noblejas, in the province of Toledo, Castilla–La Mancha, and is planned to reach a capacity of 10 GWh by 2025.
Volvo announces new 50 GWh battery gigafactory in Europe in partnership with | Electrek
Northvolt, a battery startup founded by two former Tesla executives who worked on Tesla’s Gigafactory 1 in Nevada with Panasonic, is becoming the go-to battery cell manufacturing partner for automakers in Europe.
Tesla signs deal with new home builder to outfit whole community with solar, Powerwall, and chargers | Electrek
Real estate developer and new home builder Alset EHome announced an agreement with Tesla to supply solar panels, Powerwall, and electric vehicle chargers for 20 new homes being built in Porter, Texas
UK connects its first grid-scale “big battery” in Oxford to support EV charging | RenewEconomy
The United Kingdom’s first grid-scale battery storage system connected directly to the country’s transmission network was activated on Wednesday, a 50MW lithium-ion battery that is part of the £41 million GBP Energy Superhub Oxford project.
Plans unveiled for Netherlands largest battery | pv magazine
The 24 MW/48 MWh system is being built by Dutch storage system provider Giga Storage and utility Eneco. The battery will be used by Eneco for forecasting supply-demand errors on the intraday trading market.
Solar and Wind
Amazon’s solar farm offtake deal (375MW) to accelerate Alberta’s renewable energy transformation | Financial Post
In the latest sign of increasing corporate investment in renewable power, tech giant Amazon.com Inc. on Wednesday announced a deal that locks up 80 per cent of the power from what is being described as the largest solar project in Canada.
Amazon Becomes Largest Corporate Buyer of Renewable Energy in the U.S | Amazon
Amazon announced 14 new renewable energy projects in the U.S., Canada, Finland, and Spain to advance its ambitious goal to power 100% of company activities with renewable energy by 2025—five years ahead of the original target of 2030.
Chinese PV Industry Brief: Cumulative PV capacity tops 260 GW | pv magazine
The National Energy Administration has reported 9.91 GW of solar generation capacity was connected to the grid in the first five months of the year, taking China’s cumulative figure to 260 GW. Analyst the Asia Europe Clean Energy (Solar) Advisory has predicted China will deploy up to 75 GW of solar this year.
Chemical giant buys nearly half of huge 1.5 GW Dutch offshore wind farm | Electrek
German chemicals giant BASF will buy 49.5% of Swedish power company Vattenfall‘s future Dutch offshore wind farm, Hollandse Kust Zuid (HKZ).
Asia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani unveils $10bn green energy push | Aljazeera
Indian tycoon Mukesh Ambani unveiled an ambitious push into clean energy involving 750 billion rupees ($10.1 billion) of investment over three years, marking a new pivot for one of the world’s biggest fossil-fuel billionaires.
RES and Cowessess First Nation secure PPA for Canadian wind project | Power Tech
The project will help SaskPower to meet its target of reducing emissions by 50% from 2005 levels by 2030. Renewable Energy Systems Canada (RES) and its partner company, Cowessess First Nation, have secured a power purchase agreement (PPA) for the 200MW Bekevar Wind Energy Project.
Mitsubishi to invest in 600-MW Laos wind project | Renewables Now
To be located in Sekong and Attapeu provinces in southern Laos, the wind farm will be the first in Laos and the largest in South East Asia. It is planned to sell electricity to Vietnam’s state-owned Vietnam Electricity over 25 years by means of a dedicated power transmission line.
Siemens Gamesa to supply typhoon-class turbines for Japanese wind farm | Power Technology
Located on the Hokkaido island, the 339.7MW wind farm cluster is said to be the largest of its kind in the country.
Transportation
Honda Goes All In on Electric Cars in Stark Contrast to Toyota | BNN Bloomberg
In Japan, where hybrid cars dominate, what Akio Toyoda says matters. Toyota Motor Corp. has been a pioneer of the technology since the first Prius rolled off the production line in 1997 and the president of the world’s largest automaker has repeatedly criticized the government for pushing electric vehicles.
BP eyes IoT-enabled EV charging with US$7 million investment in IoTecha | Current±
The technology developed by IoTecha connects EV chargers with the electricity grid using IoT, therefore optimising the charging process by automating payments and delivering cost and potential energy savings to customers.
Circular Economy
Bold single-use plastic ban kicks Europe’s plastic purge into high gear | PBS
A ban comes into effect July 3 that halts the sale in EU markets of the 10 plastic products that most commonly wash up on the continent’s shores.
Policy
Biden administration bars imports of solar panels linked to forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region | Washington Post
NSW unveils $490 million support package for electric vehicles | The Driven
The Berejiklian government has unveiled an ambitious $490 million package of new incentives, tax cuts and spending on new fast-charging infrastructure for electric vehicles – some of the best available in Australia – but it comes with a major catch.
Electric vehicle infrastructure gets $15 billion in new US bipartisan proposal, new EV rebate to come later | Electrek
Electric vehicle infrastructure is getting $15 billion in US government funding in a new bipartisan proposal. It’s less than originally planned, but it’s still a decent amount.