Energy Shift: Biden wants half of new cars electric by 2030

Plus: Canada leads green investing shift; greener steel in Canada and Spain; multi-day iron-air batteries

Hi Everyone,

For those of us in the northern hemisphere, I hope you are getting to enjoy summer. For my family, its been lots of visiting with family and friends.

I have adjusted slightly the format for Wind and Solar stories to give you introductory text for the stories that I believe are more meaningful (big projects, closer to reality, or more important for other aspects) and include a long list of other developments (smaller or subject to approvals, etc.) The latter do give a wide sweep of the developments globally, so I thought this way you still can benefit from this global scan.

I have posed a couple questions – so I invite you to send me your thoughts.

As always, continue to share this around to others you know would be interested.

Thanks,
Peter


Observations, Comments & Questions

Find the story for President Biden’s ambition for half of cars to be electric by 2030 in the Policy section way down below.

This one excerpt below from the first story under Finance & Sentiment caught my eye. Who knew us Canadians were leading the shift in money to more sustainable investments. Way to go Canada!

According to the report, Canada’s investment market is the one with the highest proportion of sustainable investment assets at 62%, followed by Europe (42%), Australasia (38%), the United States (33%) and Japan (24%). However, the US and Europe still represent more than 80% of global sustainable investing assets.

Canada also experienced the largest increase in its sustainable investment market over the past two years, growing by 48%. In comparison, the US market grew by 42%, Japan by 34% and Australasia by 25%.

What If Shell Followed Volkswagen’s Example In The Fight Against Climate Change? | Forbes
[Comment] An article that picks at the ethics of oil and offers the analogue of the pivot VW made with diesel gate to electric vehicles in just a few short years. For me, the challenge remains delivering competitive returns to shareholders. A hard pivot makes this difficult. Yet Orsted has already shown the way with a dramatic transformation from when it was Dong Energy (see this long piece from Corporate Knights for the backstory).

All pathways to net zero emissions by 2050 show continued use of oil for decades. As far as we know, the world simply cannot pivot the energy system faster. To whom do we leave the supply of oil and gas in a world undergoing a decades long transition? BP sold out of high emission production in Alaska, leaving production to Hilcorp. Shell and others shuffling high emission assets to lower tier producers does nothing for climate change. Indeed, if smaller companies don’t have the same commitment to lower emissions, it likely makes things worse. So what is the answer?

Bringing this closer to my home in Canada, a country rich with oil resources and companies and a federal governments committed to net zero emissions, I’d rather see Canada benefit from the supplying of global demand than other countries and companies while the opportunity remains. Now it is your turn…tell me what you think.


Finance & Sentiment

‘An industry in transition’: Sustainable investments now account for one-third of global market | edie
Sustainable investment approaches that consider environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in portfolios have grown by 15% over the last two years and now account for more than a third of professionally managed assets across all major markets.

Brookfield raises $7B, seeks US$12.5B total for new impact fund | BNN Bloomberg
Brookfield Asset Management Inc. said it has raised US$7 billion for the initial close of its new impact investment fund, pulling in money from Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund and Canadian pension managers for an investment vehicle that will help businesses cut their carbon emissions.

Fidelity to Vote Against Climate Laggards Starting Next Year | BNN Bloomberg
Fidelity International warned companies it invests in that if they don’t take sufficient action to combat climate change the asset manager will vote against management at shareholder meetings beginning next year.

Renewable Investment Rose to a Record in First Half, BNEF Says | BNN Bloomberg
Investors poured more money than ever into renewable energy in the first half of the year, but the pace is far from enough to sufficiently curb increasing carbon emissions.

Innovative plan hatched by financiers to speed Asian coal plant closures | Reuters
Financial firms including British insurer Prudential, lenders Citi and HSBC and BlackRock Real Assets are devising plans to speed the closure of Asia’s coal-fired power plants in order to lower the biggest source of carbon emissions, five people with knowledge of the initiative said.

 

Technology

 

Green Steel

 ArcelorMittal Signs MOU For Large Green Steel Plant in Spain | BNN Bloomberg
ArcelorMittal SA has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Spanish government for a 1 billion euro ($1.2 billion) investment to build the world’s first large-scale zero-carbon steel plant.

ArcelorMittal and Canada commit CAD$1.765B to electric arc steel production | Globe News Wire
The government of Canada will contribute $400 million to the decarbonization technologies at ArcelorMittal Dofasco’s plant in Hamilton, reducing annual emissions by 60% or 3 million tonnes within seven years.

Hydrogen

Chevron and Cummins announce collaboration on hydrogen | BIC
Chevron and Cummins Inc., a global power and hydrogen technologies leader, announced a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to explore a strategic alliance to develop commercially viable business opportunities in hydrogen and other alternative energy sources.

Pact signed for potential green hydrogen production in India | Mint
Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Future Energy Limited has signed a pact with Fortescue Future Industries Pty Ltd on potential green hydrogen production in India, the companies said in a joint statement on Thursday.

Ethiopean gas to feed ammonia export for blue hydrogen in Chinese industry | pv magazine
GCL Group revealed Ethiopian natural gas will power the ammonia which it will use to generate blue hydrogen. The gas will be piped to Djibouti where it will feed 4 million tons per year of ammonia feedstock for hydrogen, to power steel smelting, refining, and power generation in China.

UAE’s Adnoc Sells Trial Cargo of Blue Ammonia to Japan Firm | BNN Bloomberg
The United Arab Emirates agreed to sell its first cargo of blue ammonia as the oil producer aims to boost supply of cleaner fuels to buyers in Asia.

Energy Storage

Lithium and copper spark $9bn cost headache for Japan automakers | Nikkei Asia
Japanese automakers face a multibillion-dollar hit to earnings this fiscal year from rising prices of lithium, copper and other materials crucial to the shift away from polluting cars.

Tesla deployed 1.3GWh of energy storage in Q2 2021 with ‘Megapacks sold out to 2023’ | Energy Storage News
Tesla has reported more than 200% year-on-year increases in both solar and energy storage deployments for the second quarter of this year, during which time the company also produced and delivered more than 200,000 vehicles.

TC Energy advances 1 GW pumped hydro energy storage project in Canada | pv magazine
The pumped hydro project aims in part to reduce the amount of electricity that is exported from Ontario to several U.S. states at a loss.

Three more big batteries planned for Australia | RenewEconomy
Three big battery storage projects totalling 900MWh have been proposed for the New England region in NSW and the state’s north, targeting one of the NSW government’s key zones for the large scale wind and solar projects that will be needed to replace its ageing coal fleet.

Multi day iron air batteries reach commercialization | pv magazineUS-based startup Form Energy has secured $200 million Series D funding for the development of what is being called a breakthrough in energy storage.

Fire at Australian big battery | pv magazine
Speculation will be rife as to the cause of the fire which destroyed one Tesla Megapack and damaged another in Moorabool on Friday (July 30). Investigators are waiting until the site is deemed safe to begin their forensic examination.

Emergency services collaborated in bringing a fire under control at the Victorian Big Battery in Moorabool, which was undergoing testing when the incident began.

Image: Fire Rescue Victoria


Solar and Wind

Cenovus signs 150 MW solar PPA with Cold Lake First Nations, Elemental Energy partnership | Globe News Wire 
Cenovus Energy Inc. (TSX: CVE) (NYSE: CVE) has entered into a power purchase agreement (PPA) to buy solar-power produced electricity and the associated emissions offsets from a partnership between Cold Lake First Nations (CLFN) and Elemental Energy Inc., helping Cenovus advance two of its environmental, social & governance (ESG) focus areas by addressing climate & greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as well as further supporting Indigenous reconciliation through economic engagement.

Italian oil & gas company Eni acquires 2.8GW solar pipeline and 1GW existing solar | pv magazine
The decision of the Italian energy firm to acquire a 2.8 GW-plus solar pipeline in Spain and France has come on the same day it was announced Eni would assume 1 GW of solar capacity in Spain from another business.

US Wind plans up to 1.2 GW expansion off Maryland coast, moves to boost domestic supply chain | Utility Dive
Offshore wind developer US Wind has submitted a bid for a new 1,200 MW offshore wind farm, slated for construction adjacent to the company’s $77 million MarWin project, which is already set for construction off the coast of Maryland. If the new project is approved, US Wind has proposed to build a new steel fabrication facility to supply both Maryland projects.

TC Energy to switch to green power (5-7GW) to run N. American energy pipelines | Reuters
Canadian pipeline operator TC Energy Corp (TRP.TO) could spend billions of dollars on its plans to lower emissions by switching to renewable energy to run its huge network of U.S. and Canadian oil and gas pipelines.

Queensland energy survey reveals shifts in battery and EV embrace coupled with continued love of solar | pv magazine
A massive 37% of Queensland households have solar, up from 33% in 2019. A further 22% of respondents said they are either looking to install solar or upgrade their solar system in the next three years.

Shell to buy renewable energy company serving customers in 3 US states | The Hill

New Jersey Regulator Approves Successor Solar Incentive Program to add 3.75GW | Solar Industry

Avangrid, Primergy plan 1,080MW solar+storage Nevada project; replaces coal | IEEFA

Ørsted completes 367MW Western Trail wind farm in Texas | NS Energy

Terra-Gen secures financing for 345MW California solar-plus-storage projects | Energy Storage News

AES Indiana to 250MW solar-plus-storage project from NextEra Energy | IEEFA

Trina Solar to supply 850MW Brazilian PV giant | reNEWS.biz

Canadian Solar raises $100m to fund projects in Brazil | pv magazine

Israel’s Enlight to buy 490MW solar portfolio in Spain | NS Energy

Masdar to build Armenia’s biggest solar power plant; 200 MW | Eurasianet

Enel agrees to buy 527MW in hydro assets from Italy’s ERG in 1 bln euro deal | Reuters

JV plans 2.5 GW in two wind projects offshore Ireland | Power Technology

First Solar plans a $684 million 3.3GW Indian solar module fab | pv magazine

Masdar to Build 145 MW Floating Solar Plant on Indonesian Reservoir | EQ International

Tilt signs off-take deal with Genesis for 75-MW wind project in New Zealand | reNEWS.biz

Vestas Scores 58 MW Order for Wind Project in Australia | Renewable Energy Magazine

Transportation

Automakers Are Investing in EVs Like They Mean It | BNN Bloomberg
Based on their sales pledges and capex expenditures, it’s fair to say that automakers are quite committed to EVs. But that commitment is even stronger when you consider the capex figures not as absolute (big) numbers, but as shares of their total investment.

Tesla to open supercharger network to others, explained | Electrek
Elon Musk has released more details about how non-Tesla electric car owners are going to be able to use the Supercharger network once the automaker opens it up later this year.

EV charging networks reach roaming agreement | Electric Autonomy
Greenlots, ChargePoint, EV Connect and FLO have now enabled roaming across their networks of 54,000 chargers in Canada and the United States, with more companies expected to join in the near future.

Eni acquires Italy’s second largest EV charging stations operator | pv magazine
The Italian energy giant acquired Be Power, which operates over 5,000 EV charging stations across Italy.

EDF and Nissan launch V2G charging solution for business fleets | edie
EDF and Nissan have launched a new service for UK businesses that enables electric vehicle (EV) fleets to access vehicle-to-grid (V2G) charging technology.

Hyundai & LG ES to build battery plant in Indonesia | Electrive
Hyundai Motor and LG Energy Solution have reached an agreement with the government of Indonesia to build a battery cell factory in Karawang near the capital Jakarta. The factory is scheduled to start production in the first half of 2024 with an annual capacity of 10 GWh.

DHL Express orders 12 fully electric cargo planes | edie
Deutsche Post subsidiary DHL Express has placed an order for 12 all-electric cargo planes and is expecting them to be delivered in 2024.

Image: DHL Express


Policy

Biden seeks to make half of new U.S. auto fleet electric by 2030 | Reuters
President Joe Biden took a step toward his goal of slashing greenhouse gas emissions on Thursday with an executive order aimed at making half of all new vehicles sold in 2030 electric, a move made with backing from the biggest U.S. automakers.

China, India among 85 countries (42%) that missed UN deadline to update emissions targets | AP News
China and India have missed a U.N. deadline to submit fresh plans for cutting their greenhouse gas emissions in time for the global body to include their pledges in a report for governments at this year’s global climate summit, officials said Saturday.

Oregon governor sign ambitious climate bill | AP News
Oregon’s clean energy bill, which sets one of the most ambitious timelines in the country for moving to 100% clean electricity sources, was signed by Gov. Kate Brown on Tuesday.

Israel to cut 85% of emissions by mid-century | BBC
Israel will cut carbon emissions by 85% from 2015 levels by the middle of the century, its government says. Its prime minister said the decision would help the country gradually shift to a low-carbon economy. Targets include cutting the vast majority of emissions from transport, the electricity sector and municipal waste. Israel signed the Paris climate deal. It has set itself an interim goal of cutting emissions by 27% by 2030.

European Commission approves France’s €30bn renewables incentive program | pv magazine
Paris intends to secure 34 GW of solar, onshore wind and hydroelectric generation capacity by 2026 by offering generators premium payments – determined by competitive reverse-bidding among developers – to top-up the market electricity price.

New Jersey Regulator Approves Successor Solar Incentive Program | Solar Industry
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) is implementing a new solar incentive program that will pave the way for up to 3.750 GW of new solar generation by 2026, doubling the state’s solar capacity.