Massive £800m solar farm applies for development consent
Photovolt Development Partners has submitted a development application for its major 840MW Botley West solar farm in Oxfordshire.
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Energy transition akin to Industrial Revolution – Centrica speaks out on scale of challenge
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The energy transition requires the sector to grapple with the Fifth Industrial Revolution.
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Grok breathes new life into HVDC export plan to Singapore
The first priority is to secure regulatory approvals. SunCable will apply to the Singapore Energy Market Authority (EMA) to secure an import licence later this month.
Wheels begin to turn for Coega Green Ammonia
SLR said there would be a “blend” of renewable energy resources in order to provide power 24 hours a day.
Alberta’s too successful renewable model hits the rails
Statistics Canada reported recently that Alberta’s energy prices rose by 127.8% in July, compared with the same month in 2022.
First Solar discloses slavery issue at Malaysian plant
Foreign migrant workers had been “subjected to unethical recruitment including the payment of recruitment fees in their home countries, passport retention, and the unlawful retention of wages”.
Africa’s delayed manufacturing revolution
“As a result, market confidence in South Africa’s utility-scale public procurement appears too low to underpin industrial and inclusive development on its own,” the report said.
Turning sunlight into hydrogen with record-breaking efficiency
A team of Rice Uni engineers claim they can successfully turn sunlight into hydrogen with record-breaking efficiency in a single and apparently durable, cost-effective and scalable device.
Europe is set for a record solar summer and is wasting it
The European Union should take steps to stop the waste of solar energy and limit negative pricing in order to encourage investment, according to renewable energy groups.
Asia’s industry calls for renewables, despite challenges
“The issue these days with banking is not so much that there isn’t interest, but it’s more about how it’s structured. Smaller developers don’t know how to access these frameworks.”
Financing and fossil fuels in Africa’s energy transition
“It’s transition on our own terms, with our own resources. We need to get smarter about how we articulate that, not as victims, or as people to be allowed to do things,” said Yvonne Ike, head of sub-Saharan Africa at Bank of America. “We need to work with the countries that get it, so from the Gulf, from Asia.”
BP Hydrogen Hub: Planning docs set out proposed Aberdeen site
Documents have set out in detail the location and proposals for the solar farm and production facility in the south of Aberdeen.
WATT competes for Nigeria’s generation hopes
“Diesel may win out as being the easy choice,” Alexander said, but it poses other challenges around maintenance and lifespan. “When we started, the conversation around diesel was on cutting costs – and we are still able to do that. We can offer 30-40% cost savings.”
£4m funding set to fire up UK space-based solar industry
The UK government has announced a new multi-million funding package to help develop technologies for the space-based solar power sector.
Solar power investment set to surpass oil production spending this year
Investors will pour more money into solar power than in oil production this year for the first time, signaling the scale and speed of the transition to low-carbon sources of energy.
IFC’s magical thinking distorted the case for solar in Africa
Emery said that senior leaders at the IFC had undermined the “ambitious and thoughtfully designed” plan through a desire to “tell a magical story where a pinch of best practices and a dash of de-risking” would be enough to unlock the required financing.
Rise of solar panels brings giant waste problem
Solar panel technology has come a long way over the past 40-50 years, however, it is clear that effective, comprehensive global recycling is not.
Xlinks signs up Abu Dhabi funding for ambitious Morocco-UK link
The project could create 10,000 jobs in Morocco during construction, of which 2,000 will be permanent. In the UK, Xlinks believes it could create 1,350 permanent jobs.
Humza Yousaf: Floating solar power has ‘significant potential’ for Scotland
Floating solar panels are to be installed in the waters off Scotland for the first time this year - with First Minister Humza Yousaf insisting the technology has "significant potential".
South Africa denies bending rules on REIPPPP
The first five bidders, named in December, were to build 860 MW of capacity. The ministry was seeking 1,000 MW. The DMRE said the IPP office and the bid adjudication committee had recommended Ngonyama.
TotalEnergies brings in QatarEnergy to unlock Iraq deal
Plans took a long time to progress because of a difference of opinions over terms and shareholding. Iraq had pushed for a higher stake in the project. Initially, its interest was to be held by the Iraq National Oil Co. (INOC), this was abolished in September 2022.
Goldman sees China nearly tripling its target for wind and solar
China is likely to install nearly three times more wind turbines and solar panels by 2030 than it’s current target, helping drive the world’s biggest fuel importer toward energy self-sufficiency, according to Goldman Sachs Group.
Abu Dhabi bank first out of the blocks to target emissions
FAB is aiming to reduce scope one to three emissions in the oil and gas sector by 7 to 15% by 2030, from a 2021 baseline.
Sonelgaz seeks EPC contractors for solar PV tender
“Our country has, in addition to the advantages in the energy sources from gas and oil, significant potential in the field of solar energy, a vast electricity network, and national and international natural gas transport infrastructure, as well as an industrial fabric”, he said.
Investors eager for clean tech risk, despite challenges
Shell Ventures principal Bilal Ahmad said he saw more opportunity in “clean energy than I see in oil and gas. As a venture fund, we’ve ceased investing in oil and gas. It doesn’t make sense, from a returns perspective.”
South Africa bails out Eskom, cuts tax for private power
The government has said it is keen to establish – with Eskom, Treasury and the Department of Public Enterprises – a means to build new transmission infrastructure. This would allow more private sector participation in transmission, it said.
Grid by community grid, Zola targets the world’s power problem
Zola is now operating in 12 countries, which Lenihan described as “enough markets for now”. The current priority is to build up relevance in the countries where it is now.
