Plus: The nasty problem with returning your too-small pants; New IEA Energy Outlook; Xi plans 100GW solar; Honda goes electric in China
Hi Everyone,
In the roughly four years preceding the pandemic, I issued these newsletters weekly. With the pace of meaty stories continuing to pile up, I may have to return to issuing these on a weekly basis. But the beauty of running your own newsletter is the flexibility to issue it whenever it makes sense – as you can see I’ve done again this week.
As always, comments and questions welcome.
Thanks,
Peter
Comments
Read the second part of Gregor Macdonald’s ‘Supply Lines’ in the Feature Story section.
If you missed Part I of Supply Lines, you should definitely find some time to read it. Find it here.
I’m keeping my comments brief this week:
- Just look at the scale and number of hydrogen stories this week.
- Heat pumps: after Ireland announced plans for deploying 600,000, Boris Johnston wants to see the same amount deployed in Britain, with compelling subsidies. See the Buildings section.
- President XI has plans for adding 100GW of solar in China. Just stunning.
Have a quick scan of the Circular Economy stories – especially the story from The Atlantic.
Feature Stories
Supply Lines II by Gregor Macdonald
European fossil fuel consumption has been in downtrend for over a decade
This long term decline is a useful fact in understanding today’s energy supply crunch on the continent. Popularly described as a failure of energy policy—or even more incorrectly, a geologically constrained global shortage—European energy supply is struggling instead in the face of logistical deliveries, politically driven supply constraints engineered by Russia, and the same post-pandemic throughput challenges that are affecting everything on the planet from kitchen goods to semiconductors. Continue reading…
Credit: Gregor Macdonald – Supply Lines II
IEA warns world isn’t investing enough for future energy needs | BNN Bloomberg
The world is failing to invest in energy on the scale needed to escape catastrophic climate change and avoid sharp increases in fossil fuel prices, the International Energy Agency warned.
…and from the IEA World Energy Outlook press release
[Excerpt] A new energy economy is emerging around the world as solar, wind, electric vehicles and other low-carbon technologies flourish. But as the pivotal moment of COP26 approaches, the IEA’s new World Energy Outlook makes it clear that this clean energy progress is still far too slow to put global emissions into sustained decline towards net zero, highlighting the need for an unmistakeable signal of ambition and action from governments in Glasgow.
Finance & Sentiment
Finance giants to G20 leaders: Close policy loopholes to end financing for activities that will derail net-zero | edie
An alliance of finance giants collectively representing $90trn in assets is urging G20 nations to end fossil fuel subsidies, bolster carbon pricing and introduce new climate mandates for businesses, to ensure long-term net-zero pledges are credible.
Biggest U.S. bank changes course and joins climate alliance | BNN Bloomberg
JPMorgan Chase & Co. signed a pledge to align its lending and investment portfolios with net-zero emissions by 2050, joining more than 40 rival financial firms in the Net-Zero Banking Alliance.
NatWest promises £100bn for climate and sustainability by 2025, with SME focus | edie
Banking giant NatWest Group has pledged to provide £100bn of climate and sustainable funding and financing by the end of 2025, after surpassing its previous ambition in this field.
EU launches world’s largest green bond issuance to date | edie
The European Commission has issued €12 bb worth of green bonds on financial markets to finance the green parts of its €800bn coronavirus recovery fund. This represents the world’s largest green bond issuance to date.
Chevron adopts operational net zero ‘aspiration’ by 2050 | Bloomberg via JWN
Chevron Corp. committed to an “aspiration” of net zero emissions from its operations by 2050 as the company responds to rising investor and societal pressure to play a bigger role in a transition to a low-carbon future. Chevron also set a target of reducing carbon intensity by five per cent from 2016 levels by 2028 for the full lifecycle of its products, the company said Monday in a report. The target includes Scope 3 emissions, or those of its customers, which make up the majority of fossil fuel pollution. While the pledge falls short of those made by European peers such as Royal Dutch Shell plc and BP plc, it’s the first time Chevron has outlined a multi-decade strategic commitment to reduce emissions.
Technology
Hydrogen
Air Products plans $4.5 billion investment in blue hydrogen facility | pv magazine
Air Products said it plans to build a $4.5 billion blue hydrogen at a complex in Louisiana. The company will build, own, and operate the project, which is planned to produce over 750 million standard cubic feet per day of blue hydrogen in Ascension Parish, Louisiana, south of Baton Rouge.
Octopus Energy, RES to invest £3bn by 2030 in UK green hydrogen | H2 View
The UK is set to receive a huge boost to its hydrogen competence with Octopus Energy and RES revealing today (Oct 14) the intention to invest £3bn ($4.12bn) in green hydrogen plants by 2030.
Forrest to build massive hydrogen, wind, solar and cabling factory in Queensland | RenewEconomy
Iron ore billionaire Andrew Forrest has unveiled plans to build a massive green energy manufacturing centre in central Queensland, focusing initially on hydrogen electrolysers before also moving on to wind turbine equipment, solar PV cells, and electrical cabling. The initial electrolyser investment is expected to be up to AU$114 million, with the first electrolysers scheduled for production in early 2023.
NSW announces $3 billion hydrogen strategy | Muswell Brook Chronicle
The state government’s strategy will provide up to $3 billion in business incentives for the hydrogen industry as well providing exemptions from government charges and a 90 per cent exemption from electricity network charges for green hydrogen producers who connect to parts of the grid with spare capacity.
TotalEnergies and Macquarie team up for Scotland green hydrogen facility | edie
TotalEnergies has forged a consortium with Macquarie’s Green Investment Group and Renewable Infrastructure Development Group, aiming to create an industrial-scale green hydrogen plant in Orkney, Scotland – including a maritime refueling hub and plans for 2GW offshore wind.
Green light for Australian renewable hydrogen project | pv magazine
The Australian state of Queensland aims to become a leading producer and exporter of green hydrogen. It ambitions continue to gather steam, with the state government recently announcing plans to build a large-scale PV and battery-powered renewable hydrogen electrolyzer.
Plug Power signs largest green hydrogen PPA in US with 345 MW of wind to power facility | Utility Dive
Hydrogen technology company Plug Power has entered into a 345 MW wind power purchase agreement (PPA) with Apex Clean Energy. The energy from the wind farm, which Apex believes will be the first and largest wind-powered hydrogen project in the U.S., will power one of a series of liquid hydrogen plants Plug plans to build by 2025.
Forrest signs up Plug Power for world’s biggest hydrogen electrolyser Gigafactory | RenewEconomy
US-based hydrogen technology company Plug Power has emerged as the major partner for billionaire Andrew Forrest’s plans to build the world’s biggest electrolyser manufacturing facility in Queensland.
Carbon Capture
Repsol details Indonesia CCS project linked to giant gas development | Upstream Energy
Spain’s Repsol has ambitious plans for a carbon capture and storage (CCS) project alongside its grassroots Sakakemang giant gas project onshore Sumatra, Indonesia. The CCS scheme, which will see some 2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide stored annually, is scheduled to start in 2027 and will be developed simultaneously with its Sakakemang (Kali Berau Dalam) gas field development.
Energy Storage
Georgia Power’s first 65MW / 260MWh build, own, operate battery storage project approved | Energy Storage News
US utility company Georgia Power has approval from regulator Georgia Public Service Commission (PCS) for the first project in its 80MW portfolio of ‘build, own, operate’ standalone battery energy storage systems (BESS).
Green Steel
Colorado steel mill to become first to run almost entirely on solar power | RenewEconomy
Lightsource BP has commissioned its latest solar project, the 300MW Bighorn solar farm in Colorado, which will enable the neighbouring Evraz Pueblo steel plant to become the first to be largely powered by solar.
Buildings
Britons to Get More Money for Discarding Gas Boilers for Heat Pumps | BNN Bloomberg
The U.K. is poised to increase grants for homeowners who rip out their fossil fuel boilers and replace them with greener heat pumps, as Boris Johnson’s government tries to overcome one of the biggest hurdles to achieving its goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. Ministers will next week announce grants of at least 5,000 pounds ($6,840) for people who install heat pumps, as a way to cut the cost of the green — but expensive — technology, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Solar and Wind
Xi Says China Has Started a 100 GW Desert Renewable Project | BNN Bloomberg
China recently started construction on a massive wind- and solar-power project in the country’s deserts, President Xi Jinping said. Construction has started smoothly on the first phase of 100 gigawatts of generating capacity, Xi said via video link Tuesday at a United Nations Biodiversity Conference in Kunming. That’s more than the entire wind and solar capacity installed in India, according to BloombergNEF.
Pele Green, EDF consortium to build 100 MW PV plant in South Africa | pv magazine
Platinum group metals mining giant Anglo American Platinum (Amplants) has selected Pele Green Energy and EDF Renewables South Africa as the preferred developers to build a 100 MW solar PV plant in South Africa.
Portugal completes 219 MW unsubsidized PV project | pv magazine
Ireland-based WElink Group and China Triumph International Engineering Co. Ltd have announced the completion of the 219 MW Solara 4 project in Portugal’s Algarve region. An inauguration ceremony for the project was held last week, and it is expected to begin full operations before the end of October.
Canada’s Grasshopper closes $48m financing deal for U.S. solar expansion | pv magazine
Grasshopper, a Canada-based renewable energy developer, will use $48 million of financing to support four solar+storage projects in Massachusetts.
RWE and PPC form joint venture to develop 2GW of solar in Greece | PV Tech
German energy major RWE has established a joint venture (JV) with Greek utility PPC that will develop utility-scale solar projects in Greece with a total capacity of up to 2GW.
Transportation
Honda announces all new models will be electric after 2030… but only in China to start | Electrek
Honda has shared details of a comprehensive electrification strategy that includes two production vehicles and three concepts donning a new “e:N Series” electric branding. The Japanese automaker plans to introduce 10 Honda-brand EV models in the next five years, but only in China.
Volvo says shift to electric cars is the reason behind its $2.9 billion IPO | CNBC
The CEO of Volvo Cars has told CNBC that the automaker’s shift to electric vehicles is the reason behind its planned listing on the Nasdaq Stockholm stock exchange. The company wants to raise 25 billion Swedish krona, or $2.9 billion, via the initial public offering, which will be one of the biggest in Europe this year.
TPG to invest $1 billion in Tata Motors’ electric vehicle subsidiary | Business Standard
In a boost to its electric vehicle (EV) push, Tata Motors on Tuesday closed a deal to raise Rs 7,500 crore (close to $1 billion) from TPG Rise Climate and Abu Dhabi’s ADQ. This is the first major fundraising by an Indian carmaker to push clean mobility.
Circular Economy
Tesla supplier CATL announces $5 billion battery recycling facility | Electrek
CATL, the leading battery manufacturer in China, has shared new plans to create a $5 billion facility to recycle used batteries for their earth materials such as cobalt and lithium. The facility will be erected as a joint venture at a time when EVs are becoming more and more in demand globally.
The explosive growth in online sales magnifies e-commerce’s biggest problem: returns
[Excerpt from Lauren Phipps at Greenbiz Circular Weekly] In the ambiguous, headache-inducing, near-impossible-to-measure world of reverse logistics, it’s unlikely that a given e-commerce return is ever resold. With roughly $100 billion worth of retail goods returned last year alone, that’s a lot of lost value. It’s time for change. See The Atlantic: The Nasty Logistics of Returning Your Too-Small Pants
“We can dispense now with a common myth of modern shopping: The stuff you return probably isn’t restocked and sent back out to another hopeful owner.”
France bans plastic packaging for fruit and vegetables | Nasdaq
France will ban plastic packaging for nearly all fruit and vegetables from January 2022 in a bid to reduce plastic waste, the environment ministry said on Monday.
Exxon Mobil Plans Region’s First Large-Scale Plastics Recycling Facility | Houston.org
Exxon Mobil plans to build its first, large-scale plastic waste recycling facility in Baytown. The company said the plant, expected to be operational by the end of 2022, will be capable of recycling 30,000 metric tons of plastic waste annually.
Policy
Climate pact on methane advances as 24 nations join U.S., EU | BNN Bloomberg
The U.S. and the European Union plan to announce that at least 20 new countries will join a pledge to reduce methane emissions. With the addition of Canada, France, Germany and others, nations backing the pledge now represent about 30 per cent of global methane emissions and 60 per cent of the global economy.
Putin Says Russia Will Target Carbon Neutrality by 2060 | BNN Bloomberg
Russia will seek to become carbon neutral within four decades, President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday, marking a stunning reversal in his stance on climate change. “We set a specific aim here — no later than 2060,” Putin said in his speech at the Russian Energy Week conference in Moscow.