Mercedes-Benz has picked German developer UKA to install a 120MW wind farm at its vehicle test track in Papenburg, northern Germany.
The wind farm is intended to cover around 20% of the annual electricity requirements of Mercedes-Benz group in Germany. The approval process for the project is due to start by the end of 2023, with commissioning scheduled for 2026.
GE Vernova has committed to invest $50m in its factory in Schenectady, New York, so it can produce key components of the firm's 6.1MW onshore turbine.
The company is planning to use new manufacturing lines at the plant to assemble the machine head, hub and drive train components of the 6.1MW platform, which is designed for areas with low and medium wind speeds. The first components are due to be produced in around September 2023.
Chinese lithium-ion battery manufacturer Rept Battero has agreed a deal with US energy storage company Energy Vault to supply 10GWh of batteries, with initial deliveries scheduled for Q3 2023.
The deal will see Rept Battero initially deliver 280Ah batteries, followed by the company's ‘Wending Battery’, which is “designed for larger capacity and greater life cycle”.
Established in 2017, Rept Battero is the first renewables-focused company invested in by Tsingshan Group.
“The establishment of a strategic partnership represents a significant milestone for Rept Battero’'s energy storage business in its pursuit of global expansion and entry into foreign markets,” a statement said.
Swiss fund manager SUSI Partners, through equity fund SUSIEnergy Transition Fund (SETF), has taken a controlling equity stake in Encore Renewable Energy, a US clean energy company specialised in the development, construction, and operation of distributed and utility-scale solar PV and battery storage assets.
SUSI is injecting additional equity into Encore to “complete its shift from project developer to independent power producer by scaling the business and further strengthening its asset base,” a statement said.
Based in Vermont and active throughout the northeastern US, Encore has a particular focus on the redevelopment of abandoned brownfield sites, which “often benefit from streamlined permitting and zoning”, SUSI said.
The deal represents SETF’s second investment in the US after the acquisition of a 100 MW portfolio of front-of-the-meter battery storage projects in South Texas announced last August, which is expected to be fully operational before the summer.
SUSI Partners specialises in sustainable energy infrastructure investments and has €1.9bn in capital commitments from institutional investors.
Pulse Clean Energy (PCE) has secured a three-year £175 million credit facility with a syndicate of banks - including Santander, UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB), CIBC and Investec - to finance the development of energy storage projects across the UK.
The UKIB provided £62.5 million of the financing, with the commitment representing its first debt transaction in battery storage.
PCE has plans to invest a total of more than £1 billion in the deployment of more than 1GW of battery energy storage systems across 20 sites in England, Scotland and Wales over the next three years.
PCE’s plans include the conversion of several existing energy generation sites to BESS facilities.
We are thrilled to announce the launch of our highly anticipated Wind Power List 2023 sponsored by Green Giraffe. The list is a comprehensive ranking of the top players in the wind power sector, recognising their contributions to advancing the industry and driving the transition towards a cleaner and more sustainable future.
We are thrilled to announce the launch of our highly anticipated Wind Power List 2023 sponsored by Green Giraffe. The list is a comprehensive ranking of the top players in the wind power sector, recognising their contributions to advancing the industry and driving the transition towards a cleaner and more sustainable future.
The Wind Power List comes in a new format for 2023. Our decision to change the format for 2023 reflects the global nature of the wind industry. As the sector's largest companies expand their presence in diverse markets across Europe, North America, Asia, and beyond, it becomes imperative for the industry to thrive in the global energy mix and ensure profitable growth. By replacing standalone regional Power Lists with our comprehensive top 100, we aim to showcase individuals who have made a profound impact on the industry worldwide over the past 18 months. This refreshing approach eliminates repetitive company appearances and emphasises the need for change.
The Wind Power List is just the latest addition to our suite of power lists, which also includes the European Power List and the Women’s Power List from 2021 and 2022. These power lists are recognised as the leading rankings of the world's top players in the renewable energy sector, and they are relied upon by industry insiders and investors alike.
The Wind Power List is now available to view here. The list is accompanied by detailed analysis and insights from Tamarindo's expert panel, providing a valuable resource for anyone looking to understand the dynamics of the wind power industry and identify the individuals and organisations driving its growth and success.
We extend our congratulations to all those who have earned a place in the top 100 and express our gratitude to our headline sponsor, Green Giraffe, for their invaluable support.
Bids are due next month in Japan's second utility-scale offshore wind tender, but the country must move faster to finally unlock its potential.
Bids are due next month in Japan's 1.8GW offshore wind tender
This process was delayed by a year after reforms to bidding rules
Japan must show more urgency as its slipping behind in the G7
Next month, developers are due to finalise their bids in the Japanese government’s second tender for utility-scale offshore wind. This 1.8GW tender will give us a good indication of investor interest in the country after changes to bidding rules last year.
Japan launched this tender in December and is looking for developers in four areas: two sites off the coast of Akita Prefecture (356MW Happo-Noshiro and 336MW Oga-Katakgami); one in waters off Niigata Prefecture (700MW Murakami-Tainai); and one off Nagasaki Prefecture (424MW Saikai). It is due to reveal winners in March 2024.
We have seen strong interest in Japanese offshore wind, both from local companies such as Mitsubishi, Marubeni and Tepco, and overseas utilities including Ørsted and RWE. But analysts have warned Japan should do a lot more to stimulate investment because its clean energy plans are slipping behind other developed nations.
Delayed tender
Japan’s latest offshore wind tender faced a one-year delay because the government changed the tender rules following the first utility-scale offshore wind tender, for three sites totalling 1.7GW, where the results were announced in December 2021.
The government faced criticism after that tender because all three sites were won by groups led by Mitsubishi: the 819MW Yurijono and 479MW Noshiro Mitane Oga sites off Akita Prefecture; and the 391MW Choshi off Chiba Prefecture. Rival bidders were unhappy that Mitsubishi was able to dominate a tender focused on price alone.
In response, the government delayed the second utility-scale tender so that it could change the rules – but bidders don’t seem to be much happier with the new system.
The revised tender rules include the ability for companies to secure higher scores if they can commit to earlier start-up dates for their project; and there is a limit of 1GW that any single bidder or consortium could win across the four bidding zones. This is a sensible move that addresses the concern about a single company dominating, but bidders are now complaining that the new rules would stop them taking advantage of large economies of scale in their bids. The rule-makers are damned either way.
Our view is that the revised rules should enable more utilities, including international companies, to gain a foothold in Japan’s offshore wind market. This should be good for long-term competition. But we will only know that when the winners are revealed.
Building momentum
The delays to the second utility-scale auction round also hint at a broader malaise in the renewable energy sector in Japan. Momentum for offshore wind may be building now, but investment in the sector has also been held back by unambitious targets.
Japan is aiming for 5.7GW installed offshore wind in its waters by 2030, according to a target in its 6th Strategic Energy Plan, but this is a reduction from the previous goal of 10GW installed by 2030. Japan’s target now is for 10GW of offshore wind projects approved in its waters by 2030, rather than built. This is a big change and does little to help improve the share of renewables in the Japanese electricity mix, which is the lowest in the G7 according to research by think tank Ember published last week.
In addition, the target of between 30GW and 45GW installed offshore wind by 2040 does not give a clear message to investors. It is so broad that companies across the offshore wind value chain will not know how much to prioritise Japan in their plans. It is not easy for the Japanese government to make such a commitment, as unlocking offshore wind in Japan’s waters relies on floating wind reaching commercial maturity, but the government should show its ambition and trust the technology will catch up.
Even so, the momentum for offshore wind in Japan has built in the last six months.
In December, Japanese conglomerate Marubeni commissioned the country’s first large offshore wind complex: a 140MW pair of projects off the coast of Noshiro in Akita Prefecture. This has taken the amount of operational offshore wind in Japan’s waters to 190MW, with 344MW under construction and due to be commissioned by the end of 2025; and a further 1.9GW of projects with off-take agreements in place.
In addition, Hibiki Wind Energy last month ordered Vestas turbines for the 238MW Kitakyushu-Hibikinada wind farm off the coast of Fukuoka Prefecture, which is set to be commissioned in 2025. Hibiki is a joint venture of five firms: Hokutaku, Kyuden Mirai Energy, Kyudenko Corporation, J-Power, and Saibu Gas.
These deals show that the Japanese offshore wind sector is moving. After a decade of delay, that is no small feat. But now the country must do what it can to unleash its full potential. Failing to do so would be a huge missed opportunity.
US energy storage experienced a record year in 2022 with 4 GW and 12 GWh commissioned, representing an 80 per cent increase in total operating storage capacity, according to data from the American Clean Power Association (ACP).
The data also showed that, in the almost 140 GW development pipeline, solar accounts for 59 per cent of all clean power capacity, onshore wind accounts for 15 per cent, battery storage represents 14 per cent, and offshore wind accounts for the remaining 13 per cent.
ACP said there are 550 US manufacturing facilities dedicated to producing components and parts for wind, solar, and storage projects in the clean power industry and, since the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, 47 new clean energy manufacturing facilities or expansions have been announced, bringing more than 18,000 new American jobs.
AEMO Services, a subsidiary of the Australian Energy Market Operator, has opened the latest tender for generation and long duration storage under the NSW Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap.
The tender is seeking an indicative amount of 2500GWh (around 950MW) of generation and 550MW of long duration storage, however AEMO Services has discretion to award more or less if it is “in the long-term financial interest of NSW consumers to do so”.
AEMO Services said the three generation projects selected for the first tender round exceeded its indicative target by more than 400 MW.
Successful projects are awarded long-term energy service agreements (LTESAs).
The LTESA contract gives the flexibility to the holder of the agreement for a period of up to 20 years. For generation projects, the LTESA “should be thought of as similar to an insurance policy – only exercised at times of unexpectedly low wholesale electricity prices”, a statement said. AEMO Services said the LTESA reduces investment risk, boosting supply while still incentivising projects to participate in contract markets (such as corporate power purchase agreements) or taking on merchant (spot price) risk. AEMO Services added that consumers benefit from increased supply and downward pressure on wholesale prices, while lowering their exposure to “directly paying for new generation and storage infrastructure”.
Californian community choice aggregation agency Peninsula Clean Energy has reached a 15-year deal for 45MW of battery storage from a four-hour lithium ion battery storage project that Terra-Gen will develop near Barstow in San Bernardino County.
The facility, part of a larger redevelopment of the existing SEGS VIII solar thermal project, is expected to be operational in June 2024.
It is Peninsula Clean Energy’s second stand-alone battery storage project deal signed this year. The agency recently agreed a deal to receive 50 MW of four-hour lithium ion battery storage from the Nova III facility in Riverside County beginning in August 2024.
NEOM Green Hydrogen Company has completed the $8.4bn financial close of its gigantic green hydrogen project in Saudi Arabia.
The company is a joint venture between ACWA Power, Air Products and NEOM; and has secured $6.1bn non-recourse funding for the project from 23 local, regional and international banks and financial institutions. This follows the announcement on 1st March of the funding needed for financial close.
Norwegian oil giant Equinor has put on hold its planned 1GW Trollvind floating wind project in Norway due to commercial challenges.
The company said the project is facing challenges including the availability of technology, rising costs and an unrealistic timetable for delivery.
"We no longer see a way forward to deliver on our original concept of having an operational wind farm well before 2030," said Siri Espedal Kindem, Equinor's vice president of renewables in Norway.
Octopus Investments Australia has bought the 400MW Hay Plains wind project in New South Wales, Australia, from the local subsidiary of German developer Juwi.
Octopus is growing its portfolio of renewables projects in Australia. Its other wind assets include the 180MW Dulacca wind farm in Queensland and the Gillard wind project in Victoria.
Carlton Power and Schroders Greencoat have formed a joint venture to develop, build and operate green hydrogen production facilities in the UK.
The tie-up, which is called Green Hydrogen Energy Company, is aiming to build a 500MW portfolio of projects in the UK by 2030 as it wants to accelerate the development of green hydrogen in the UK. The first projects in the GHECO portfolio are in Manchester, Barrow-in-Furness and near Plymouth.
Schroders Greencoat is set to make an initial commitment of £200m to the projects from funds it manages.
Carmaker Volvo has signed a 10-year power purchase agreement for half of the electricity produced by Vattenfall's 140MW Bruzaholm wind project in Sweden.
The 21-turbine project is due to be commissioned in 2025 and produce around 460GWh of electricity each year.
UK development finance institution, British International Investment (BII), has made a $15 million (£12 million)] investment in the SUSI Asia Energy Transition Fund (SAETF), which will provide funding for renewable energy, energy storage and microgrid projects across the continent.
It is BII’s first investment in the Indo-Pacific.
With this commitment, BII joins other development finance institutions, including AIIB, FMO, Swedfund, Norfund, and OeEB, as well as private investors in backing SAETF.
SAETF targets infrastructure investments across the energy transition spectrum, including renewable energy, energy efficiency, and energy storage projects, and focuses on emerging economies in Southeast Asia, including the Philippines.
Northland Power’s $800 million Oneida Energy Storage Project in Southern Ontario, Canada has reached financial close.
Northland currently owns 72 per cent of the 250 MW / 1,000 MWh project, which is being developed in partnership with NRStor Inc., Six Nations of the Grand River Development Corporation and Aecon Group Inc.
Oneida is a battery storage facility located in Haldimand County. The project is Northland’s first investment in energy storage - full commercial operation is expected to commence in 2025.
Northland will utilise non-recourse project-level financing to fund approximately 75 per cent of the construction costs. Northland’s equity component will be funded from existing cash on hand and available liquidity under its revolving credit facility. Total debt required for the project has been fully committed by an external lender in the form of a non-recourse construction and term loan, matching the tenor of the capacity contract.
Natural Resources Canada has also provided funding from the Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways programme, recognising that the project will reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The remaining costs will be funded by the contributed equity from the various partners.
Oneida will benefit from a 20-year capacity contract with the IESO in Ontario. Contracted revenue constitutes approximately 60 per cent of total revenues, and the remaining will be earned from operating the battery in the wholesale market. Both total capital costs and revenue are proportionally indexed to the price of lithium and are “expected to be fixed at the time of manufacturing the batteries at year end”, a Northland Power statement said. The revenue contract is partially indexed to CPI to cover increases in operating expenses. Once fully operational, Northland’s share in the project is expected to contribute approximately $40-$45 million dollars of annual Adjusted EBITDA over the first five years to Northland’s financial results. Northland is “currently exploring how the Investment Tax Credits announced in the 2023 Federal Budget will apply to the Oneida project,” the statement added.
US-based green energy finance company BioPower Operations Corporation - doing business as HYFI Corp - has confirmed that Signet Capital will arrange a $450 million private placement for the first tranche of a green electricity generation project that will include solar and battery storage.
The project is the product of a joint venture with POWGEX ENERGY called POWGEX-HYFI which intends to “build, own and operate green electricity generating facilities for the next 45 years”.
BioPower will own up to 19.99% of the joint venture and received a $50 million equity investment in exchange for various deliverables including providing initial structured finance for $450 million and OEM relationships. BioPower has put together a consortium of banks, investment banks and institutions approved to provide structured project finance for electricity guaranteed by the power purchase agreements from off-takers.
In the first year it is expected that the electricity installations will begin in the fourth quarter for approximately 1GW of power at a cost of approximately $2.25 billion. In subsequent years, 5GW of installed capacity per year will be targeted.
A Biopower statement said a “market leading solar PV and battery storage OEM” has been selected for the first gigawatt of deliverables to be provided and installed.
Grid operator California Independent System Operator (CAISO) has set out a grid upgrade plan that would support the rollout of 40GW of renewables in the US state.
CAISO has developed its transmission plan with California Public Utilities Commission and the California Energy Commission. The plan identifies 45 projects to expand and upgrade the transmission system in California, including projects to support 3.5GW of new wind farms in California and import 4.5GW of wind power from other US states.
Swedish steelmaker H2 Green Steel has picked Thyssenkrupp Nucera to supply electrolysers for a 700MW green hydrogen plant in Sweden's Boden municipality.
The hydrogen is set to be created using renewable energy sources including hydropower and wind; and will then be used to produce an initial 2.5million tonnes of green steel annually. Operations at the plant are due to begin in late 2025.
By 2050, solar and storage is expected to contribute 74% of South East Asia's renewable energy, but transparency issues are deterring private investors
· Solar and storage will contribute 74% of region’s electricity by 2050
· International investment will be crucial with $190bn per year targeted
· But lack of transparency jeopardising investment
South East Asia is set to undergo an energy revolution over the next 30 years and energy storage will be a key driver of change. The region’s electricity grid generated 90 per cent of its electricity from fossil fuels in 2020, according to DNV, but this will shrink to only 10 per cent by 2050. Solar PV and solar coupled with storage will account for the overwhelming majority of the renewable energy supply by the middle of this century, contributing 74 per cent of the region’s electricity.
South East Asia’s current level of dependence on fossil fuels makes it extremely vulnerable from an energy security perspective, as the International Energy Agency (IEA) has highlighted. As a result, the IEA has said that the region has to make efforts to improve energy efficiency and accelerate renewable power generation.
Annual energy spend will be focused on solar and storage
The ten economies that make up the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) – namely the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar and Brunei Darussalam – are among the world’s fastest growing. However, the transition to clean energy will be challenging for these economies and consequently international support will be critical in order to boost innovation and develop the necessary infrastructure such as renewable power generation and grids, along with facilities for low emissions fuels. Yet, while international investment will be a crucial component, the IEA has also said that ASEAN members could reduce financing costs and attract private investors by “signalling their clear commitment to deploy low-carbon energy and by improving regulatory and financing frameworks”.
Overall energy investment needs to hit $190 billion a year by 2030 to meet the region’s climate goals, according to the IEA, which is up from around $70 billion a year between 2016 and 2020. Much of this investment will be ploughed into solar and energy storage facilities as they will be the resources upon which South East Asia’s clean energy revolution will be built.
Why gas-fired power stations should integrate storage
However, any headlong dash towards a clean energy economy in South East Asia is certain to present major challenges. As engineering, procurement, consulting and construction company Black & Veatch has highlighted, the introduction of “too much variable renewable energy may challenge reliable grid operations and performance across Asian electricity markets”. As a result, Black & Veatch has proposed integrating energy storage technologies at gas-fired power stations. Indeed, the company argues that this is an idea that is set to take off, partly because much of South East Asia’s gas-fired power infrastructure is less than ten-years old and investors will be seeking to extend the lifecycle of such facilities to improve returns and revenues – the key point here is that extending the lifecycle of gas-fired infrastructure can be achieved by integrating it with battery storage. For example, storage with durations of one to four hours can be utilised to avoid turbine operation when short duration run times are forecasted. In addition, adding battery storage to gas-fired power infrastructure goes a long way to addressing sustainability challenges as it offsets and reduces overall emission rates.
So what have been the latest developments concerning the deployment of energy storage in the ASEAN region’s leading economies?
Singapore
In December last year, Sembcorp Energy Storage System, Southeast Asia’s largest storage project, which has a capacity of 285MWh and spans two hectares of land in the Banyan and Sakra region on Jurong Island, began operation. Commissioned in six months, the facility was the fastest in the world of its size to be deployed. Earlier this year, Singapore-based VFlowTech raised US$10 million in a Series A funding round, with proceeds being used to set up a manufacturing facility and scale up production of its 250kWh vanadium flow battery product.
Thailand In December last year, Energy storage company Fluence and the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand signed a memorandum of understanding to develop the battery-based energy storage market in the country. At the time of the announcement, Fluence highlighted that the Thailand government, facing rising energy demand coupled with increasing reliance on imported sources of energy, had raised the country’s non-hydro renewable target from 20 to 30 percent by 2036. “With this rapid projected penetration of renewable energy into the energy mix, energy storage can play a key role in stabilising and strengthening the future grid,” a Fluence statement said. Also in December 2022, it emerged that Gotion High-Tech’s local subsidiary was planning to build a battery pack and module gigafactory in Thailand that would target the electric vehicle and stationary storage markets. Meanwhile, in November 2022, energy storage system supplier Sungrow and the Provincial Electricity Authority of Thailand (PEA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on energy storage and green hydrogen business. A Sungrow statement said the company viewed Thailand as a “significant market” and has already installed a total of more than 1 GW capacity of PV inverters and more than 140MWh energy storage in the country.
Vietnam AMI AC Renewables, a joint venture formed by Philippines-headquartered power plant developer AC Energy (ACEN) and Vietnam’s AMI Renewables – in partnership with Honeywell – are developing a short duration 15MW / 7.5MWh battery energy storage system at the site of the 50MWp Khahn Hoa solar PV plant in the south central coastal province of Khahn Hoa. Meanwhile, last year, it was revealed that ABL Group’s onshore renewables consultant team had completed a feasibility study for the development of a battery energy storage system (BESS) co-located with solar PV projects in Vietnam. ABL’s scope of work included a detailed analysis of PV production data to assess curtailment, followed by modelling and optimisation of various BESS solutions. Modelling was carried out on a lowest levelised cost basis to assess the commercial feasibility of adding BESS to PV and the optimal specification of any solution. “Solar power makes up a rapidly increasing percentage of Vietnam’s overall energy mix, having grown from virtually no PV generation in 2018 to more than 5GW,” said Richard Abrams, ABL Group’s director of onshore renewables. “With such a rapid growth trajectory, BESS will be a critical technology to recover lost generation, whilst maximising the efficiency of these critical infrastructure projects. This will also potentially provide more sophisticated services to the local grid.”
Philippines
There is a clear commitment to increasing the deployment of energy storage at the very top of the country’s political system with the country’s president Ferdinand Marcos Jr saying earlier this year that it is vital that we “incorporate energy storage systems in our overall energy infrastructure”. Meanwhile, the Philippines government has outlined proposed changes to rules and regulations that aim to make it simpler to integrate energy storage into power markets. The country’s first ever solar-plus-storage hybrid project – the 40MW pilot battery storage system plus 120MW solar PV power plant at Alaminos Solar site in the municipality of Alaminos, Laguna, about 80km south of the country’s capital Manila – came into operation last year. Elsewhere, the province of Bataan, 127 km from Manila, hosts the Philippines’ first and largest battery energy storage system, which is owned and operated by San Miguel Corporation’s Global Power Holdings Corp. In addition, Prime Infrastructure Holdings, Inc., the critical infrastructure business belonging to billionaire Enrique K. Razon, Jr., has announced plans to develop the world’s largest solar power facility with a capacity of 2,500-3,500MW combined with a 4,000-4,500MWh battery energy storage system, in the Philippines. The project will be undertaken by Terra Solar Philippines, a unit of Terra Renewables Holdings, Inc., which is a renewable power subsidiary under Prime Infra’s control.
Malaysia and Indonesia Last year Malaysia-based Reservoir Link signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with an unnamed US-based “iron flow long duration energy storage provider”. RL ADS Power Sdn Bhd, a 51%-owned subsidiary of oil and gas services company Reservoir Link, will partner with the unnamed company to deploy 200MW of energy storage solutions in Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore during the period 2023-2027.
Inadequate policy and investment frameworks deterring capital
Though progress is clearly being made in a number of the ASEAN region’s leading economies, a number of barriers need to be overcome to fully realise energy storage’s potential in the bloc. A study by Imperial College London has highlighted how the development of the region’s renewables sector is lagging behind that in the rest of the world due to “inadequate policy and investment frameworks”. It added that, as a result, attracting low-cost financing remains a “major hurdle for development”.
What needs to be done to address these issues? Among the measures Imperial College London has called for are:
· Better data and transparency regarding project-level financial performance
· Stronger regulatory frameworks concerning remuneration for renewables projects
· More robust financial market frameworks for renewables and transition investments
· An enhanced role for development finance institutions (DFIs) and blended finance
· Greater access to risk hedging tools to address credit and currency risks for private investors
· Improved power system connectivity across the region
South East Asia offers huge potential for the energy storage industry with the region keen to improve its energy security by both reducing reliance on fossil fuel imports and expanding its renewables sector to the extent that it takes on the bulk of the electricity producing burden. International investment will be vital, and should be forthcoming given the region’s heavy reliance on fossil fuels in the context of global efforts to combat climate change. However, the region still has much to do if it is to be successful in convincing many sceptical private investors to commit their capital to the region’s clean tech revolution.