Plus: China solar production up 50% in ’22; “Bonfire of Billions” on driverless tech; Regulators call out greenwashing; EU finalizes 2035 ICE car ban
Hi everyone,
Happy Halloween to you all. As you peruse the headlines in this issue – don’t miss the policy section at the bottom for some nuggets. Otherwise check out the feature stories and my comments.
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Thanks,
Peter
Feature Stories
Battery capacity in the US more than tripled since the start of 2021: report | Utility Dive
[Excerpts] Battery capacity in the U.S. has more than tripled, to 6,702 MW, since the start of 2021.As of August, 376 battery projects were in operation with Texas and California leading the country, according to Zpryme, a research company. Planned capacity additions have also increased with 22,678 MW of battery storage in the pipeline, 6,000 MW of which was in August.
[Comments] More energy storage – through batteries, gravity or thermal systems, compressed air or others – is a critical piece of the puzzle needed to unlock higher percentages of renewables on grid systems. So, when you’ve seen as many stories as I have on big battery projects or more home battery systems being deployed – it’s no wonder we see the aggregate results of a tripling in capacity since the start of 2021. A growing trend is the harnessing of many home batteries using software to make virtual power plants.
Driverless Car Development Sets Ablaze a Bonfire of Billions; VW and Ford shut down Argo AI | BNN Bloomberg, Forbes
Autonomous vehicle companies and suppliers have collectively spent around $75 billion developing self-driving technology, with scant sign of meaningful revenue emerging from robo-car services after all that cash incineration.
Argo AI, a promising developer of self-driving car technology that raised billions of dollars from Ford and Volkswagen, is shutting down and being dissolved, Ford said on Wednesday, blaming the venture for its quarterly loss.
[Comments] It seems most car companies are now pivoting away from pursuing full self-driving capability and are instead focusing on Advanced Driver Assist Systems (ADAS).
China’s solar cell production capacity up more than 50% in 2022 | pv magazine
China’s total annual solar cell and module production capacity may increase from 361 GW at the end of last year to up to 600 GW at the end of 2022, according to the Asia Europe Clean Energy (Solar) Advisory (AECEA). So far this year, the output of polysilicon, wafers, cells and modules has already beaten the achievements of the Chinese PV industry in 2021 by some 50%.
Rethink Energy: China has installed 8.7 GW of solar power in September, up from 6.4 GW in August. These figures are from the National Energy Administration and makes a total yearly installation of 95 GW seem likely.
[Comment] Wow. 95GW of solar predicted to be added in China this year alone. That’s like practically adding the capacity equivalent to the entire existing UK electricity generating system.
Finance & Sentiment
Regulator Bans HSBC Ads Highlighting Green Activities as Misleading | ESG Today
UK ad regulator the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled Wednesday that ads by HSBC highlighting the bank’s climate-focused actions were misleading, as they omitted information about HSBC’s continued financing activities for emissions-intensive industries and businesses.
Shell Loses Dutch Appeal Over Misleading Carbon Emission Ads | BNN Bloomberg
Shell Plc lost its appeal against the Dutch advertising watchdog’s ruling that an ad campaign that promoted carbon-dioxide emission credits was misleading and must be withdrawn.
Lloyds Bank Becomes First in UK to Commit to End Financing of New Oil & Gas Projects | ESG Today
Lloyds Banking Group announced today a new commitment to stop funding new oil and gas projects, becoming the first UK bank to do so.
Banks Try Quiet Quitting on Net Zero | BNN Bloomberg
[Excerpt] By September they were among a faction ready to quit, according to sources familiar with the matter. JPMorgan, Bank of America, and Morgan Stanley declined to comment. A year on from COP26, some big banks seem worried they jumped on the bandwagon too soon, especially as oil and gas companies have experienced a market resurgence.
[Comment] Since the story broke, Mark Carney is defending the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net-Zero (GFANZ), a group he Co-Chairs. He also spoke to concerns about greenwashing. See here: Mark Carney defends GFANZ after a turbulent season.
Some great quotes from Mark Carney:
Responding to these reports, Carney said: “a, they have not left, and, b, they have not indicated to me any intention to do so”
“I would then say, though, in terms of the specifics of financing in conventional energy… that does not mean that every one of these investments is right or consistent with the transition. I will point out, though, that in the IEA and IPCC’s 1.5C scenarios… that the financing flow in conventional energy – oil and gas – somewhere between $600bn and $800bn. “That’s what it takes to keep lights on and heat homes, given the existing energy system.
Founder Harold Hamm clinches deal to take shale producer Continental private | Reuters
Continental Resources Inc (CLR.N) said on Monday it had agreed to a sweetened offer from founder Harold Hamm to take the U.S. shale oil producer private at a valuation of about $27 billion.
BlackRock, Vanguard Tell UK They Won’t Phase Out Fossil Fuel | Financial Post
Some of the world’s biggest financial firms including BlackRock Inc. and Vanguard Group Inc. have told the UK they have no plans to halt the financing of new fossil-fuel supplies, in response to a list of questions sent by British lawmakers tasked with figuring out how the country can meet its own net-zero obligations.
EIB pledges extra €30bn to support energy transition amid gas price crisis | edie
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has pledged to provide an additional €30bn to clean energy and energy infrastructure over the next five years, to support the EU’s plans to end Russian fossil fuel imports.
ISSB Confirms Scope 3 Emissions Will Be Included in IFRS’ Climate Disclosure Standard | ESG Today
Reporting on Scope 3 emissions – those originating in a company’s value chain and beyond its direct control – will be included as part of required company disclosures under new standards being developed by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) of the IFRS Foundation, according to a statement Friday by the ISSB.
The decision marks a significant milestone in the development of climate and sustainability-related reporting standards for companies, as investors and other stakeholders increasingly demand information on companies’ management of climate risks and impact.
Regulators in major jurisdictions around the world including Europe, the UK and the U.S., among others, have introduced or are preparing mandatory sustainability reporting requirements for companies, and most will be heavily influenced by the ISSB standards.
Technology
Hydrogen
Chevron Forms Partnership to Pursue Hydrogen, Ammonia Project Along US Gulf Coast | Hart Energy via Yahoo Finance
Chevron Corp. joined a collaboration with Air Liquide, LyondellBasell and Uniper SE to evaluate the potential for a hydrogen and ammonia production facility on the U.S. Gulf Coast, according to a press release on Oct. 19.
SSE plans to produce green hydrogen using a third of the output from existing wind farm | Hydrogen Insight
Scottish utility SSE has applied for planning permission to produce green hydrogen at one of its wind farms in Scotland, in what would be one of the first instances of existing renewables facilities being used to commercially produce renewable H2.
$4.6 billion plant in South Africa will make ‘the fuel of the future’ | CNN
[Comment] CNN is not offering up any new project details in their article – the project was announced in January. See this instead for project details: ‘World’s largest green ammonia plant’ planned for South Africa, set to go live in 2025
Toshiba claims green hydrogen breakthrough with new production technology | Energy Monitor
Japanese conglomerate Toshiba has developed a large-scale production technology for electrodes that significantly improves the efficiency of power-to-gas (P2G) for ‘green’ or renewable hydrogen production, while reducing the use of iridium, one of the world’s rarest precious metals, by 90%.
Forrest dives deeper into European green hydrogen with investment in Zhero | RenewEconomy
Iron ore billionaire and renewables advocate Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Future Industries says it is investing in green hydrogen and renewable energy developer Zhero in a bid to accelerate climate action and combat the global energy crisis
Carbon Capture
Construction Begins on the World’s Largest Carbon Removal Plant | BNN Bloomberg
US oil giant Occidental Petroleum Corp. and Canadian startup Carbon Engineering Ltd. are preparing a site in the Permian basin in the US for a plant that will draw down 500,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year.
Renewable Natural Gas
BP to buy U.S. biogas producer Archaea for US$4.1B | BNN Bloomberg
BP Plc agreed to acquire biogas producer Archaea Energy Inc. for about US$4.1 billion including debt, the latest step in the U.K. energy giant’s expansion into lower-carbon fuels.
Nuclear
Ottawa loans Ontario Power Generation $970 million to build Canada’s first SMR at Darlington | Financial Post
Ottawa will provide Ontario Power Generation with a $970-million loan to build the Canada’s first small-scale nuclear power reactor at Darlington, which is expected to go online in 2028.
Energy Storage
Crimson Energy Storage 350MW/1,400MWh battery storage plant comes online in California | Energy Storage News
Project partners Canadian Solar and Axium Infrastructure have begun the operation of Crimson Energy Storage, a large-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) in Riverside County, California.
New South Wales hands 700MW/1,400MWh ‘Super Battery’ connection contract to Transgrid | Energy Storage News
Steps forward have been taken in the Waratah Super Battery project in New South Wales, Australia, expected to be the largest battery storage system anywhere in the Southern Hemisphere.
Tesla (TSLA) delivers massive number of batteries, breaking record | Electrek
Tesla (TSLA) announced that its energy storage division delivered a record number of batteries in Q3 2022.
Tesla gave some details about the new record in its shareholders’ letter:
Energy storage deployments increased by 62% YoY in Q3 to 2.1 GWh, by far the highest level we have ever achieved.
CATL signs massive battery supply agreement for Las Vegas solar and storage project | RenewEconomy
Chinese battery manufacturing giant CATL has signed a mammoth battery supply agreement to provide 1,416MWh to the Gemini Solar and Storage Project outside of Las Vegas, Nevada.
Construction starts on 1.4GWh compressed air energy storage unit in China | Energy Storage News
Construction has started on a 350MW/1.4GWh compressed air energy storage (CAES) unit in Shangdong, China and is expected to become operational in 2024. The Tai’an demonstration project broke ground on 29 September and is expected to be the world’s largest salt cavern CAES project.
BlackRock’s Akaysha wins contract for southern hemisphere’s biggest battery | pv magazine
After acquiring Victorian developer Akaysha Energy in August, the world’s largest asset manager, US company BlackRock, has won the contract to deliver what will apparently be one of the world’s most powerful batteries – the New South Wales Waratah Super Battery. The battery is now expected to have a total capacity of 850 MW / 1,680 MWh.
Crimson Energy Storage 350MW/1,400MWh battery storage plant comes online in California | Energy Storage News
Project partners Canadian Solar and Axium Infrastructure have begun the operation of Crimson Energy Storage, a large-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) in Riverside County, California.
Solar and Wind
Rooftop wind energy innovation claims 50% more energy than solar at same cost | pv magazine
BASF is currently testing Aeromine Technologies’ patented motionless wind-harvesting system. A new bladeless wind energy unit, patented by Aeromine Technologies, is tackling the challenge of competing with rooftop solar as a local source of clean energy that can be integrated with the built environment. The scalable, “motionless” wind energy unit can produce 50% more energy than rooftop solar at the same cost, said the company.
Ørsted and CIP Partner on 5.2 GW of Offshore Wind in Denmark, Plan Power-to-X Production | Offshore Wind
Ørsted and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) are entering into a 50/50 partnership to develop four large-scale offshore wind projects under the ‘open door’ scheme in Denmark. The projects are planned to include Power-to-X capabilities and to be built before or in parallel with the projects selected through the government tenders.
[Comment] It is interesting to see yet another renewable power project sized to consider supplying electricity for other uses, in this case to “potentially enable regional centres for large-scale production of renewable hydrogen or green fuels.”
Massive 20MW turbines proposed for world’s first subsidy-free floating wind farm | RenewEconomy
German renewable energy developer BayWa has unveiled plans to use massive 20MW turbines in what it says will be the world’s first subsidy-free floating offshore wind project off the coast of Portugal.
TotalEnergies, Marubeni switch on 800 MW of solar in Qatar | pv magazine
TotalEnergies, QatarEnergy, and Marubeni have switched on Qatar’s first large-scale solar plant in Al Kharsaah, west of Doha. The Siraj-1 plant features 2 million Longi Hi-MO 4 bifacial modules mounted on single-axis trackers.
Indian energy companies sign agreement for 1 GW of floating solar | pv magazine
SJVN’s green energy unit and Assam Power Distribution have agreed to develop 1 GW of floating solar projects through a joint venture in India.
Poland installed 3.3 GW of solar in January-August period | pv magazine
Poland hit 11 GW of installed PV capacity at the end of August. The distributed-generation PV segment continues to drive the growth of the Polish solar market, despite recent changes in legislation.
Transportation
Canoo secures another binding EV order, this time for 9,300 LDVs from work rental provider Kingbee | Electrek
American EV startup Canoo is at it again, fighting off the naysayers and possibly collection agencies by announcing yet another massive binding order for its Lifestyle Delivery Vehicle. Canoo’s latest order comes from work-ready rental van company Kingbee, who has already committed to purchasing 9,300 LDVs with the potential to double that order up to 18,600 units.
B.C.’s Vicinity Motors touts growth with US$100-million order for its new Class 3 electric truck | Electric Autonomy
The latest purchase agreement between Vicinity and B.C. automotive retailer Pioneer Auto Group will see at least 1,000 VMC 1200 Class 3 electric trucks delivered by the end of 2023.
Transport giants ‘reinvesting less than 1% of revenues in low-carbon transition’ | edie
An analysis of the climate plans of 90 large global transport firms has revealed that most have no public plans to decarbonise their fleets, with the average firm investing just 0.3% of its revenues in low-carbon R&D.
BMW expands US EV and battery manufacturing footprint with new $1.7B investment | Electrek
As part of the investment, $1 billion will go toward expanding its South Carolina Plant Spartanburg facility, where 11 BMW models are currently produced. Meanwhile, the other $700 million is designated for building a new high-voltage battery assembly facility in Woodruff, NC.
French lithium mine project unveiled in electric car race; enough for 700,000 EVs annually | Reuters
French minerals company Imerys (IMTP.PA) unveiled plans on Monday to develop a lithium mine in central France that it said could be a leading contributor in Europe’s quest for electric-vehicle battery materials.
Policy
EU finalises deal spelling death of diesel and petrol cars | Euractiv
European Union legislators agreed to a deal late Thursday evening (27 October) requiring new cars and vans to be zero-emission as of 2035, a momentous agreement that sets Europe on a trajectory to a largely electric automotive future.
Australia’s AU$20 billion transmission initiative supports Tasmania’s ‘Battery of the Nation’ | Energy Storage News
Australia’s government has put its support behind two major transmission projects which will interconnect different regions of the country’s grid and increase the utilisation of renewable energy.
Biden awards $2.8 billion for projects to boost electric vehicle battery manufacturing | CNBC
The Biden administration on Wednesday said it will award $2.8 billion in grants for projects to expand U.S. manufacturing of batteries for electric vehicles and domestic mineral production.
Ottawa contributes $222 million to Rio Tinto plan to decarbonize, boost critical mineral output in Quebec | Electric Autonomy
Global mining giant Rio Tinto is partnering with the Canadian federal government to invest up to $737 million over the next eight years to boost its production of critical minerals, while reducing the carbon emissions at its Rio Tinto Iron and Titanium (RTIT) complex in Sorel-Tracy, Que.
Victoria to target 95% renewable energy by 2035 | pv magazine
The Victorian government has announced an ambitious target to reach 95% renewables by 2035, to end the state’s reliance on coal generation, and to establish a publicly owned corporation that will see the state hold a controlling stake in new renewable energy projects.
Australia Joins Pledge to Cut Methane Emissions 30% by 2030 | BNN Bloomberg
Australia joined the Global Methane Pledge, becoming one of the last major developed economies to sign on to an effort to reduce emissions of the potent greenhouse gas 30% from 2020 levels by the end of this decade.