It was also confirmed that a commercial operation certificate had been issued and it has already approved the beginning of the work on the project, which has a total capacity of 217 megawatts. The Saudi Arabia-based utility developer ACWA Power owns a 25 percent stake in the project. Experts also mentioned that the financial impact associated with the project is expected to be reflected during the financial results during the first quarter of 2022.

In other news, ACWA Power recently closed a $1.33 billion financing deal for its renewable project to power The Red Sea Development, also known as TRSDC.The debt facility closure was arranged by a consortium including Al Rajhi Bank, Banque Saudi Fransi, The Saudi British Bank, Arab Petroleum Investment Corporation, Standard Chartered Bank, and Riyad Bank.

ACWA Power was awarded the contract to drive and operate the renewable power-based multi-utilities infrastructure to serve The Red Sea Project back in November 2021. TRSDC is fully owned by the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia and will be developing the world’s largest sustainable tourism destination that will run on 100 percent renewable energy. Construction for the project has already begun actively and the company is targeting partial operation by the end of 2022.

The post ACWA Power beginning the first phase of the Noor energy project appeared first on International Finance.

Nigel Green, CEO of DeVere, the world’s largest independent financial consultancy, told International Finance, “Action by British banks has fallen short on climate change over the last decade and a half for several reasons. However, I think the main issue is the 2007-2008 global financial crisis. Banks were, in most cases, spectacularly caught off guard by the crash. In the fallout, they were understandably busy dealing with the new regulatory landscape that prevailed in the aftermath, evolving client expectations and, for some, the massive financial penalties that were imposed on them. As a result, corporate social responsibility obligations were way down their to-do list. They were too focused on regrouping. They were in survival mode. However, simultaneously, the rest of the world was waking up to the very real issue of climate change.”

And, as the beginning of this year has demonstrated, a lot is going to change for British banks and the economy at large. Of late, Britain has been witnessing a growing appetite for financial support in sustainable projects, as clients expect banks to be able to show environmental credentials. “This is why challenger, paperless banks with stronger green credentials, such as Vault, are filling the void left by traditional banks, especially in terms of what clients expect firms to be doing today and in the future when it comes to the environment,” Green said. “They are also, of course, getting serious because green investments are outperforming the market and are, therefore, good for their clients and profitable for them.”

British banks know the path forward
The global talk about the Paris Agreement on climate change and what it can do to the economy has put a lot of pressure on British banks. “Despite allegations that some banks are simply ‘greenwashing,’ I have not seen much evidence of this. I think that most are finally getting serious about this subject,” Green said. For example, NatWest and Lloyds of London have pledged to reduce their emissions linked to the loan book by half. However, the levels of their emissions are yet to be worked out. In another example, Barclays has already announced a host of green finance products to help clients finance sustainable developments in the country and globally. These green finance products are mainly designed to channel investments into environment-friendly activities and green initiatives leading to a successful low-carbon economic transition.

NatWest has made its action on climate change an integral part of its rebrand under the leadership of new chief executive Alison Rose. Last November, it launched the first green mortgage, which allows borrowers to enjoy lower-interest rates while purchasing an energy-efficient home. The green mortgage for new customers might be a relatively small move, but this year is anticipated to see NatWest’s efforts on a large scale as it aims to target an expansive customer base. Lloyds, on its part, has become increasingly active in financing clean energy projects. Because it is one of the country’s biggest providers of car finance, it has strategic plans to expand lending for electric vehicles. Again, British banks are likely to come under the scanner with the country preparing to host the UN COP26 climate summit in Glasgow in 2021-end. “This should provide positive impetus for the industry,” Green said.

Barclays has worked with Sustainalytics, a leading independent global provider of environmental, social and corporate governance research and ratings to investors, to develop a Green Product Framework, which will be used to identify sustainable projects that will have a beneficial impact on the environment and demonstrate full support of green financing activity. Although Barclays has refused to halt fossil fuel lending, it is optimistic that setting a carbon limit on its activities will lower emissions. The work of British banks “will sharpen the industry’s focus on the issue of climate change for sure. It is a significant step to ensure that banks are playing their part,” Green explained.

British banks remain quite bullish about their progress in fulfilling climate goals over a series of announcements and product launches that are slated for this year. “I think that they will be compelled to make real advancements, not only by regulators but by pressure and expectations from their clients,” Green said. “Those banks that are slow to respond will face not only increased regulatory and public scrutiny but also limited growth. In 2021, and moving forward, banks can no longer afford to ignore climate change.”

Another fact that points to the real efforts by British Banks is the recently licenced Oxbury Bank’s world’s first-ever carbon-offset savings account, known as Oxbury Forrest Saver, which provides a huge opportunity for British savers to help in the transition to a low-carbon future. The money that would be earned in interest from the Oxbury Forrest Saver accounts will be used to finance tree-planting projects. This is especially important for savers because a new survey commissioned by Triodos shows that 65 percent of the respondents are clueless about their savings—whether they are supporting fossil fuel developments in some form. An even higher percentage of respondents expect banks and savings providers to be transparent about their investment. In this movement, the government seeks to enforce disclosure mandatory by 2025.

Obviously, this still requires the government to take the initiative. And, as known, Bankers for Net Zero initiative backed by an influential group of MPs, is assembling banks, regulators and businesses to enable banks to fully support their clients, speed up the net-zero transition and deliver on the government’s climate change vision. According to its official website, the initiative is built to explore two crucial aspects of the climate change action: How can British banks support key sectors in the net zero transition? What is required in terms of policy and regulation to finance a rapid transition?

World-class green finance research hubs
Interestingly, the government will be investing £10 million for world-class green finance research hubs that will be based in Leeds and London. The two cities will house hubs designed for driving green finance and investment globally. These hubs are slated to open in the coming months in collaboration with a set of British institutions such as University of Oxford, University of Leeds and Imperial College London. Their potential ability to provide world-class data and analytics to financial institutions around the world will help banks, lenders, investors and insurers to make wise investment decisions by taking into account the environmental and climate change impact.

This advancement is essentially what the country needs to step up its game on a global level. It could even create new opportunities in the form of positioning Leeds and London as global centres for green finance—a promising logic that could take it to the next level of promoting green finance and protecting the global economy from climate risks.

According to the Energy and Clean Growth Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan, “Climate change is the biggest issue that we need to tackle to protect our planet for our children and grandchildren. While the government has invested billions of pounds so we can end the UK’s contribution to climate change, we will not reach our net zero target without mobilising private capital and unleashing the power of the free market. The UK Centre for Greening Finance and Investment in London and Leeds will encourage financial services to turn the tide of their investments and focus on sectors and companies that have a smaller environmental footprint. Doing so will support industries and businesses to develop clean green innovations, creating thousands of jobs across the country—ensuring we build back greener,” as reported.

Back to sustainability bonds and carbon taxes
In 2019, the London Stock Exchange already expanded its green bond segment into a comprehensive Sustainable Bond Market that will incorporate sustainable, social and issuer-level segments. Essentially, these segments offer a host of opportunities for investors transparency and sustainability-related debt instruments. By the numbers, 155 green bonds, nine social bonds, seven sustainability bonds and 77 green issuers from 23 countries and regions are listed on the Sustainable Bond Market, raising £51 billion so far. With that, its strong-record is likely to continue.

This, now seems clear, is the year for Britain to get to the bottom of green finance. British Finance Minister Rishi Sunak plans to launch the country’s first green government bonds. These bonds will be created to finance environment-friendly investments and even encourage the Bank of England to focus deeper on climate change action. It is reported that the finance minister is also urged to reduce the 20 percent value added tax on energy efficient projects. In the case of carbon taxes, any progress that was vouched for by the International Monetary Fund in October might be slow. This is because the budget deficit of £400 billion is still worked on, marking the largest since the second world war. However, it does seem like the country has taken a slow approach to environmental taxes.

The post Britain is on a mission to build back greener appeared first on International Finance.

The country’s investment plan which comprises $4.65 billion in energy projects did not include major oil exploration and production. This was despite Pemex’s declining output in crude oil.

Ixchel Castro, oil and refining markets manager for Latin America at Wood Mackenzie, told the media, “The key issue here is whether Dos Bocas is going to be operating in three years. The construction process is probably going to take longer than originally estimated, so exports will be maintained for a longer period than expected.”

It is reported that the investment plan seeks to pledge 15.4 billion pesos for upgrades to the oil company’s coking plant at the northern Cadereyta refinery.

More recently, the National Center of Energy Control has issued a directive to limit the level of renewable energy that can be generated in the country. With that, the industry is seeing suspension of licences for renewable energy plants which were set to commence operational testing in May, media reports said. This has caused chaos among investors, energy companies and consumer protection groups forcing them to push back.

The post Mexico’s $14 bn energy investment plan focuses on Pemex appeared first on International Finance.

It is reported that primarily renewable electricity output in the second quarter of the year was reduced 1.9 percent compared to the same period last year. That said, renewables output rose 9 percent compared to the same period last year. This in part is due to increased capacity. 

NIC Chair John Armitt said in a statement, “The government should be credited for recent steps to encourage quicker deployment of renewables, and for setting up successful mechanisms for encouraging private sector investment. These latest projects suggest we can afford to go further, faster without hitting consumers in the pocket.” 

More recently, the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) suggested that the UK government should increase the renewable energy goal from 50 percent to 65 percent by 2030. This further points to the fact that the country must accelerate its efforts in low-carbon electricity systems. 

A shit for government policy is encouraged to strengthen renewable electricity schemes and boost private investment in the industry for propelling innovations, media reports said.

The post UK renewable electricity output points to an industry-shift appeared first on International Finance.

The country has seen the renewable energy industry significantly contribute to its economic growth. While the traditional economic engines like banks and financial services companies continued to struggle leaving the economic growth to less than one percent as a result of the 2009 financial crisis, the economic value of offshore wind increased 17 percent and solar reached 7 percent. The Confederation of British Industry calculated that the green economy contributed a third of the country’s economic growth in 2011.

Renewable energy job boom is expected
A report by Thrive Renewables observed that the country will have to build 5.5GW of onshore renewable energy capacity every year until 2025 to achieve its net zero emissions by 2050. For the same reason, it will also require £4.75 billion in annual investment, including £2.75 billion in onshore wind projects alone.. This in turn will lead to an investment opportunity worth £66.5 billion over the next 15 years. This implies creation of a renewable energy job boom. In fact, economists argue that the industry’s financial power coupled with strong public policy regimens could create an employment boom that might in fact be so impactful for the country in its post-Brexit and post-pandemic recovery.

A new report released by RenewableUK shows that renewable energy could have a significant positive impact on the economy if the British government capitalises on the existing and new benefits. The statistics of the report show that the industry can provide 12,000 new jobs and almost £20 billion of new investments as part of the country’s sustainable economic recovery. In fact, wind companies have already announced contracts and investments worth more than £4 billion. This in turn is anticipated to create an excess of 2,000 jobs despite an economic contraction on the back of imposed lockdown measures.

Thrive Renewables in its report found that onshore renewable energy projects will create 45,000 new jobs and inject almost £29 billion into Britain’s economy over the next 15 years. Additionally, it can help to save up to £1.5bn consumer energy bills a year by 2035. According to RenewableUK, the industry could secure 11GW of new onshore and offshore wind if policymakers lift capacity caps for the renewable energy auction slated to take place next year—and noted that the government can transform the country into a world leader in floating offshore wind, tidal power and renewable hydrogen projects.

Upgrade of renewable sites is a better alternative
The report also highlighted the fact that stimulating renewable energy expansion through upgrade of existing sites—also termed as repowered—with new and advanced technologies will see more opportunities underway. One way to revive existing wind sites after operating up to 30 years is by replacing their old technology with the latest turbines. For the most part, repowering of sites will be more productive, cheaper and faster to develop on the back of the existing infrastructures such as roads and grid connections. A combination of repowering and building of new onshore renewable sites is a powerful approach to the industry.

RenewableUK’s Director of Strategic Communications Luke Clark told the media, “The Prime Minister and the Chancellor want to build back greener; putting low-cost renewables at the heart of this agenda is a no-regrets option that will get investment flowing into the economy quickly and create jobs. Government has the tools it needs to put a rocket under renewable energy projects, which will make it much easier to achieve wider net zero objectives like the switch to EVs and low carbon heating. If we can support innovation and strategic investment in our offshore wind supply chain, alongside new cutting-edge technologies like renewable hydrogen and floating wind, the UK can be at the forefront of global growth sectors. The renewables sector is one of the biggest investors in UK infrastructure; boosting that will increase opportunities and employment, particularly in parts of our economy where we need to level up.”

Britain urges green spending
The estimated figures have encouraged the British government to increase green spending because not doing so will only limit the industry’s potential, as many argue. Now, Siemens and EDF are in a coalition with local lenders in the country to pledge £5 billion toward renewable energy. Tapping into private sector investment would result in a net return of £100 billion to support the British economy which potentially includes £40bn for energy efficiency. This seems to exceed the defined target of £9.2 billion in the Conservative manifesto. A joint study published by Siemens and UK100 argues that a balanced energy system is required along with the right mix of local decentralised energy systems.

Most experts think the idea of a long-term, investible renewable energy policy platform is necessary to tear down industry barriers. Perhaps, more policy certainty over price stability in Contracts for Difference auctions, distribution network connection planning and cost structures will be highly beneficial to the industry. But here is the problem with policy development. Britain’s national planning policy needs to be amended to annihilate barriers for new onshore wind projects. However, the government announced plans earlier this year to allow onshore renewable energy projects to compete in upcoming CfD auctions, crafting a new route to industry potential. That progress can be made when a collective effort is seen with the government, companies and public trying to create a more sustainable policy landscape that will boost investor confidence.

Investors increasingly on board with energy transformation
A few weeks ago, Britain-listed renewable energy stocks increased 170 percent on average for the year. But the investment levels will have to continue for decades to meet climate change targets, observed finnCap in its latest report. The report points out that $350 billion in annual investment is required over a period of 30 years to meet the Paris agreement. Although investments in renewable energy remain solid, the current level of investment requirement is huge. For that reason, the country needs to maintain its inflow of investments in the industry over that period to ensure at least 50 percent of renewable energy mix can be achieved by 2050.

Interestingly, the report even highlights that IOCs need to make significant categorisations among themselves as ‘good energy’ and ‘bad energy’ companies to speed up the energy transition. In this context, good energy is associated with renewables and gas while bad energy largely covers oil, oil sands, refining, marketing and petrochemicals. finnCap research director Jonathan Wright, said in the report, “Clean, limitless in supply, increasingly competitive on costs, future-proofed, socially desirable and governmentally encouraged, renewable energy is here to stay. What’s more, with institutional investors increasingly focused on sustainability, even SMID cap oil and gas exploration and production companies are going to have to present a convincing ‘E’ component to their ESG strategy if they are to attract these investors.”

It is in fact important for small and medium sized oil exploration and production companies seeking long-term growth to build sustainability credentials in the coming years. For example, Shell and BP recently announced their plans for multi-billion pound write-downs of their fossil fuel assets. It is reported that investors are increasing in the country’s renewables in full support of the energy transformation. That said, companies that are still reliant on carbon-intensive assets will have to take progressive steps to stay ahead of the game.

The post Britain’s clean energy grows up appeared first on International Finance.

Taza Wind Farm is an integral part of the Kingdom of Morocco’s 2009 national energy strategy. The wind farm seeks to increase the Kingdom’s  renewable energy to 42 percent of its installed electricity capacity by 2020, media reports said. It is reported that the project will be financed by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation; Nippon Export and Investment Insurance; Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation; MUFG Bank; and (Moroccan bank) Bank of Africa. 

EDF Group senior executive vice-president of renewable energies and CEO of EDF Renewable, Bruno Bensasson, told the media, “This wind farm demonstrates our commitment to supporting the Kingdom of Morocco’s energy transition. The project first with the goals in the EDF Group’s 2030 CAP strategic plan of doubling its renewable energy capacity worldwide from 28GW to 50GW nets, between 2015 and 2030.” 

It is reported that 500 people will work on the wind farm project during the construction phase. The project is anticipated to contribute to the region’s social and economic development once completed.

The post Morocco set to begin work on Taza Wind Farm construction appeared first on International Finance.

It is reported that renewable energy capacity was 47.4 GW at the end of the first quarter of the year. This points to a 5.2 percent increase compared to the same period last year. 

RenewableUK’s deputy chief executive Melanie Onn, told the media, “At a time when so many things seem uncertain, the consistent rise of renewables, keeping the UK powered up, bringing billions in investment in new energy infrastructure and creating highly skilled jobs all over the country, is a terrific success story we can all be proud of. Today’s figures confirm just how far we’ve come in the revolution in power generation. In 2010 less than 7 percent of our electricity came from renewables — now it’s 37 percent. But we know that to tackle the existential threat of climate change, we need to decarbonise not just electricity, but also heating and transport, where progress has been glacial.”

Overall, wind energy has generated 7.5 terawatt per hour more compared to the same period last year. 

The post Wind power increases UK’s renewable generation by 30% in Q1 appeared first on International Finance.

The company is testing six bifacial panels from three manufacturers, two trackers and string inverters. Last year, it announced a 1 GW renewables development plan for Chile.

Also, the company has purchased a special vehicle with a 48-MW wind farm and a 34.4-MW hydropower plant in the country. It is reported that the company has already started operating the assets.

Also, Engie is expecting the assets to benefit its net income of $3 million for the second half of 2020, media reports said. The wind farm Monte Redondo comprising 24 turbines  is located in the Coquimbo region, while Laja hydropower plant in the Biobio region. The latter commenced operations in 2015.

More recently, Engie announced that it will appoint a new CEO in September as it transitions toward renewable energy in the coming months. Engie Chairman Jean-Pierre Clamadieu, told a local media, “We want the CEO job to be filled by year-end, which implies choosing the right candidate in September.”

The company is also working with Huisman Geo, EBN and TNO to explore a new drilling technique, media reports said. However, the exact location for the activity will be announced in 2021.

The post Engie commissions solar module testing facility in Chile appeared first on International Finance.

It is reported that the company plans to introduce renewable energy into its energy mix by foraying into  building and operating six solar projects at six locations in the country. These locations include Vanderbijlpark, Newcastle, Vereeniging, Pretoria, Thabazimbi, and Saldanha.

The company said in a statement, “The power plants in Vanderbijlpark will have a capacity of 10 MW and 100 MW, while the other sites will each have 10 MW plants. Land for the photovoltaic plants will be made available by ArcelorMittal South Africa for the PPIs.”

Also, the solar projects in Vanderbijlpark will have power supply capacities of 10 MW and 100 MW. That said,   other sites will have projects with a capacity of 10 MW each, media reports said. Also, successful bidders for these projects will be expected to conduct feasibility studies, environmental impact assessments,, applying for permits and sourcing finances for the projects. The scope of work will also include engineering, procurement, and construction work.

The post ArcelorMittal seeks to build six solar projects in South Africa appeared first on International Finance.

The 20-year power purchase agreement will commence in 2022. It is reported that the energy will come from the Rio de Vento facility. The facility comprises 504MW of wind farms in Rio Grande do Norte state.

Casa Dos Ventos, told the media, “This acquisition represents the largest volume of purchase of renewable energy with self-production carried out directly between a consumer and an energy generator in the country.” The company is highly regarded for corporate renewable energy contracts.

Anglo American seeks to use renewable energy sources for energy consumption by 2022. With that, it plans to reduce global carbon dioxide emissions by 30 percent by 2030.

Also, Brazil had approved 446 MW of renewable energy plants to commence operations in May. It added 493.81 MW of new capacity during the same period, with wind, solar and biomass contributing 90 percent of the energy, media reports said.

More specifically, wind parks generated 220 MW of the total energy, while biomass and solar generated 126 MW and 100 MW each. According to data from Generation Information System (SIGA), wind parks account for 9.03 percent of the country’s total installed capacity, while solar represents 16 percent of it.

The post Anglo American to purchase Brazil’s Casa dos Ventos’ wind power appeared first on International Finance.