Energy Shift: This is it for 2022!

Plus: Heat pumps going big; 60% of new EV sales in 2022 are in China; US grid connections threat to choke renewables; Subsea cables advance

Hi Everyone,

Well, this is my last issue for 2022. I take pleasure in pulling these together and hope you’ve found it helpful for keeping abreast of the energy transition occurring around the globe.

It feels a bit early, but here goes: I wish you a Merry Christmas and I hope you get to enjoy some time with family and friends over the holidays.

Looking forward to reconnecting again in 2023!
Cheers,
Peter


Observations & Comments

I was doing some research one evening and assembled a few stories from the last few months on the theme of heat pumps. The upshot: Heat pumps are having their ‘hockey stick’ moment in Europe:
Heat pumps are on the rise in Europe (Sept)
Daikin triples heat pump production capacity in Germany (Oct)
Daikin to scale up heat pump output by 5X in Czechia (Oct)
Heat pumps: The fastest growing solar technology you’re probably overlooking (Nov)

Grid Connections threaten to choke renewables
The US Inflation Reduction Act is projected to trigger over $370 billion in clean tech investment. Already over $40 billion in battery projects for EVs have been announced. There are incentives for hydrogen, carbon capture and renewables as well. Renewables will have challenges though. Already interconnection queues (the time a project takes to get approval to connect to the grid) have been getting longer and longer and longer. It’s now approaching 4 years for some. Part of the issue is the necessary transmission lines that have to planned, approved and built. The oil and gas sector knows all too well how hard it can sometimes be to get long large linear infrastructure built. The same is becoming true for electricity transmission lines. Benjamin Storrow from E&E News captured the situation well:

“Grid operators face a backlog of projects trying to connect to the power system. The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory estimates that some 930 GW of wind, solar and battery projects are waiting to connect to the grid. By comparison, the total capacity of the U.S. power system today is about 1,150 GW.”


Feature Stories

Explainer: What was decided at COP27 climate talks in Egypt? | RenewEconomy
The Sharm el-Sheikh Implementation Plan was gavelled through at dawn on Sunday 20 November 2022, after a two-week climate summit went into overtime.

Procedurally, no big decisions were due to land at Cop27. But the convergence of multiple crises in 2022 – Russia’s war, global inflation, Covid’s long tail and of course climate disasters – raised the stakes of every increment.

This Massive ‘Sand Battery’ Can Store Excess Solar and Wind Energy for Months | AOL and BBC
Energy utility Vatajankoski has partnered with Polar Night Energy, a seasonal heat storage company, to store excess energy from local wind and solar farms as heat inside the world’s first commercial sand battery. From there, the sand battery can transfer that heat to towns for use in homes, industry, and community pools.


Finance & Sentiment

‘We are all in’: Hundreds of business signal ‘unwavering’ support to 1.5C at COP27 | edie
Hundreds of the world’s largest businesses and civil society groups have delivered a joint declaration of action to meeting 1.5C at COP27, calling on nations to “decide where they stand” in raising ambitions in order to meet the aims of the Paris Agreement.

Net-zero ‘guidelines’ launched at COP27 in push for improved credibility | edie
The International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) has published a set of definitions and guiding principles for target setting, intended to guide the creation of credible net-zero targets and plans across the public and private sectors.

BDC commits another $400-million for clean tech in Canada | Globe and Mail
The Business Development Bank of Canada has launched a $400-million clean-technology fund to help scale up the commercialization of the low-carbon technologies that will be key to meeting the country’s greenhouse-gas-emission reduction targets.

Impact of the ‘S’ in ESG found lacking in the real world | Financial Post
Environmental concerns have dominated the conversation when it comes to ESG risks, but the growing focus on the “social” component is prompting a search for ways to better assess corporate performance on issues ranging from diversity to employee mental health to human rights.

SEC Charges Goldman Sachs for Not Following ESG Investment Policies | ESG Today
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced today that it has charged Goldman Sachs’ asset management division for failing to implement and follow policies and procedures for some of its ESG funds.

Costco Commits to Set Full Value Chain Emissions Targets Following Activist Campaign | ESG Today
Warehouse club retail giant Costco has committed to set climate targets to reduce emissions across its full value chain, according to environment and social-focused investor Green Century, who had filed a successful climate proposal at Costco’s AGM in January directing the company to set net zero-aligned target.


Technology

Hydrogen 

Air Liquide, Total Energies Collaborate for Low-Carbon Hydrogen Production | Process Worldwide
Air Liquide and Total Energies are joining forces to decarbonize hydrogen production at Total Energies’ Normandy platform in France. This project will enable in time the supply to Total Energies by Air Liquide of low-carbon hydrogen by relying on Air Liquide’s hydrogen network in Normandy and the implementation of a large-scale CO2 capture and storage solution (CCS).

10GW renewable “super hub” to power grid and green hydrogen | RenewEconomy
Queensland’s push to become a hydrogen superpower has gained serious new momentum with the announcement of a renewable energy “super hub” in the state’s north that will host more than 10GW of wind and solar projects to produce green hydrogen at an industrial scale.

TES and RWE plan 500 MW electrolyzer in Germany | pv magazine
Tree Energy Solutions
 (TES) and German energy supplier RWE have agreed to build an electrolyzer at the TES Green Energy Hub in Wilhelmshaven, Germany. The electrolyzer will have an output of 500 MW and will be operational by 2028, as part of plans to reach 1 GW of green hydrogen capacity at the site.

Korea power companies sign MoUs for huge green ammonia projects in Australia | RenewEconomy
[Excerpt] The Queensland project is being described as a multi-billion industrial-scale green hydrogen and ammonia production facility, with a planned capacity of up to 3 gigawatts of electrolysis and up to 5,000 tonnes per day of green ammonia production.

Green hydrogen deal shows Selkirk ‘leading the way’ in transition away from carbon economy | Winnepeg Sun Selkirk, a city of about 10,000 residents located about 20 kilometres north of Winnipeg, has finalized a lease agreement with the Charbone Hydrogen Corporation that will see a facility built on city land to produce and distribute green hydrogen. It will be the first of its kind in Manitoba.


Carbon Capture 

Norway opens new round of applications for CO2 storage in the North Sea | Upstream
This is the fourth time Norway is offering acreage for offshore CO2 storage on the Continental Shelf. The licences, which cover one area in the North Sea off the coast of Farsund in the south of the country, will allow the transport of CO2, injection and storage in the appointed reservoirs.

Duo plans direct air capture project in Louisiana, US | Upstream
Carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) companies Gulf Coast Sequestration and Climeworks have signed an agreement to develop a direct air capture (DAC) project in Louisiana, US, aiming to capture 1 million tonnes per annum of carbon dioxide by 2030.

ExxonMobil and Pertamina to investigate CCS in Indonesia | Reuters
U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday announced a number of investments in Indonesia spanning areas like climate and food security, including a $2.5 billion agreement between ExxonMobil and state-owned energy company Pertamina on carbon capture.

Chevron, Japan’s MOL to Study CO2 Transportation from Singapore to Subsea Storage in Australia | Offshore Engineer
[Excerpt] Chevron New Energies International Pte. Ltd, the U.S. oil major’s subsidiary, and MOL will explore the technical and commercial feasibility of initially transporting up to 2.5 million tonnes per annum of liquefied carbon dioxide by 2030

GS Caltex signs MOU with 8 companies for development of CCUS | JoongAng Daily
The company will be participating in the overall business development of the CCUS project, utilizing carbon dioxide produced at its Yeosu Complex, and will supply blue hydrogen. Hyundai Glovis, one of the eight business partners, will support the transport business of carbon dioxide at sea as it was granted approval in principle for the world’s largest liquefied carbon dioxide carrier in September.

Saudi Aramco signs agreement to establish carbon capture and storage hub | Carbon Capture Expo
Saudi Aramco signed a joint development agreement with SLB and Linde to establish a carbon capture and storage hub in Jubail in the east coast of Saudi Arabia. The facility will be able to store up 9 million tons of carbon dioxide a year by 2027.


The Grid 

[Comment] I point out that there are three stories here involving long undersea cables to connect renewables to where power is needed. Some plans are pretty wild in size, making me wonder if they will come to fruition – but with government and investor backing – something now showing up, perhaps.

Regulatory approval for SunZia Transmission paves the way for a Southwest renewable energy corridor | pv magazine
Pattern Energy Group, a renewable energy developer, announced its SunZia Transmission project received the approval of the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) to build a 550-mile high voltage direct current transmission line from New Mexico to Arizona.

Octopus Energy customers provide 108MW of flexibility during first Saving Session | Current±
[Excerpt] Between 5-6pm on 15 November, 200,000 households reduced their electricity use, with the average household lowering its demand by over half (59%). Bill payers received over £1 for the one hour’s shift on average, with the top 5% of participants earning an average of £4.27, paid in the form of ‘Octopoints’.

Swell Energy raises $120M to expand its virtual power plants | Electrek
Swell Energy today announced that it has raised $120 million to grow its virtual power plants (VPPs). Virtual power plants allow clean energy to be quickly added to the grid to address frequency and voltage imbalances, local disruptions, and keep the grid stable.

Giant UK-Morocco interconnector attracts new investment | Energy Live
A project that aims to transfer electricity between Morocco and the UK through a giant cable has attracted a new investor. It has been confirmed that Conenergy, a German investor in the European energy market, has made a multimillion-pound investment in Xlinks’ Morocco-UK Power Project.

Sun Cable signs deal with Indonesia to unlock green industry opportunity | pv magazine
Sun Cable plans to develop the world’s biggest intercontinental solar and storage project, and has signed a deal with the Indonesian government that could unlock more than AUD 170 billion ($115 billion) in renewable energy generation and transmission operations across the archipelago.

Hitachi Energy Hands over North Sea Link Exchanging Renewable Energy | T&D World
North Sea Link has the capacity to transmit 1400 MW of renewable power through a 720-km HVDC underwater cable, which is enough electricity to supply 1.4 million UK homes. It allows Norway to import wind power from the UK and the UK to import hydropower from Norway.


Energy Storage 

Scotland launches US$900 million giga-scale big battery rollout to boost grid reliability | RenewEconomy
British EV fleet and battery storage specialist Zenobē has announced the beginning of construction on three battery storage projects across Scotland which, when complete, will together boast capacity of 1GW/2GWh.

LG Chem is going to build a $3B EV battery cathode factory – the largest in the US | Electrek
[Excerpt] The new plant, which will be sited in Clarksville, will be the largest of its kind in the US. It will sit on 420 acres and is expected to produce 120,000 tons of cathode material annually by 2027. That’s enough to power batteries in 1.2 million EVs with a range of 310 miles per charge.
[Comment] Add another $3B to the over $40B in EV battery projects already announced. 

UBS orders 2.6GWh of battery storage from Canadian Solar’s integrator subsidiary | Energy Storage News
The parent company said CSI Solar’s CSI Energy Storage division will supply “up to 2.6GWh” of battery storage systems for projects in North America for UBS Asset Management’s Real Estate and Private Markets business division.

Europe’s biggest battery storage facility comes online near Hull | edie
The developers of a 98MW battery energy storage project in Cottingham, northeast of Hull, confirmed this week that it has been successfully energised. This makes it the largest facility of its kind in the UK and, indeed, in all of Europe.


Solar and Wind 

NSW swamped by wind, solar and storage bids in first big tender to replace coal | RenewEconomy
First tender for wind, solar and storage projects in NSW swamped by six times the capacity sought, including battery projects bidding for long duration storage. The New South Wales government says it has been swamped by bid proposals from wind, solar and storage developers in the first of a series of tenders marking the state’s planned exit from coal generation.

Equinor powers up world’s largest floating wind farm off Norway | Upstream
Equinor has hailed a milestone for the floating wind sector after first power was exported from the Hywind Tampen project designed to help decarbonise oil and gas production in the Norwegian North Sea.

UAE and Egypt agree to build one of world’s biggest wind farms | Reuters
[Excerpt] The 10 GW farm would produce 47,790 GWh of clean energy annually and offset 23.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, equivalent to around 9% of Egypt’s current CO2 emissions.

Anglo American moves toward 100% renewables with Australian PPA | pv magazine
Mining major Anglo American has struck a deal with Stanwell to power its Australian operations with 100% renewable energy from 2025 onward as part of a 10-year power supply deal.

Enel is going to build one of the largest solar panel and cell factories in the US | Electrek
Enel North America, through its affiliate 3Sun USA, today announced that it will build one of the largest solar PV factories in the US. Initially, it’s expected to produce at least 3 gigawatts (GW) and scale up to 6 GW of high-performance bifacial PV modules and cells annually.

Uttar Pradesh targets 22 GW of solar in next five years | pv magazine
The state government has announced its Solar Policy 2022, which places a special focus on the setting up of solar parks with storage systems. The policy also provides big incentives for the adotion of rooftop solar systems and the solarization of tubewells for agriculture.

Tesla cancels solar projects en masse, scales back solar division | Electrek
Tesla has canceled solar projects en masse across the US as the company says that it is shutting down its solar operations in some markets.


Transportation 

China Has Shot at Seizing 60% Share of Global EV Sales This Year | BNN Bloomberg
China just reported electric-vehicle sales data for October, and the numbers continue to break records. A total of 722,000 plug-in passenger and commercial vehicles were sold. Battery-electric vehicles were 22% of the passenger car market, and plug-in hybrids claimed another 9% share.
[Comment] OK, just stop and think about this: 60% of the EVs sold globally in 2022 will have Chinese owners. Wow.

EU proposes emission rules for last combustion engine cars | AP
The European Union’s executive arm proposed pollution standards Thursday for new combustion engine vehicles that are expected to remain on European roads well after the 27-nation bloc bans their sale in 2035.

Vale and GM Sign Long-Term Nickel Supply Agreement in Canada Critical to North American EV Supply Chain | GM
[Excerpt] Under terms of the agreement, Vale will supply battery grade nickel sulfate, equivalent to 25,000 metric tons per year of contained nickel, for use in GM’s Ultium battery cathodes, which will power a broad portfolio of electric vehicles. The amount of contained nickel is sufficient to supply approximately 350,000 EVs annually.

Tesla now has 40,000 Superchargers around the world | Electrek
Tesla confirmed that it now has 40,000 Superchargers in operation around the world, making it the largest global DC fast-charging network. On top of deploying many new stations, the automaker is also planning several important changes to the charging network.
[Comment] The changes Tesla is making includes beginning to open their network to non-Telsa vehicles and opening its charge connector with the hope of making it the North American standard.  

Mazda unveils $11 billion EV spending plan, considers investing in battery production | Yahoo
Japan’s Mazda Motor Corp on Tuesday unveiled a $10.6 billion spending plan to electrify its vehicles and said it was also considering investing in battery production. The company also raised its sales target for electric vehicles (EVs) to up to 40% of its total global sales by 2030, as automakers worldwide spend billions of dollars to ramp up battery and EV production in the face of tougher environmental regulations.

Tesla Opens Floodgates for Owners to Test Out Automated Driving | Yahoo
Tesla Inc. is making its controversial driver-assistance system available to customers previously deemed not safe enough behind the wheel to test it out.


Policy

Ottawa rolls out $800-million in clean fuel funding | Globe and Mail
The federal government has rolled out $800-million for clean fuel projects, the first round of cash from a $1.5-billion fund launched by Ottawa in 2021 to help accelerate Canada’s plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the fight against climate change.

Brussels tables emergency EU permitting rules for renewables | Euractiv
The European Commission on Wednesday (10 November) tabled temporary emergency rules to accelerate the deployment of renewable energies like wind and solar, saying the ongoing energy crisis fuelled by Russia’s war in Ukraine calls for exceptional measures.

India launches $2.4B second phase of solar production incentive scheme | pv magazine
Solar Energy Corp. of India (SECI) has started accepting applications from solar manufacturers under the second phase of the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme, with an outlay of about $2.4 billion.

U.S. grants $1.1 billion to keep Diablo Canyon nuclear plant open | Yahoo
The Biden administration said on Monday it has approved conditional funding of up to $1.1 billion to prevent the closure of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in California, as part of its effort to fight climate change.