Giant Neart na Gaoithe Offshore Wind Farm Back on Track after RSPB Appeal Rejected

20.07.2017

A £2bn offshore wind farm planned for the Scottish coast took a major step forward today, after courts rejected a request from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) to take an appeal against the plans to the Supreme Court.

In the latest twist to the long-running legal saga, the Inner House of the Court of Session refused the RSPB’s application to appeal a decision made by the court in May to reinstate planning permission for the 450MW Neart na Gaoithe wind farm and three other large offshore wind projects.

Last year a court revoked planning consent for the projects, which would add 2GW of clean energy capacity to the grid, following a petition from the RSPB arguing the installations would have a huge impact on protected sea birds.

As the most advanced project of the group, Neart na Gaoithe suffered the heaviest blows as a result of the legal delays, losing its Contract for Difference from the government after missing a crucial financial deadline because of the RSPB case.

However, the project has since won back its CfD contract and its planning permission, and its developers Mainstream Renewable Power hope to proceed to construction phase next year.

“After more than two years and two court hearings, we hope that the RSPB acknowledges a fair hearing and allows us to get on with delivering the very significant benefits this project brings to the Scottish economy and its environment,” Andy Kinsella, chief operating officer at Mainstream Renewable Power, said in a statement. “We are delighted with the decision and look forward to working constructively with the RSPB to take the wind farm into construction next year.”

Mainstream added it has made considerable changes to its original planning submission to accommodate concerns from the RSPB, including reducing the number of turbines from 125 to a maximum of 64.

Nevertheless, RSPB remains opposed to the project. RSPB Scotland director Anne McCall said she was disappointed by the Court’s decision, even if it was “not wholly unexpected”. The charity now plans to take some time to consider the details of the decision before deciding on its next steps, she added.

“The existing consents, if implemented, could have a significant impact on Scotland’s breeding seabirds but we are hopeful that by continuing to work with all the developers we will be able to reduce those impacts,” said McCall in a statement. “The issues under consideration by the Court go beyond simply the impacts of multiple developments on important seabird populations and explore wider issues, we therefore must consider the implications of the decision for all aspects of the case.”

The RSPB now has 28 days to decide whether to appeal to the Supreme Court directly to hear its plea.

Source: businessgreen.com

Reports: World Bank Warns of Environmental Risk from Clean Energy Transition

20.07.2017

Obnovljivi izvori — Foto-ilustracija: Pixabay

Growing demand for metals and minerals used in clean technologies could present new environmental challenges for the planet unless decarbonisation efforts are effectively managed, the World Bank has warned.

In order to meet the Paris Agreement goal of keeping average global temperature increases within 2C of warming, economies around the world are increasingly investing in renewable power and clean technologies, such as battery electric vehicles, solar panels and wind farms.

However, the World Bank warns such technologies are “more materially-sensitive” to produce in comparison to existing fossil fuel supply systems, according to Financial Times’ reports.

“If not properly managed minerals [to combat] climate change could constitute a bottleneck vis-a-vis our policies on global warming,” Riccardo Puliti, global head of the energy and extractives practice group at the World Bank, told the newspaper.

Metals demand could double in order to feed construction of wind turbines and solar panels, while demand for lithium used in batteries could surge by as much as 1,000 per cent, according to the World Bank.

The FT cites a World Bank report which states that: “Simply put, a green technology future is materially intensive and, if not properly managed, could bely the efforts and policies of [resource] supplying countries to meet their objectives of meeting climate and related Sustainable Development Goals. It also carries potentially significant impacts for local ecosystems, water systems, and communities.”

Puliti is quoted as urging governments to realise that mineral development is a “compliment and not a competitor to a greener, more sustainable future”, as well as calling for greater dialogue between miners and clean energy advocates.

Source: businessgreen.com

Global Solar Demand Will Exceed 80 GW In 2017; 9.6 GW Awarded In Q3 Alone

20.07.2017

The latest comprehensive solar tracking data from GTM Research is good news across the board for the global solar industry, which is currently tracking 17.4 GW of solar PV tenders, predicts 9.6 GW will be awarded in the third quarter alone, and expects global demand to exceed 80 GW for the first time — in a year which actually sees smaller growth.

GTM Research published its latest Global Solar Demand Monitor on Tuesday, detailing global market trends for the second quarter and predicting trends for the future. The report is difficult to narrow down to one particular headline, considering just how many different exciting trends we are seeing across the industry. GTM itself is highlighting the fact that Europe now leads as the region with the greatest share of tendered solar PV, with 8.1 gigawatts (GW). However, the report also highlights that GTM Research is now tracking 17.4 GW of confirmed solar PV tenders in auctions across the globe and that 9.6 GW will likely be awarded in the third quarter alone.

To top off the impressive headline-stats, 2017 global demand for solar PV will exceed 80 GW for the first time, despite the fact that year-on-year growth will actually fall from 2016’s impressive 55% to a more sustainable 4%.

Looking specifically to confirmed solar PV tenders, GTM Research is currently tracking 17.4 GW worth expected between the second quarter of 2017 and the end of 2019. Europe leads the way, as mentioned, with 8.1 GW, followed by South Asia (India) with 3 GW, and MENAT (Middle East North Africa Turkey) with 2.6 GW. It is important to note that 5.3 GW of the confirmed tenders GTM is tracking are for technology-neutral auctions in which solar will compete against other renewable energy sources.

Further, GTM Research predicts that the solar PV tender pipeline will only continue to grow as we move forward, with countries such as Algeria, Japan, and Italy all currently in the process of setting up tenders for utility-scale capacity auctions, while India’s solar PV tenders are usually only confirmed a little before bids are submitted, meaning that there is less long-term stability, replaced with spur of the moment-type momentum gains.

Global demand again will see China lead the way with in excess of 30 GW, demonstrating, as the authors of GTM’s report put it, “the industry’s dependence on China’s opaque policy-driven demand.” The United States, despite 97% growth in 2016, will see its demand contract by over 16% before its utility-scale pipeline is replenished, while in India, a 30 GW tender pipeline hand-in-hand with declining costs will spur a 90% increase in solar PV demand this year.

Looking forward, as can be seen in the graph above, GTM predicts global solar PV demand to reach 112.5 GW in 2022, with a cumulative forecast between 2017 and 2022 of 570 GW at a compound annual growth rate of 6.7%, bringing the global solar PV install base up to 871 GW. Specifically, GTM predicts 2017 will install 81.1 GW of solar, up from 2016’s 77.8 GW.

Slowing demand in East Asia will be compensated by strong growth in emerging markets. China will obviously remain the largest global market by a significant margin, but its market share will diminish somewhat as tender-driven markets continue to drive growth outside of traditional regions. Specifically, The Middle East, North Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia regions are all expected to make moves over the coming years. Particularly, GTM highlighted the upcoming competitive reverse auctions in Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, and Zambia, as results worth paying attention to for a guide of the longer-term potential for solar in these new emerging markets.

Meanwhile, looking back to the major regions, France, the Netherlands, and Ireland are expected to be the major drivers of growth in Europe as we move forward, well exceeding the additions made by established European markets like Germany, the UK, and Italy.

Source: cleantechnica.com

Siemens Hull Factory Ships First Ever Wind Turbine Blades

19.07.2017

wind-power- — Photo-illustration: Pixabay

The first batch of offshore wind turbine blades to be manufactured at Siemens new factory in Hull are today on their way to the Race Bank Offshore Wind Farm, off the North Norfolk coast.

The company announced that the blades have been successfully loaded on to the Sea Installer vessel and will now make the journey from the Port of Hull to the Race Bank site, which is owned by a consortium featuring DONG Energy, Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund 5, Macquarie Capital, and Sumitomo Corporation.

Matthew Wright, Managing Director for DONG Energy UK, said the shipment was “a fantastic moment, not just for Race Bank, but for the whole offshore wind industry in the UK”.

“To see the first blades made in Hull now loaded out and ready for installation at our project really underlines the strength of the UK supply chain to support the growth of offshore wind in this country,” he added. “When complete, Race Bank will be capable of powering over half a million homes with green energy and this is another major success story for offshore wind, bringing jobs and investment across the North of the UK.”

His comments were echoed by Clark MacFarlane, managing director for Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy UK, who said the first load from the factory “represents a significant milestone in the story of how, in just a few years, we have helped increase the UK economic benefit of lower cost Offshore Wind and help make the Humber region a hub for low-cost, green energy expertise”.

DONG Energy said 25 turbines had been installed at the site to date and the project remained on track to deliver a fully operational 573MW wind farm in 2018.

The milestone represents another boost for a UK offshore wind industry that is widely tipped to deliver significant cost reductions through the next round of clean energy auctions this autumn.

Source: businessgreen.com

Solarcentury Secures €5.7m Deal to Build East African Solar Mini-Grids

19.07.2017

Solarcentury has been awarded a €5.7m contract by the Eritrean government to design and build two hybrid mini-grids composed of solar panels and batteries.

The solar-powered mini-grids will provide power to businesses and around 40,000 people in the communities of Areza and Maidma in Eritrea, neither of which currently have access to grid electricity and rely on costly diesel generators for power.

Jointly funded by the Eritrean government, the EU and the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the project is aimed at showcasing the potential for using solar-battery hybrid power systems to provide electricity to rural communities across Africa.

Dr Daniel Davies, director of hybrid power systems at Solarcentury, said solar power and storage technologies were increasingly the most cost-effective means of delivering clean, reliable power to remote areas.

“This exciting project builds on the work we have done elsewhere in Africa and will demonstrate the amazing potential for solar to provide low cost reliable power in isolated areas,” said Davies.

Both the Eritrean government and the UNDP are each providing around €1.9m towards the project, while the remainder is being funded through the EU’s African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Energy facility.

The Eritrean Ministry of Energy and Mines is responsible for managing the project, which is scheduled for completion early next year.

“This project aims to improve the livelihoods of people living in rural towns and villages,” a representative from the Ministry said in a statement. “It is hoped the project will be replicated in order to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change in Eritrea and provide access to reliable power 24/7.”

Source: businessgreen.com

Google Creates “Dandelion” To Promote Geothermal Energy

19.07.2017

Google has set up an independent business outside the Alphabet umbrella called Dandelion. The new company was created to promote new geothermal system technology. Dandelion will attempt to do for residential heating and cooling what SolarCity has done for rooftop solar.

“For the past few years, my team and I have been on a mission to make it easier and more affordable to heat and cool homes with the clean, free, abundant, and renewable energy source right under our feet: geothermal energy,” says Dandelion CEO Kathy Hannun in a blog post.

Residences and commercial buildings account for 39% of all carbon emissions in the US, she says, mostly in the Northeast where fuel oil and propane are the primary sources of heat for many homes. Energy prices can vary widely from year to year, making it hard for families to budget. Geothermal is based on the idea that the temperature of earth remains fairly constant from season to season and year to year.

“Home geothermal systems can offer lower and steadier monthly energy costs because they use the energy in the ground under your yard,” Hannun says. “The ground stays at about 50 degrees Fahrenheit year round. In the wintertime, water circulating through U-shaped plastic pipes installed in your yard absorbs heat from the earth, and then a geothermal heat pump inside of your home turns it into warm air. In the summertime, the pump draws the warm air out of your home and the so-called ‘ground loops’ disperse the heat into the earth.”

Previously, geothermal systems depended on bringing in the big drilling rigs needed to bore artesian wells. But Dandelion is based on new technology, Hannun explains. “We decided to try to design a better drill that could reduce the time, mess and hassle of installing these pipes, which could in turn reduce the final cost of a system to homeowners.

“We began prototyping and testing all sorts of ideas, like modifying a jackhammer that could burrow itself into the ground; freezing the ground with liquid nitrogen and chipping the soil away with a hammer; and even using a high pressure water jet to obliterate the ground at rocket speeds. After months of testing, we hit upon a design for a fast, slender drill that hit our objectives.

“It could drill just one or two deep holes just a few inches wide, and compared to typical installation rigs, it produced less waste and took up much less space as it operated. It left a typical suburban backyard relatively undisturbed, so we could minimize landscaping costs for homeowners. Just as importantly, it was fast; we could install all the ground loops in less than a day, instead of the more typical 3 or 4 days.”

The Dandelion system promises to be much less expensive than traditional geothermal systems, which will make it more attractive to homeowners. The business has already begun operations in New York and will concentrate on other areas in the Northeast first.

Hannun says, “We’re looking to partner with local heating and cooling installers. And we’ve developed a financing program that will allow homeowners to install a Dandelion system for no money down and save money from day one while locking in low, predictable payments for heating and cooling. To help us with sales and operations, we’ve just closed an initial round of seed funding, led by Collaborative Fund.”

Source: cleantechnica.com

EDF Renewable Energy Acquires 179 Megawatts Of Solar Projects From First Solar

19.07.2017

EDF Renewable Energy has this week announced its acquisition of the 179-megawatt Switch Station 1 and 2 solar projects from First Solar in late-June, a move which brings the US company closer to 10 gigawatts worth of renewable energy projects in operation or development across North America.

EDF Renewable Energy is one of the leading independent power producers in the United States, and a subsidiary of EDF Energies Nouvelles, the renewable energy arm of the EDF group, the world’s leading electricity company. Announced last week, EDF Renewable Energy revealed that in late June it acquired both the Switch Station 1 and Switch Station 2 solar projects from First Solar, a global solar PV systems developer. Both Switch Station solar projects are currently under construction in Nevada, and upon completion in July and September respectively, will sell their generated electricity and environmental attributes under three separate Power Purchase Agreements to subsidiaries of NV Energy, Inc. — specifically, Nevada Power Company d/b/a NV Energy and Sierra Pacific Power Company d/b/a NV Energy.

The Clark County solar projects are expected to generate enough electricity to meet the equivalent of electricity enough for 46,000 Nevadan homes, equal to avoiding more than 265,000 metric tonnes of CO2 emissions annually.

“The acquisition of Switch Station 1 and Switch Station 2 marks EDF RE’s entry into Nevada, a state with world-class solar resources where we plan to build additional projects in the coming years,” said Ryan Pfaff, Executive Vice President of EDF Renewable Energy. “We are pleased to be working with First Solar, one of our key solar partners, to deliver affordable, reliable solar energy to NV Energy and its customers.”

“This is an exciting development in our long-standing relationship with EDF,” added Richard Romero, First Solar Vice President of Treasury and Project Finance. “There is great value in our shared ability to creatively structure a deal that meets both partners’ needs.”

Source: cleantechnica.com

India’s First Solar-Powered Train Makes its Debut (VIDEO)

19.07.2017

Indija, solarnivoz — PrintScreen: YouTube/ET Energyworld

India’s diesel-powered train network has a new kid on the block. The gas-guzzling Indian Railway system has just debuted its first solar-powered train, called the Diesel Electric Multiple Unit (DEMU). It will operate in the city of New Delhi.

Placement of the solar panels on the train car was challenging. Sandeep Gupta, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Jakson Engineers Limited (the company that produced and installed the solar panels) told Business Standard, “It is not an easy task to fit solar panels on the roof of train coaches that run at a speed of 80 km per hour.” The panels feed into an onboard battery that can store surplus power.

The train will still be pulled by a diesel locomotive; the solar panels will only power passenger comfort systems, such as lights, information displays and fans. Even so, Indian Railways estimates that just one train with six solar-panel equipped cars will save 21,000 liters (5,547 gallons) of diesel fuel per year, at a cost savings around Rs12 lakh (almost $20,000).

Indian Railways is the largest rail network in Asia, running around 11,000 trains daily. The service moves roughly 13 million passengers every day. That translates to incredibly large fuel bills; in 2015, the service spent Rs16,395 crore ($2.5 billion) on diesel. They’ve been trying to reduce their fuel consumption, in part by more reliance on solar energy; the hope is that it will save them Rs41,000 crore ($6.31 billion) over the next 10 years.

Source: engadget.com

Major solar power project to provide electricity at night

18.07.2017

Crescent_Dunes_Solar_December_2014 — Foto: en.wikipedia.org

A major solar power project in the Middle East will provide electricity during the night, the developers have said.

The $1bn (£770m) scheme will provide up to 200 megawatts to the grid in Dubai between 4pm and 10am, according to the news service Bloomberg.

Instead of generating electricity using photovoltaic cells, the system works by using mirrors to concentrate the sun’s energy and heat water. The heat is stored in molten salt and then used to create steam that drives a turbine.

Paddy Padmanathan, chief executive of the Saudi Arabia-based company behind the project, ACWA Power International, told the news service that this system was likely to become more popular around the world.

“I expect concentrated-solar power, within 18 months, to be head-to-head with combined-cycle gas, if not more competitive,” he said.

“The focus has been on photovoltaic and batteries, but there’s a limit on how long they can hold a charge for. We’re proving that CSP [concentrated solar power] can work through the night.”

The system can heat the molten salt to a staggering 490 degrees Celsius.

Mr Padmanathan said there were currently only two companies supplying solar CSP devices.

“The others have gone bankrupt,” he said, but he added: “I know of at least five Chinese companies that are starting to enter the market.”

ACWA has built CSP plants in Morocco and South Africa and hopes to build another in Saudi Arabia.

“Right now they’re tendering for solar PV and wind, but I think they’ll want a CSP project as well, especially when they see how cost competitive it can be,” Mr Padmanathan said.

Jenny Chase, head of solar analysis at Bloomberg New Energy Finance, said the plunging costs of photovoltaic (PV) solar panels was reducing the chance that this rival method of harnessing the sun’s energy would take off.

“This plant in Dubai is for delivery by 2021,” she said. “By then, we’re expecting solar PV and batteries to be in the same order of magnitude for cost and will be a lot more flexible than a solar thermal plant.”

Source: independent.co.uk

Tech Giants Team Up to Promote Smart City Vision

18.07.2017

Renewable energy asset management technology specialist Envision Energy has launched a new initiative to help accelerate the digitalisation of the clean energy transition.

The company late last week unveiled the Energy Internet of Things (IoT) and Smart City Technology Alliance, alongside Microsoft, Accenture and ARM. The group said it hopes to see more firms join the alliance at a later date.

The aim of the initiative is to make it easier to “unify the distributed and fragmented renewable energy space” through digital and smart technologies that integrate with renewable generation systems.

Envision Energy said the alliance would help integrate a range of different technologies that are currently being used to optimise renewables projects, such as wind and solar farms.

For example, Envision’s EnOS IoT platform helps developers operate and manage renewables assets, while Microsoft’s Azure Cloud Platform provides data storage and computing power, and Accenture’s Enterprise Service provides firms with application integration services

Envision said it was also intending to work with ARM technology to collect data from physical assets.

“[The Alliance’s] work positions the members at the forefront of the energy transition by seeking more efficient networks that interconnect buildings, industry parks, vehicles, power generation plants, electric distribution, storages and end-user consumptions that help make cities ‘smart’,” the group said.

Envision founder and CEO Lei Zhang said the group provided further evidence that the “old energy paradigm is breaking down and will be replaced by a new era of energy”.

“Envision is leading a global energy technology revolution in an open and collaborative way,” he said. “The purpose of this alliance is to accelerate the digital transition and solve challenges through great team work. Together we are dedicated to making the new era of beautiful energy a near-term reality.”

The group added that it would help deliver an increase in smart grid R&D and industry standardisation that would aid the deployment of smart city technologies.

Source: businessgreen.com

Saudi Arabia Looks Past Oil and Pushes Ahead with Wind Energy Ambitions

18.07.2017

Saudi Arabia has resumed its efforts to launch the kingdom’s first large-scale wind farm, totalling 400 megawatts (MW), according to the country’s energy minister Khalid Al Falih. And there are plans for further tenders to kick off this year as part of a US$50 billion spending program on renewables within six years.

A request for qualifications for the wind project in the Al Jouf region in the north of the country was released on Sunday, marking the first step in a competitive bidding process.

The first round of Saudi Arabia’s National Renewable Energy Programme (NREP) included plans for projects that would generate 700MW of solar and wind power. However, only 300MW of solar power projects have hit the deadlines as laid out by the country’s Renewable Energy Project Development Office (Repdo).

Although the request for qualifications launch comes five months after the original target launch date of February 20, Mr Al Falih, insisted the kingdom’s renewable energy ambitions remain on target.

“As we enter the second half of the year, we remain committed to ensuring our ambitious programme remains on-track to deliver the value and opportunities targeted by the programme,” said Mr Al Falih.

After companies have been vetted to meet minimum standards, a request for proposals will be issued, currently slated for the end of August. Mr Al Falih said the timeline “ensures that we remain on course to tender 700MW in round one this year”.

The kingdom, plans to spend up to $50 billion to help meet its target of producing enough electricity from renewables to power the equivalent of 3 million homes within six years, Mr Al Falih had said in January.

The original site for the wind project was slated to be at Midyan in the north-western Tabuk province. Turki Al Shehri, head of Repdo, told The National in a phone interview that the Midyan project is still scheduled to be tendered at a future date after first completing further studies.

“Midyan is still in pre-development, but hopefully we will tender it fairly soon,” he said. “We didn’t want to postpone it too long, so we replaced (it) with the project in Al Jouf.”

Mr Al Shehri said the 24 companies that had been shortlisted for the Midyan wind project in April are being carried over into the new location, with the opportunity for new companies to join the race.

He said the ministry had seen a great deal of interest for its renewables programme, totalling around 600 expressions of interests from 48 countries. “There was a fairly large amount of companies that participated, but there were others that didn’t get the news,” Mr Al Shehri said.

The new Al Jouf location is in the same area as the 300MW solar project that is expected to be awarded in September. However, Mr Al Shehri said the projects were entirely separate, feeding power into two different substations.

Saudi Arabia, long known for its reliance on its oil and gas sector, began its shift towards economic diversification last year with its Vision 2030 plan. Among several bold initiatives for the reorganisation of the country’s economy, the plan marked the first time that the country had set out government targets for renewable energy.

In line with the vision and interim targets of Vision 2030, the kingdom is targeting the addition of 3.45 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy to the national grid in just three years, scaling up to 9.5GW by 2023.

The Al Jouf wind project will be awarded in January, but there are more project tenders expected to come out this year.

“We aren’t done yet, you’ll see more projects this year,” Mr Al Shehri said.

Source: thenational.ae

Hive Energy Gets Green Light for Subsidy-Free 40MW Solar Park

18.07.2017

Hive Energy has announced plans to develop a 40MW subsidy-free solar park in Hampshire after securing planning permission from the local council.

The renewable energy developer announced yesterday that Test Valley Borough Council has given the green light for the project to go ahead at Woodlington Farm near Romsey, with construction expected to finish next summer.

The site surrounds Hive Energy’s global headquarters and is expected to provide enough power to meet the needs of 9,100 average households using an on-site grid connection via energy supplier SSE.

According to Hive, it is estimated the solar park will save around 16,500 tonnes of carbon emissions a year, as well as enabling the firm’s R&D team to pilot and test their latest solar and storage technologies at the site.

Hive has also committed to producing a biodiversity management plan for the 25-year lifespan of the solar park, which will include the development of conservation areas, space for sheep grazing and the planting of new trees and hedgerows to encourage birds, bats, and insects. Moreover, the firm said the nearby River Blackwater would also benefit from pesticides no longer being used at the site.

Hive Energy CEO, Giles Redpath, said the firm’s latest project would help to make a “a significant contribution” towards meeting national renewable energy targets as well as boosting security of power supply.

“The project will also deliver positive social benefits for local people and support the development of innovative energy saving technology,” he said.

Founded in 2010, Hive Energy is the owner and operator of 18MW of UK solar sites and 30 commercial roof systems. The firm also previously developed the 49MW Southwick Estate Solar Park near Portsmouth, which was the UK’s largest grid connected PV when it was built in 2015.

Developers are increasingly confident that they can develop some prospective solar farms without recourse to subsidy. However, industry insiders remain concerned that a clearer route to market is still required to mobilise significant new investment in the sector.

Source: businessgreen.com

Korea Development Bank Issues $300 Million Green Bond For Renewable Energy Projects

18.07.2017

The Korea Development Bank has issued its first green bond aimed at funding implementation and expansion of renewable energy projects.

The Bank raised $300 million from investors in Asia, Europe, and the United States and offered “quarterly floating rate coupon of 3-month USD LIBOR plus 0.725% per annum to a maturity date of 6 July 2022.” Proceeds from the bond will be targeted at wind, solar, and biomass power projects.

Being a government-backed institution, the Bank’s bond issue was hugely popular among global investors who were willing to invest up to $650 million against the bond size of just $300 million.

Asia was allocated 46%, European accounts purchased 18%, while US-based accounts purchased the remaining 36%. By investor-type, bank treasuries took 32% of the issuance, fund managers 26%, central bank/sovereign wealth fund/agency 23%, pension 14%, private banks and others 5%.

Korea may not be a buzzing market in the global green bonds market, but it has seen some significant bond issues. Last year, the Export Import Bank of Korea issued a green bond, the first in three years, to raise $400 million. That issue, too, over-subscribed by about three times with investors willing to pour in $1.1 billion.

Hyundai Capital Services issued a unique green bond that aimed at providing debt finance to consumers buying hybrid vehicles. The $500 million bond issue attracted investment offers of $1.2 billion with more than half the investors hailing from non-Asian countries. The bond was named as the best in North Asia in 2016.

Source: cleantechnica.com

JLL UK Hits Energy Reduction Target a Year Early

17.07.2017

renewable-energy — Foto-ilustracija: Pixabay

Real estate consultancy JLL UK has hit 78 per cent of its 2016 sustainability targets, including achieving a 26 per cent reduction in absolute energy use since 2012, but missed key targets around staff training and client engagement with sustainability.

Reporting on a mixed bag of results in its 2016 Sustainability Report released late last week, JLL UK said it has made good progress on boosting recycling rates and cutting energy use across its offices. A particular achievement was the reduction of absolute energy use, it said, with JLL UK far outstripping its initial goal of delivering a 10 per cent cut by 2017.

However, it admitted progress in other areas slipped, in part due to external political and economic events. It had aimed to train 80 per cent of its staff on sustainability issues, but only 67 per cent had received such training by the end of last year. Likewise, it had planned to engage with clients to set a zero energy 2030 target aligned to EU law, but in light of the Brexit vote JLL UK CEO Chris Ireland said it had decided to “step back” from that goal.

The firm has set a new tranche of targets for 2020, including a pledge to achieve zero waste to landfill in all its corporate offices, cut absolute energy consumption a further nine per cent against 2012 levels, and source 100 per cent renewable electricity across it corporate estate.

“I want JLL to continue to play a leadership role in transforming the UK property sector and our aspiring targets for 2020 will certainly focus our efforts on achieving this,” Sophie Walker, head of sustainability at JLL, said in a statement. “By 2020, I want us to have integrated sustainability in to all our advice, supported the UK’s ongoing transition to a low carbon and circular economy and addressed the social issues where we can have the most impact.”

Source: businessgreen.com

Vivint Solar Continues Expansion With Move Into Virginia

17.07.2017

One of the United States’ leading residential solar installers, Vivint Solar, has continued what is turning out to be an impressive year of expansion, by announcing that it has expanded into the state of Virginia.

At the beginning of the year, Vivint Solar only operated across 14 states, but that number has already grown to 20 states this year, with expansions into Rhode Island, Colorado, Vermont, New Hampshire, a return to Nevada after a two-year absence due to state-policies, and the newly announced expansion into Virginia.

The move into Virginia is both a massive opportunity and an interesting move. The US Energy Information Administration states that Virginia only generates 0.9% of its electricity from solar energy, with only 241.5 megawatts (MW) installed — though 192.4 MW of that was installed in 2016. Vivint Solar believes this represents “a great opportunity for rooftop solar in the state” — but I can’t help but wonder whether one of the reasons there is so little solar is that there is less interest in the state.

Nevertheless, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe has also recently signed clean energy legislation which aims to promote the use of solar and other renewable energy options around the state, giving Vivint Solar a good leg up in the state.

“We applaud Virginia’s commitment to grow its clean energy sector and are thrilled to bring Vivint Solar’s affordable solar energy services to this promising market,” said David Bywater, CEO of Vivint Solar. “With Vivint Solar, Virginia residents can take their first step toward energy independence and do so in a way that can benefit their wallets and the environment.”

Source: cleantechnica.com

India’s Tamil Nadu Allocates 1.5 Gigawatts Of Solar In Latest Tender

17.07.2017

The south Indian state of Tamil Nadu has completed one of the largest solar power capacity allocations in the country. The state government recently confirmed that project developers have agreed to develop a 1.5 gigawatts of solar PV power capacity following a competitive auction.

Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) has announced that it awarded solar power projects with a cumulative capacity of 1,500 megawatts to 16 developers. All these projects have been awarded at Rs 3.47/kWh (5.4¢/kWh), the lowest tariff bid committed by 25 participating developers.

Last month, TANGEDCO received a massive response to the tender with project developers willing to set up 2.67 gigawatts of capacity against the offered 1.5 gigawatts of capacity. The bids submitted by the participating companies varied from Rs 3.47/kWh (5.4¢/kWh) to Rs 4.00/kWh (6.2¢/kWh), the maximum allowed bid.

A public sector company NLC Limited offered to place a bid to develop the entire 1.5 gigawatts capacity at Rs 3.97/kWh (6.1¢/kWh) but eventually agreed to do it to match the lowest tariff of Rs 3.47/kWh (5.4¢/kWh).

TANGDECO called upon all the developers to match the lowest bid and 16, including NLC, responded positively. Raasi Green Earth Energy, a lesser known developer in India, is believed to have bagged 100 megawatts; the company has placed the lowest bid. NLC was awarded 700 megawatts of capacity likely because some other developers refused to match the lowest bid.

The successful tendering is a major milestone for TANGEDCO which has been really struggling to attract solar project developers when compared to other states like Telangana, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan.

TANGEDCO had offered 500 megawatts solar power capacity in February 2016 but received bids for just 177 megawatts. The utility put 500 megawatts capacity on the block again in November 2016 but received bids for 300 megawatts only.

The power utility is known to be facing financial challenges accompanied by non-availability of ample grid infrastructure to support renewable energy projects. Tamil Nadu is already the largest wind energy producing state in India.

While project developers have been given up to 24 months to commission their projects, the longest ever in Indian history, they have chosen to quote tariffs which are at a significant premium to the current lowest solar power tariff in the country. ACME Cleantech Solutions currently holds the record for the lowest solar power tariff in India at Rs 2.44/kWh (3.8¢/kWh).

Source: cleantechnica.com

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