Sustainable Switch: China, Brazil and UK to boost solar power
25/08/2022 14:04
Sharon Kimathi
Energy and ESG Editor, Reuters Digital
sharon.kimathi@thomsonreuters.com
Hello!
This week, China, Britain and Brazil are putting the extra
sunshine and heat to use as they all seek to expand and develop
their solar power ventures. Before we dive into the nitty
gritty, I too will be seeking to bask in the sun during a break.
But I will be back on Sept. 7 with all the latest ESG news.
Now, let’s get to it. China's industry ministry issued a notice
to promote and optimize the development of the country's
photovoltaic industry https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/china-warns-against-monopolies-hoarding-photovoltaic-industry-2022-08-24,
while energy infrastructure company Orion-E has reached an
agreement with energy trader Bolt to build solar photovoltaic
plants in Brazil https://www.reuters.com/business/sustainable-business/bolt-orion-e-build-solar-plants-brazil-about-630-mln-2022-08-23
and Britain's Octopus Energy Group bought a 24% stake in
large-scale battery developer and solar power company Exagen https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/octopus-energy-buys-stake-solar-battery-business-exagen-2022-08-24.
Elsewhere, a model released on Thursday showed that Australia
will have to invest in solar, offshore wind and carbon capture
and storage at unprecedented speed https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/massive-renewable-energy-needed-power-australia-net-zero-economy-by-2050-study-2022-08-25
to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
* China's industry ministry said there was an "urgent need to
deepen industry management," https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/china-warns-against-monopolies-hoarding-photovoltaic-industry-2022-08-24
due to supply and demand mismatches, severe price fluctuations
and hoarding in the supply chain of the photovoltaic industry.
The ministry also sent a warning against market monopolies and
encouraged development of power and storage projects. The
expansion of solar power projects in the region comes as extreme
heat in China played havoc https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-faces-more-climate-havoc-despite-cool-off-some-regions-2022-08-24
on some areas this week, with authorities across the Yangtze
river basin scrambling to limit the damage from climate change
on power, crops and livestock.
* Over in Britain, Octopus Energy Group bought a 24% stake in
large-scale battery developer and solar power company Exagen https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/octopus-energy-buys-stake-solar-battery-business-exagen-2022-08-24
through a new renewables fund, it said. The Exagen stake is the
debut investment for the Octopus Energy Development Partnership
(OEDP), which is managed by Octopus Energy Generation and has
earmarked 220 million euros ($218 million) for solar, onshore
wind and energy storage projects in the United Kingdom and the
rest of Europe. The agreement also covers the purchase of three
solar farms including battery storage with a combined 400
megawatts (MW) of capacity, Octopus Energy added.
* Meanwhile in Brazil, Orion-E has reached an agreement with
energy trader Bolt to build solar photovoltaic plants with a
combined capacity https://www.reuters.com/business/sustainable-business/bolt-orion-e-build-solar-plants-brazil-about-630-mln-2022-08-23
of 500 megawatts (MW), a company executive said. The solar
venture is expected to cost around 3.2 billion reais ($627.49
million) in investments and will be located in several Brazilian
states, including Minas Gerais, Hugo Albuquerque, Orion-E's
chief communications officer, told Reuters in an interview.
* And last but not least, the Net Zero Australia project found
the country will need about 40 times the total generation
capacity in today's national electricity market to achieve the
net zero goal by 2050, https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/massive-renewable-energy-needed-power-australia-net-zero-economy-by-2050-study-2022-08-25
including 1,900 gigawatts (GW) of solar and 174 GW of onshore
and offshore wind capacity. That level of capacity would require
five areas nearly the size of Ireland each across northern
Australia to house solar arrays teamed with electrolysers to
produce green hydrogen for export, the project found in interim
findings for a study due to be completed in 2023.
Talking Points
* The European Union will urge the world's biggest economies
to
improve their targets to fight climate change ahead of this
year's U.N. climate summit https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/eu-urge-big-polluters-toughen-climate-pledges-by-cop27-summit-draft-2022-08-25and
warn that states' current efforts fall short, according to a
draft document seen by Reuters.
* Texas may bar BlackRock and nine other firms, all in
Europe,
from doing some business in the state https://www.reuters.com/business/sustainable-business/texas-comptroller-names-blackrock-credit-suisse-boycotting-fossil-fuels-2022-08-24after
Comptroller Glenn Hegar found the companies were boycotting the
energy industry in violation of a new law.
* China has raised the bar for issuances in the world's
second-biggest green bond market, https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/exclusive-china-tightens-green-bond-rules-align-them-with-global-norms-2022-08-24
taking a major step towards adopting global standards and
eliminating 'greenwashing'.
* Tesla’s lawyers will urge a California judge to throw out
a
lawsuit by the state's civil rights agency https://www.reuters.com/business/sustainable-business/tesla-urge-dismissal-california-agencys-race-bias-lawsuit-2022-08-24accusing
the electric car maker of widespread race discrimination at an
assembly plant.
* Breakingviews: The 1973 crisis sent oil prices spiraling
and
knocked U.S. demand onto a permanently lower trajectory as
economic growth https://www.reuters.com/breakingviews/once-people-ditch-oil-they-wont-come-back-2022-08-22
became less energy intensive. High prices three decades later
caused gasoline demand to stall entirely. This time around the
result will be lasting shrinkage.
In Conversation
Mark Harrison, UK head of dcbel, a Canadian-based home energy
company
“With energy prices so high, solar power has become an
increasingly popular feature of UK households, with findings
from Solar Energy UK earlier this year revealing that the UK’s
residential solar PV market has grown almost 300% compared to
pre-COVID 2019 levels.
“The development of Vehicle to Grid (V2G) bi-directional
charging technology – which allows EV batteries to store solar
PV energy and send it back to the grid when demand is high –
will encourage EV users to invest in integrating solar with
their home EV charging, thereby powering their vehicles with
‘free’ 100% renewable solar energy. This technology also allows
consumers to take control of their energy use: an increasingly
appealing proposition given the current energy crisis.
“However, to facilitate the rising adoption of V2G technology,
the grid must innovate. Although the UK has led the world with
several trials which have demonstrated the positive potential
for consumers, the infrastructure currently in place is not up
to speed.
“In the meantime, homeowners should call on an interim
generation of energy management technology which will enable
them to power their homes and EVs in the same way as V2G without
exporting to the grid – and this is called Vehicle to Home (V2H)
bi-directional charging.”
ESG Lens
Norway plans to maintain its current high gas production level
until the end of the decade https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/exclusive-norway-eyes-high-gas-output-until-2030-says-energy-minister-2022-08-23as
Europe plans to ditch Russian imports over Moscow's invasion of
Ukraine, its energy minister said on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the
Norwegian Petroleum Directorate said that oil companies in
Norway must increase their exploration activity in remote
regions like the Arctic Barents Sea https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/oil-firms-must-step-up-exploration-off-norway-unlock-potential-npd-2022-08-25
to find the remaining reserves of oil and gas beneath the
country's oceans.
ESG Movers and Shakers
* French multinational bank BNP Paribas has appointed Peter Zink
Secher in a newly created role as head of ESG ratings advisory,
EMEA. Secher joins BNP Paribas from Nykredit, a Denmark-based
financial services provider.
* E-Tech Resources, a Canadian rare earth element development
company, has appointed professor Frances Wall as a director.
Wall replaces Ed Loye on the board of directors, who will remain
as a technical consultant.
Wall is professor of applied mineralogy at Camborne School
of Mines, University of Exeter. Frances has over 30 years’
experience in linking exploration stage studies to responsible
sourcing.
* German multinational conglomerate Siemens AG has appointed new
leaders to its sustainability and investor relations
departments. Eva Riesenhuber, currently head of investor
relations, will assume the role of global head of
sustainability. Eva Scherer, currently chief financial officer
of the rail infrastructure and software business units at
Siemens Mobility, will be the new head of investor relations.
Jenny Bofinger, currently head of sustainability for Siemens
AG, will be joining the board of the newly formed International
Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB). The ISSB is an
independent body to ensure increased transparency and
comparability of environmental, societal and governance (ESG)
reporting.
Quote of the Day
“For an organization called the Alliance to End Plastic Waste
(AEPW), a minimum aspiration should be to remove the plastic
waste it produces itself. Instead, many members are choosing to
invest heavily in the expansion of plastic production, while
failing to fund even meager recovery and recycling targets
through the coalition.”
John Willis, director of research at Planet Tracker, a UK-based
non-profit financial think tank
Looking Ahead
* Government officials, EV company executives are to speak
at
World's NEV forum on Aug. 26, the highest level
government-backed industry forum in China.
* Riyadh will host the Jimmy fashion International event,
which
will feature cultural, local and international fashion designers
on Aug. 26.
* Read our Reuters report on Aug. 30 how the fast-warming
Arctic,
boreal forest fires are setting new emissions records.
* The prime ministers of Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Finland
and
Denmark, Lithuania's president and European Commission President
Ursula von der Leyen meet on Aug. 30 at the Danish Baltic Sea
island Bornholm to discuss the development of offshore wind amid
the region's bid to become independent from Russian energy.
Franchise
Future of Money https://www.reuters.com/business/future-of-money
* Thieves stole over $100 million worth of non-fungible tokens
in the year to July, blockchain research firm Elliptic https://www.reuters.com/technology/nfts-worth-100-million-stolen-past-year-elliptic-says-2022-08-24
said, as the fast-emerging digital asset became a new front in
crypto's hacking problem.
NFTs are blockchain-based assets that represent digital
files such as images, video or text. The market surged in 2021
as crypto-rich speculators spent billions of dollars on the
assets, hoping to profit as prices rose. But since
cryptocurrency prices crashed in May and June this year, NFT
prices and sales volumes have plunged.
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Exploration wells drilled off Norway https://tmsnrt.rs/3dKe93S
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