Finnish investor Korkia has bought the renewables arm of London-based corporate finance group RSF Capital Partners.
The pair have developed renewables projects via 12 joint ventures in eight countries, and have an 11GW development pipeline.
Offshore wind developers and manufacturers are seeking opportunities to support production of fish, shellfish and seaweed at their offshore wind projects. Increasingly, this is being driven by the need to boost revenues as well as supporting biodiversity.
When the going gets tough, the tough get innovative. With so many offshore wind companies battling to make projects profitable, new approaches must follow.
It is with that in mind that a project in China has attracted our attention this week. Last Friday, Longyuan Power and Shanghai Electric Wind Power announced they have completed work on a deep-sea floating wind, floating solar and aquaculture project off the coast of Putian in eastern Fujian province. ‘Aquaculture’ refers to the breeding, raising and harvest of fish, shellfish and aquatic plants including seaweed.
The project is located in China’s National Marine Ranching Demonstration Zone on Nanri Island; and is made up of three 4MW floating turbines on semi-submersible foundations, lightweight floating solar modules, and a hexagonal area between the floating turbines for fish farming. The pair said their project “presents a new horizon for the industry” because of the combination of three emerging technologies, and it also highlights to us the role of aquaculture in unlocking additional value at assets.
Longyuan and Shanghai Electric are not the first companies to add ‘aquaculture’ to an offshore wind project, but they are among the first to stress the role that it could play in boosting economic growth. So far, most of the discussion around aquaculture projects at offshore wind farms have focused on biodiversity and social responsibility. These are both important, but developers have to focus on the financial bottom line.
Pairing floating wind with aquaculture may be new, but it is not the first development in China to take such an approach. In April 2023, Mingyang Smart Energy revealed it had developed a wind turbine foundation with an integrated net cage for fish farming; and it completed production on the first such system in July.
The company has since installed the first of these MyAC-JS05 systems in one of the 12MW offshore turbines at the 500MW Quingzhou 4 offshore wind farm in the South China Sea. Mingyang said the net cage is typhoon resistant; can raise up to 150,000 fish at any time in its 5,000 cubic metre area; and includes remote functions such as automated feeding, monitoring, detection and harvesting. It said each net cage could support 75 tonnes of fish production annually, generating €600,000 of extra revenue. That would be a significant financial uplift if installed across a whole project.
Offshore wind developers in Europe are pursuing similarly innovative approaches.
In November 2022, Dutch utility Eneco and offshore contractor Van Oord installed four oyster tables at the 129MW Luchterduinen project in the Dutch North Sea. Each oyster table is made from materials including concrete, weighs around 3,000kg each, and is attached to the scour protection at the base of an offshore wind turbine. These are intended to help oysters to survive and reproduce.
Also in the Netherlands, engineering group OOS International and research institute Deltares have developed a semi-submersible mussel farm that can be deployed at offshore wind farms in the North Sea; and, in February 2023, Amazon committed to provide €1.5m funding to support construction of the first commercial-scale seaweed farm between offshore wind turbines in the North Sea. The project is being led by the not-for-profit group North Sea Farmers; is set to produce its first harvest next spring; and is expected to produce 6,000kg of fresh seaweed during its first full year.
In addition, scientists who have studied the impacts of artificial reefs installed at the 752MW Borssele 1 & 2 wind farm in Dutch waters have reported that the reefs have attracted species including cod and lobsters, and helped both to proliferate.
That makes logical sense. Species that gather around offshore wind farms should be safer from commercial fishing practices, including trawling, than if they were in open water, and are thus better able to grow their populations. Of course, the irony is not lost on us that these species may be harvested by net cages in turbine foundations, assuming that approaches such as Mingyang’s become more widely adopted.
This is where developers may face questions over how they can balance their need for increased profitability at offshore wind farms with the ethics of aquaculture.
From a business perspective, it makes sense for developers to look at additions to offshore wind farms that help them to boost marine biodiversity in the short-term and open up longer-term opportunities for additional revenue generation. But we cannot shake the idea that developers will likely face ethical questions too. Does embracing ‘aquaculture’ show they are only fostering biodiversity for financial gain, rather than because they see biodiversity itself as a goal worth pursuing? Does this even matter if offshore wind turbines are helping to support fish stocks in the first place?
These are important questions that offshore wind developers may have to answer if they wholeheartedly embrace the potential for ‘aquaculture’. But, in a market where it is tough to take projects to financial close, many will see this trade-off as worth it.
US long-duration energy storage (LDES) company Malta Inc’s German subsidiary has been awarded a federal government grant to support a €9 million project to accelerate the country’s energy transition.
The funding was awarded to Malta Hochtemperatur Wärmepumpen Stromspeicher, German Aerospace Center (DLR), Alfa Laval, and Siemens Energy by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK).
The grant will fund a “technoeconomic analysis of the potential for Malta’s LDES technology to help decarbonize both electricity and heat generation in Germany”, a statement said. It will also support the expansion of DLR’s test facility for thermal energy storage in molten salts (TESIS) “to validate an innovative, Alfa Laval-built heat exchanger”, the statement added.
Ramya Swaminathan, CEO of Malta Inc, said: “We are honoured to partner with the German government and its leading national laboratory, the DLR, to explore how Malta’s technology can accelerate the transition off natural gas,” said Ramya Swaminathan, CEO of Malta. “This important work will identify how best to meet Germany’s decarbonisation goals, create jobs in German turbomachinery manufacturing, and deliver a just transition by creating clean energy construction and operations jobs for the nation’s current energy workforce.”
Sigmund Brielmaier, head of LDES at Siemens Energy, added: “Besides being the turbomachinery supplier for Malta’s technology, we are keen to contribute with our expertise to this project that enables the energy transition. LDES is a key to decarbonise the energy system and this project offers a great opportunity to explore new ways of decarbonized combined heat and power applications.”
Prof. Dr. André Thess, director of the Institute of Engineering Thermodynamics at DLR, said: “As a globally leading research institution in the field of molten salt technology the DLR-Institute of Engineering Thermodynamics will be happy to contribute to the successful development of this important large-scale long-duration storage technology.”
Tom Erixon, president and CEO of Alfa Laval commented: "Energy storage plays a pivotal role in driving the shift towards renewable energy sources. Alfa Laval is proud to be part of this significant project, poised to propel the solution implementation to new heights. Our pioneering and highly efficient heat exchanger technology, tailored for Malta's energy storage process, will be running in actual operational settings. It is a milestone in the pathway towards competitive, long-term energy storage and the transformation of the European energy market into a more sustainable future.”
Malta’s innovative pumped-thermal energy storage (PTES) plant is a like-for-like replacement for fossil-fueled power plants. It generates 100-MW of clean power and 70-MW of clean heat, but it uses an industrial grade heat pump to replace the carbon emissions and volatile price of fossil fuels with zero-emissions, lowest-cost-available renewable energy. The heat pump converts the electricity to thermal energy, which can be stored for hours to days. When needed, a heat engine reconverts the thermal energy into clean power and heat, returning up to 90 per cent of the original energy to the grid with little-to-no degradation over its 30-plus year lifespan.
California-based lithium-ion energy storage system developer Flux Power has secured a new $2 million credit facility with Cleveland Capital.
The subordinated credit facility, which will run to 15 August 2025, complements a $15 million credit facility agreed with Gibraltar Business Capital earlier this year, which has a term to July 28, 2025, with no warrants, and which can be expanded to $20 million.
Ron Dutt, CEO of Flux Power said: “Throughout the year we have continued to manage our business growth and margin expansion with careful priorities as part of our strategy to enhance shareholder value. We migrated from our Silicon Valley Bank facility to a new $15 million credit facility with Gibraltar, which provides lower interest rates. This facility, along with our improvement in operating cash performance, supports our current business growth.
“Moreover, the announcement of a new $2 million subordinated line of credit with Cleveland Capital provides greater working capital optionality and continued confidence in our growth strategy from a long-term investor in Flux Power.”
SUSI Partners, through the SUSI Energy Transition Fund (SETF), has successfully expanded the scope of its Italian solar PV development platform ReFeel New Energy (RNE) to include the development of battery energy storage systems (BESS) and currently has more than 750 MW of BESS capacity under development, the Swiss fund manager said.
SUSI Partners said RNE had outpaced its initial targets, and of the 750 MW of BESS capacity under development, 200 MW is awaiting final authorisation to then move into construction.
RNE, which was set up in early 2022 as a solar PV development platform within SETF, but based on the strong growth of the broader RNE team and the “on-target progress” of the solar PV business - with currently over 375 MW under development - SUSI and RNE decided to expand into the emerging Italian battery storage market and now holds what it describes as “one of the most advanced BESS project portfolios in Italy”.
SUSI Partners said that, based on Italian renewables targets formulated as part of the European Union’s RePowerEU plan, which envision more than doubling renewables capacity to 131 GW by 2030, almost 20 GW storage capacity will have to be brought online over the next six years. “With a supportive regulatory framework opening up revenue opportunities through capacity markets, price arbitrage, and the provision of ancillary services, Italy is deemed a highly attractive market for the greenfield development of BESS,” a SUSI Partners statement said.
ACWA Power and Abu Dhabi developer Masdar have agreed to partner on 500MW of renewables project in Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan region.
The pair have signed a memorandum of understanding for the projects with the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR). This builds on the companies' wind development plans in Azerbaijan: ACWA is developing three wind farms totalling 2.7GW, while Masdar is working on wind and solar projects of its own.
Acciona Energia and Freya Renewables have won the rights to develop a 160MW onshore wind farm in the Philippines.
The pair have secured rights for the project in Pantabangan municipality through the country's wind, hydro and geothermal tender process. The pair have also secured development rights for a 150MW solar project on the island of Cebu.
Ardian has bought a nine-turbine wind farm totalling 21.6MW in Finland from KGAL Investment Management and Access Capital Partners.
The French firm has bought the Honkajoki onshore wind farm for its Ardian Clean Energy Evergreen Fund. The scheme was commissioned in 2013.
Renewable energy developer Voltalia has signed two agreements to advance renewable energy and energy storage developments in Uzbekistan.
The agreements consist of: an implementation protocol for the next steps in the development of the Shurkul hybrid project, a solar, wind and battery storage project with a capacity of up to 500MW in the Navoi region; and an extension protocol for the Sarimay project, a 123MW solar power plant in the Khorezm region, which includes plans for an additional 100MW of wind energy, complemented by battery storage.
Sébastien Clerc, CEO of Voltalia, said: "These two bilateral agreements strengthen our presence in Uzbekistan. We are particularly proud that our expertise in multi-energy clusters can support the country's trajectory towards a predominantly renewable energy supply, as well as strengthen its energy independence."
InfraRed Capital Partners has agreed the sale of its investment in grid-scale energy storage developer Statera Energy to investor EQT Infrastructure.
It represents the second full divestment to date from InfraRed’s Infrastructure Fund V.
London-headquartered Statera develops, builds, owns and operates large-scale, grid-connected energy storage and flexible generation assets. “As an early investor in the UK energy storage space, InfraRed was able to help Statera realise its early-mover advantage in the sector by securing strategically located development sites and forming key strategic partnerships,” an InfraRed statement said.
Statera now has 1GW of operational or in construction assets and a development pipeline of over 16GW across a diversified range of energy storage technologies including battery storage, pumped storage hydro and green hydrogen.
Francesco Starace, partner within the EQT Infrastructure advisory team, said: "In a world increasingly reliant on intermittent renewables and striving to achieve Net Zero emissions, battery storage and other flexible generation solutions are imperative. Both the public and private sectors must commit time, expertise, and capital to innovative solutions that can expedite the energy transition. The partnership between EQT and Statera is an exciting step towards achieving this goal.”
Stephane Kofman, head of capital gain funds at InfraRed Capital Partners added: “Having identified early on the fundamental need for flexibility and storage, we are very pleased to have worked closely alongside management to create a company that is a now a market leader and is playing a key role in facilitating the UK’s energy transition to a low carbon, high renewables future. Throughout our ownership we have continued to support management in evolving and implementing the company strategy, growing the operational and development asset base, actively mitigating revenue volatility and helping to add key infrastructure capabilities across the organisation.”
Tom Vernon, founder and CEO of Statera, said: “InfraRed and the team at Statera have been critical components of our success to date, and I am hugely excited to embark on our next phase of growth, in partnership with EQT. This transaction is a significant milestone, and the scale of EQT’s financial support and global footprint means Statera is well positioned to deliver its pipeline of battery, pumped hydro and green hydrogen technologies.”
US renewable energy, energy storage and power-to-X project developer Strata Clean Energy has closed a $300 million new revolving loan and letter of credit facility to expand its operational fleet and accelerate the commercialisation of its more than 17GW development pipeline.
Nomura Securities International led the financing, acting as sole coordinating lead arranger, bookrunner, with Nomura Corporate Funding Americas, LLC as administrative agent, and First Citizens Bank and ING Capital as joint lead arrangers alongside five other participant banks. The loan adheres to a Green Financing Framework in accordance with the 2023 Loan Syndications and Trading Association (LSTA) Green Loan Principles. Nomura and ING Capital acted as green structuring agents.
The proceeds of the loan will “support the development, construction, and operation of Strata’s upcoming renewable energy, energy storage, and power-to-X projects,” a statement said. This facility also provides working capital for Strata’s growing EPC and O&M divisions.
"This facility strengthens Strata’s liquidity position and enables us to drive forward with groundbreaking and economically viable renewable initiatives in markets nationwide,” said Alice Heathcote, CFO of Strata Clean Energy. “The support of our financial partners is instrumental in propelling us forward as a leading fully-integrated cleantech platform, offering a comprehensive one-stop solution for development through construction, with an unwavering commitment to quality.”
Vinod Mukani, global head of Nomura’s infrastructure & power business, said: “Nomura is pleased to leverage its global intellectual and financial capital in providing a tailored financing solution and liquidity to Strata as it expands its operational fleet and accelerates the commercialization of its development pipeline. As a leader in utility scale projects with clear clean energy goals, Strata is an ideal client for Nomura, and we are excited to continue to support their growth efforts.”
Nixon Peabody and Norton Rose Fulbright acted as borrower’s and lenders’ counsel respectively.
National Grid has confirmed it will be accelerating the connection of up to 20GW of clean energy projects - including 19 battery storage assets - to its electricity transmission and distribution networks in England and Wales.
The 19 battery energy storage projects - with a total capacity of around 10GW - will be offered dates to plug in averaging four years earlier than their current agreement. The decision is based on a “new approach which removes the need for non-essential engineering works prior to connecting storage”, a National Grid statement said.
The new policy is part of National Grid’s connections reform initiative targeting transmission capacity, spearheaded by the ESO [electricity system operator] – which owns the contractual relationship with connecting projects – and actioned jointly with National Grid Electricity Transmission (ET), the part of the business which designs and builds the transmission infrastructure needed in England and Wales to plug projects in.
The National Grid recently announced that 10GW of grid capacity on its distribution network in the Midlands, South West of England and South Wales would be released to accelerate the connection of “scores of low carbon technology projects, bringing forward some ‘shovel ready’ schemes by up to five years” - the projects included solar farms, onshore wind, and battery storage projects.
National Grid said it had already been in contact with more than 200 projects interested in fast tracking their distribution connection dates in the first wave of the capacity release, with 16 expressing an interest in connecting in the next 12 months and another 180 looking to connect within two to five years.
The accelerated 20GW equates to the “capacity of six Hinkley Point C nuclear power stations and follows months of work and engagement with industry, Ofgem and government to find innovative solutions that will make plugging in clean energy projects faster and more flexible”, the National Grid statement said.
The new approach to transmission storage connections – a key policy in the ESO’s five-point plan to speed up connections – comes as National Grid ET undertakes an extensive review of projects in the connections pipeline in England and Wales to identify which can come forward based on new planning assumptions agreed with the ESO.
Traditionally National Grid carries out network reinforcements before a project plugs in – sometimes adding years to a connection – based on the assumption that batteries could charge at peak times and export when generation is high, “exacerbating system peaks and constraints”, National Grid said. Following detailed technical analysis by electricity transmission engineers, National Grid will now offer selected battery projects a transmission connection before network reinforcements are made, on the agreement that the ESO can adjust the battery’s behaviour in certain operating conditions to reduce system impact.
A further tranche of clean energy projects – primarily batteries and hybrids (batteries co-located with wind or solar) – will be offered accelerated transmission connections as part of another phase anticipated in the new year, which could bring forward another 10GW.
Alice Delahunty, president of National Grid Electricity Transmission, said: “We’re committed to speeding up connections and creating a ‘fit for the future’ process for plugging projects into the grid. Bringing these battery projects forward is one of a range of actions that our electricity transmission business is delivering alongside the system operator and wider industry to unlock clean energy capacity in England and Wales.
“We’re really encouraged by the recognition these early joint steps by our industry are receiving. They’re paving the way for the more fundamental connections reform that we’re collectively working with government and the regulator to deliver to keep Britain on track for a secure, affordable and net zero energy system.”
Cordi O’Hara, president of National Grid Electricity Distribution, said: “We’re delighted that so many customers have already expressed an interest in taking advantage of this additional capacity to accelerate the connection dates for their low carbon technologies.
“But we’re not stopping there. Our second expression of interest will extend the offer to even more customers who will be able to benefit from our more agile approach to connections, enabling the UK to install the renewable generation needed to decarbonise the electricity system by 2035.”
Janom subsidiary Tuulivoimayhtiö Pohjoistuuli has sold two wind farms totalling 70MW in Finland to German investor Aquila Capital for €120m.
Janom is a Slovakian private equity company, and first invested in the Soidinmäki and Tyrinselkä projects in Finland via Tuulivoimayhtiö Pohjoistuuli in 2012. It is now exiting the pair so it can recycle capital to invest in projects in the Western Balkans region.
Eversource Energy is in advanced negotiations to sell its 50% stake in a 1.8GW US offshore wind joint venture with Danish utility Ørsted.
The US utility revealed in its third-quarter earnings call yesterday that it has "subtantially completed" negotiations to sell its stakes in three development-stage projects: the 920MW Sunrise Wind, 704MW Revolution Wind and 132MW South Fork Wind schemes. It said it expected the sale process to "wrap up shortly".
Sungrow has signed a project agreement with Penso Power and BW ESS that will see Sungrow deliver the battery energy storage system for a 100MW / 330MWh energy storage project located in Bramley, Hampshire, the UK.
The partnership will result in Sungrow's ‘PowerTitan 2.0’ liquid-cooled energy storage system being utilised for the first time in the UK. The PowerTitan 2.0 combines the 2.5MW power conversion system and 5MWh battery into a single 20-foot container. A statement said the technology “not only enhances efficiency and safety, but also significantly reduces both capital expenditure (CAPEX) and operational expenditure (OPEX) costs”.
The Bramley project is scheduled to be operational in 2024, and will participate in grid balancing, ancillary services, and wholesale energy trading.
"This project signifies another momentous milestone for Sungrow as we continue the journey to provide cutting-edge energy solutions to the UK market," said Dr. James Li, director of ESS Europe, Sungrow. "Our collaboration with Penso Power and BW ESS exemplifies our commitment to advancing clean and reliable energy storage solutions that will transform the energy landscape of the UK."
Sungrow is proud to be at the forefront of renewable energy innovation and is dedicated to creating a sustainable future through groundbreaking projects like Bramley. As we take this significant step forward, Sungrow remains committed to delivering sustainable energy solutions that benefit, the local societies, our partners, and the environment, providing "Clean power for all".
Altea Green Power has begun construction of a 1GW battery energy storage system project in Italy, called ‘Black Bess’.
The project, which will consist of four sites located in central-southern Italy, will be completed by the first half of 2024.
Altea said Black Bess will complement the Green Bess, Blue Bess and Yellow Bess projects, which have a combined capacity of around 2 GW and for which the company is in advanced negotiations for co-development with two unnamed major international investors.
Altea has plans for Black Bess to be followed by ‘White Bess’ and ‘Pink Bess’, two projects that will have a combined capacity of 1 GW each. A total of 90 per cent of the company's projects will be developed between central and southern Italy, with the remaining 10 percent in the north.
Altea Green Power has given its storage projects the names of colours in accordance with the company’s logo, which is blue, green, yellow, black and white. 'Pink BESS’ is so named to raise awareness of issues relating to sustainability, inclusion and gender equality, as well as the contribution made by female professionals in the Altea team, which represent 39 percent of the company’s workforce.
Altea Green Power is targeting 5.5GW of deployed storage capacity by 2026.
Pacific Green has reached financial close on a £120 million (US$146 million) senior debt facility for the 249 MW / 373.5 MWh Sheaf Energy Park battery energy storage system in Kent, England.
The facility is provided by a two-bank syndicate, with Natwest and UK Infrastructure Bank Limited (UKIB) contributing £60 million (US$73 million) each. The facility will be used to fund the development and construction of Sheaf Energy Park, following which repayment will occur on a 10-year amortisation profile upon the start of commercial operations.
Scott Poulter, Pacific Green’s CEO, said: “Sheaf Energy Park represents one of the largest project-financed battery energy storage systems in the world. We are pleased to have NatWest’s and UKIB’s participation in the facility, which is a strong confirmation of the robustness of the project.”
Jacob Lloyd, head of specialist asset finance at NatWest, added: “Pacific Green is one of the fastest growing independent renewable energy developers, and we are excited to support them with Sheaf Energy Park and future projects to come as they continue their growth in the renewable energy sector.”
John Flint, CEO of UKIB, added: “The rapid scale-up of renewables onto the grid means the UK needs more storage capacity, and we need it fast. Our support for Pacific Green and the Sheaf Energy Park project is a great example of how UKIB’s debt financing can help accelerate large storage projects to bring them online sooner, while also providing crucial market confidence in the sector.”
Australian giant Fortescue has scrapped plans for a 5.4GW renewables hub in Western Australia that was due to include wind, solar and energy storage.
The company said the Uaroo scheme was set to include 3.3GW of solar generation capacity, 340 wind turbines and large amounts of battery storage, but it dropped its planning application for the project last month. However, the company said it was still looking to develop the site.
Serbian utility Elektroprivreda Srbije has confirmed it will buy all electricity produced by CWP's 291MW Vetrozelena onshore wind farm near Serbian capital Belgrade.
This is the first power purchase agreement signed following the Serbian government's renewables tender that concluded in August 2023. CWP is due to commission the Vetrozelena project in late 2025.
Ahead of next year’s World Energy Congress in Rotterdam, Claudio Seebach, regional vice-chair, Latin America & Caribbean at the World Energy Council, explains how countries can learn valuable lessons from Chile when it comes to increasing energy storage deployment and accelerating the energy transition
According to some forecasts, Chile is set to become the largest energy storage market in the Americas as it looks set to muscle out the US and claim the number one spot. The Latin American nation has, up to now, switched on 12 storage projects, with a total capacity of 1.3 GW, and currently has 85 energy storage projects, totalling 6.4 GW, in various stages of development.
In October last year, Chile's parliament passed legislation aimed at incentivising energy storage and electric mobility development. Meanwhile, the government has also set an ambitious target of achieving 70 per cent of total energy consumption from renewable sources by 2030. As a result, there has been a dramatic rise in renewable energy generation installations in Chile, and consequently demand for storage is soaring. In an effort to meet this demand, the Chilean government confirmed earlier this year that it would allocate $2 billion for large-scale storage auctions. Chile’s highly ambitious energy storage strategy, coupled with its significant supplies of lithium – an important component of batteries used in energy storage systems – means that the amount of energy storage deployed in the Latin American country could soon exceed that installed in the US. Chile’s lithium reserves total 9.3 million metric tonnes, the biggest of any country in the world (see graph).
Ahead of the World Energy Congress, which takes place in Rotterdam on 22-24 April next year, Tamarindo’s Energy Storage Report spoke to Claudio Seebach (pictured), regional vice-chair, Latin America & Caribbean at the World Energy Council, as well as executive chairman of Generadoras de Chile, the business association of Chilean electricity generators, to gain further insight into why Chile has been so successful in deploying energy storage. Seebach explained that the country’s topographical features, climate, and attitude to foreign investment have all been significant factors in the development of Chile’s storage sector. In addition, Seebach outlined what he hoped could be achieved at next year’s World Energy Congress and highlighted how Chile acts as a ‘showcase’ for what can be done to accelerate the global energy transition.
Chile has deployed a large amount of energy storage, why has it been so successful in installing so much capacity?
Claudio Seebach: Chile is an attractive place for investment and, for many years, has been among the most attractive markets for investing in renewable power. It’s a country that has been very open and highly competitive, attracting lots of companies – anyone can come to Chile and compete in bidding processes for energy. A total of 97 per cent of the global economy has free trade agreements with Chile, so new innovations are very quickly adopted in the country at a very low cost. You don't have import tariffs or barriers or protectionism. The other factor is long-term auctions, if you have a long-term auction and you get a contract to supply energy to a mining company for 20 years, for example, you can take that contract to the bank and you can tell them ‘I can fund my power plant’.
The breakthrough of solar and wind has been a turning point in terms of technology. They're cheaper today than any other way of producing. Chile has no significant source of fossil fuels – we used to have some coal, very little oil, some natural gas. So everything is imported. But we have the Atacama Desert, which is the desert with the highest level of solar irradiance on Earth and, in the far south, particularly where you’re closer to Antarctica, you have some of the strongest winds on Earth. On average, wind plants around the world probably have a plant factor of around 30 per cent or so, but in Southern Chile, you can have plant factors of 70 per cent. Also, Chile runs from north to south, and we are not connected to the rest of Latin America in terms of electricity – in Chile, the sun comes up in the morning everywhere at the same time and sets at night at the same time, so we need to move energy from the day to the night, so there is an immediate need for storage. We’re also phasing out coal very quickly. Yet, despite uncertainties about the regulation of storage, we have been very successful because there is a large demand.
You say there are uncertainties about the regulation of storage, what clarifications are needed?
CS: What has been missing in our regulation is very technical. The dispatch done by the independent system operator is still not well-defined, that is how the batteries will be operated and dispatched by the operator. The other aspect, which is not really clear yet, is the capacity payment. Batteries can give you power when it's most needed, and that's the capacity payment – the development of the regulation on capacity payment is underway, but it's not yet out there.
What lessons can other countries learn from Chile’s approach to storage?
CS: Be open to investment because it's very capital intensive. Attract global investment, attract global innovation, be open to trade, attract talent. Have a competitive market. We need very different types of storage, long-term storage, short-term storage, so have approaches that are flexible to innovation. Don’t have a bidding process for best batteries for 20 years, for example, don’t have a process for a specific technology for a specific period of time – auctions in Chile are technology neutral. The government, or the body doing the procuring is procuring a service, a supply of energy – don’t run a bid saying ‘I want a hydro power pumped storage plant here’, that’s the wrong approach, you need the market to innovate and bring you the best solution, which will end up being cheaper. Also, consider the long-term, if you have a long-term contract, you can go to the bank and fund the huge amount of investment you need. In addition, have a regulatory process that is predictable, transparent, and open to stakeholders.
What do you hope can be achieved at the upcoming World Energy Congress next year?
CS: Convening people from so many different sectors is powerful. Electricity represents around only 20 per cent of global energy consumption, the rest is other energy sources, mostly oil, natural gas, even firewood, traditional biomass. The power sector is one voice out there, but there are others. If we're going to go for a deep energy transition at the speed and scale we need, we have to bring in all these technologies and make them make sense to people. How do we help people make sense of each of the pieces that need to be moved to achieve the energy transition successfully and on time? We don’t have much time, some NGOs say Chile is one of only eight countries on track in the context of the Paris Agreement. It’s not easy to get everyone to move faster and we have the terrible distractions of the wars we are facing. Look at the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, first of all this is, of course, a huge power play on the fossil fuel side – I think it's a big advantage for the energy transition as this will bring a leap forward for new emerging technologies that reduce dependence on Russian oil and gas.
One of the biggest factors in Latin America is inequality, that means inequality in terms of access to the energy transition, or just energy in general reinforcing inequalities. When you have people in Latin America that still have firewood as the main source of heat or energy for cooking, that's a big source of local emissions, and premature death, but it's also a source of methane gas and impacts climate change, it’s a source of black carbon. And that has nothing to do with storage, that relates to the Latin American region and the challenges of energy poverty and energy inequality.
What more would you say should be done to accelerate the global energy transition?
CS: You can bounce back from climate change anxiety to climate change enthusiasm when you speak about storage and renewable power and public transport powered by electric buses. Of course, you get excited about this creating changes at the speed and scale Chile has shown to be feasible. But then comes the depressing side when you think that there's so much yet to be transformed. And sometimes it takes so long for those decisions to be made. So we need to evangelize about the solutions that are available at no extra cost to citizens, and Chile is a showcase. The energy transition should not be a burden on society, it should be an opportunity for society. We need to do it, there is no doubt about it. Of course, there will be winners and losers, but we need to make sure that those winners and losers in some way can mutually interact and that this is balanced out. We need to think of policies that prevent losers from being powerful enough to block the necessary transitions by capturing those that are benefiting from the transition. That's the only way to accelerate the energy transition, or at least not delay it.
UK renewable energy project developer Elements Green is at an “early stage” of developing plans for Great North Road Solar Park, a solar and energy storage park located to the northwest of Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire.
The project has a potential generation capacity of around 800 megawatts (MW) AC of solar energy, which would potentially meet the power needs of approximately 400,000 homes while avoiding more than 250,000 of CO2 emissions every year.
Great North Road Solar Park is classified as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) because the amount of electricity it could generate exceeds 50MW. This requires Elements Green to submit an application for a Development Consent Order (DCO) to the Planning Inspectorate. Ultimately, the Secretary of State for the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) will decide whether to grant consent.
It is anticipated that the development process through DCO submission and examination will take between two and three years. Subject to achieving consent, construction would begin around 2027.
Elements Green has identified multiple parcels of land extending to the north of the A617 and the west of the A1 to deliver the scheme. Work is currently underway to determine suitable areas for accommodating the principal components of the solar park which include solar photovoltaic panels (PV), an on-site energy storage facility and associated infrastructure to connect the scheme to the national grid at Staythorpe substation, as well as significant biodiversity enhancements including tree planting, wildflower meadows, and wetland areas. Findings from surveys and assessments will also determine enhancements to existing public rights of way and the creation of additional walkways.
The findings from the initial work will be shared through a first stage of community consultation anticipated in early 2024. Feedback to this consultation will be used to inform and refine more detailed proposals on which a further stage of consultation will be carried out.
Mark Noone, project director for Great North Road Solar Park, said: “Our proposals for Great North Road Solar Park build on the Trent Valley’s long history of powering the UK. With an installed capacity of over one gigawatt (GW) DC the scheme offers an effective, clean solution that would help secure the UK’s future energy needs, contributing 1.5 per cent towards the government’s 2035 solar PV target. Stepping up the production of sustainable, home-grown electricity, it would also contribute to tackling the cost-of-living crisis head-on through the reduction of household energy bills.”
California-headquartered Inlyte Energy has raised $8 million in seed funding to develop grid batteries made of iron and table salt.
The funding round was led by At One Ventures with participation from First Spark Ventures, Valo Ventures, TechEnergy Ventures, Climate Capital, Anglo American, and others.
Inlyte will leverage the design of the previously-commercialised sodium metal halide battery to create an energy storage system with “high efficiency, long lifetime, competitive energy density, excellent safety, and at an ultra-low cost”, a statement said.
Inlyte Energy says its battery has several benefits over other battery chemistries, including lithium-ion and sodium-ion. Because the raw materials are common and inexpensive, Inlyte's batteries will have the lowest cost once manufacturing is scaled, the company claims. Iron and salt are also locally produced in almost all parts of the world and avoid “foreign-controlled supply chains”, the statement added.
“With a completely selective solid ceramic membrane and no flammable organic compounds, the iron and salt battery has a very long lifetime, while providing the same round-trip efficiency and similar footprint as lithium-ion,” the statement continued.
Inlyte Energy founder and CEO Antonio Baclig said: "Conventional sodium metal halide batteries, made from nickel and salt, were developed for electric vehicles in the 1980s and '90s but never made it down the cost curve. At Stanford, I realised that by optimising that design for the grid instead of for vehicles, and by using iron instead of nickel, we could drive the cost incredibly low. Inexpensive storage is what will truly make wind and solar a competitive total solution versus fossil fuels, not just in California but everywhere in the world. At the end of the day, solutions for the climate crisis are beholden to economics for both companies and countries, and we would have chosen this design and these materials on that basis alone – but there are so many other benefits as well."
Iron and salt batteries, unlike lithium-ion batteries, can also operate in extreme heat or cold, making them well suited for locations with increasingly high temperatures. Inlyte is targeting the daily energy storage market, with a storage duration of four to ten hours. Inlyte says its batteries provide “excellent round-trip efficiency”, that is the percentage of electricity put into storage that is later retrieved - the higher the round-trip efficiency, the less energy is lost in the storage process.
Laurie Menoud, founding partner at at One Ventures, said: "Inlyte's ability to compete with lithium-ion on lifetime, round-trip efficiency, and of course upfront cost also gives them a significant opportunity in a market that's exploding right now."
Google has agreed to buy electricity produced by the 50.4MW Przyrów wind farm that is being developed in Poland by Polsat Plus and energy group ZE Pak.
This power purchase agreement is Google's first in Poland and is set to take effect when the wind farm is commissioned, which is due in late 2024.
CPP Investment Board has agreed to sell 24.5% stakes in two German offshore wind farms totalling 639MW to a subsidiary of fellow Canadian firm Enbridge.
The company is due to complete the sale of the stakes in the Albatros and Hohe See offshore wind projects for C$374m (€255m) by the end of 2023.