IEA, ECB and EIB highlight importance of an accelerated clean energy transition for Europe’s industrial competitiveness and financial stability

29.09.2023

solar , vetar , oie — Photo-illustration: Freepik (freepik)

Photo-illustration: Unsplash (Appolinary Kalashnikova)

The heads of the European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) are today calling on leaders from government, finance and industry across Europe to deliver a clean energy transition which is just, swift and maintains competitiveness.

Ministers, ambassadors, business leaders, central bankers and other key stakeholders are gathering at the IEA’s headquarters in Paris for the high-level conference. In opening remarks to delegates, ECB President Christine Lagarde, EIB President Werner Hoyer and IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol will issue a call to action to accelerate the clean energy transition.

In the face of severe disruption in global energy markets, Europe must scale up funding to support an orderly transition and position itself among other industrial heavyweights in the new energy economy. In the IEA’s pathway for the global energy sector to reach net zero emissions by 2050, annual clean energy investment in the European Union needs to rise significantly by 2030.

The ECB’s second economy wide climate stress test finds that frontloading clean energy investment significantly reduces medium-term costs and risks for firms and households. But besides geopolitical tension and high inflation, private sector investment faces a number of market barriers including policy uncertainty and lengthy permitting procedures that delay projects, deter investors and lead to cost overruns for developers.

European industry also finds itself at a competitive disadvantage regarding the price of energy. Compared with other regions, these prices are relatively high, and ambitious industrial programmes are being introduced in countries such as the United States, China, India, Japan and Korea to build up domestic supply chains, resource security and manufacturing capacity. Accelerating energy transition investment will help Europe limit dependence on major fossil-fuel producers and often volatile fuel markets.

The European Union has committed to spending at least 30 percent of its 2021-2027 budget on climate action. And development finance institutions such as the EIB have an important role to play in providing support for clean energy projects to crowd-in private sector engagement. For every euro spent by the EIB on its energy operations, it attracts a further 1.4 euros from the private sector. The EIB has already raised its financing for clean energy projects to unprecedented levels, and recently announced an additional 45 billion euros, on top of its regular lending volumes. This will go to supporting renewables and state-of-the art manufacturing in strategic net-zero industries to help accelerate the transition. Having already ceased all financing to unabated fossil fuels, the EU bank is well on track to support one trillion in climate and environmental sustainability investment this decade.

Today’s conference will discuss how policies and financial instruments can unlock further investment. Given the vast investments required, it will be important to pave the way for better access to funding. This includes steps to establish a green capital market union (CMU) to help finance – earmarked for the clean energy transition – flow seamlessly across borders. Such a union will also provide a robust yardstick for sustainable finance projects and help eliminate greenwashing practices. The clean energy transition can only succeed in an environment of price stability. Moreover, in its commitment to support an orderly transition, the ECB has taken decisive steps to integrate climate change considerations into its monetary policy framework and financial stability monitoring.

Source: IEA

ABB and Export Development Canada agree on global partnership for financing clean tech projects

28.09.2023

Photo-illustration: Freepik (rawpixel.com)

ABB and Export Development Canada (EDC), Canada’s export credit agency, have signed a global partnership to promote investments in sustainable technologies and projects in Canada and around the world. The support provided by EDC, with a total limit of up to 2.9 billion US dollars, will provide ABB’s customers with financing and insurance solutions to strategic electrification and automation projects in the sectors of clean technologies, advanced manufacturing, digital technologies, and resources of the future. Commercial financing will be provided on a project-by-project basis and the partnership will initially run for three years.

ABB CFO Timo Ihamuotila said: “I am very pleased about our partnership with EDC and their trust in ABB as a global technology leader in electrification and automation. This partnership enhances our value proposition to customers and is fully in line with our purpose to enable a more sustainable and resource-efficient future. It will offer our customers and us the opportunity to further invest in sustainable technologies and – in doing so – to contribute actively to reaching decarbonization goals in various industries’’.

The partnership aims to foster investments globally and locally in Canada both through ABB’s customer projects and within the company’s own operations. EDC will finance and provide insurance to customer projects across the ABB portfolio, from electrification, motion, process automation to robotics and discrete automation.

,,EDC is committed to supporting large multinational companies, like ABB, that have strong anchors in Canada and are focused on building an innovative, equitable and sustainable economy,” said Sven List, Senior Vice President, Corporate and International Group, EDC. “Extensive capital is required to transition to more sustainable practices and develop greener products and services. Together we will play an important role in developing Canada’s contribution to global sustainability and address pressing issues like climate change’’.

A specific focus will be on strategic investments in technologies and solutions with growth potential, such as green hydrogen production, sustainable transport solutions or the electrification of today’s fossil-based activities to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. Collaboration with innovative Canadian start-ups is also an essential topic under the umbrella of the partnership with EDC. With over 100 years of technological innovation in Canada, ABB’s success in Canada is driven by 3,100 talented employees in 29 locations from coast to coast.

Source: ABB

RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES ARE THE WAY OUT OF THE ENERGY CRISIS

27.09.2023

sunce-klimatske-promene — Foto-ilustracija: Pixabay

The energy crisis showed us how vulnerable we are and how fragile our energy safety is. The war in Ukraine, which caused an unprecedented increase in electricity prices, exposed all the flaws in the electricity pricing system. It forced the entire continent to develop new plans to quickly energy independence so that a similar crisis would never happen to us again. We spoke with Maja Pokrovac, director of RES Croatia (OIE Hrvatska), about what Croatia is doing to overcome the current situation and how much attention the country pays to renewable energy sources.

What is Croatia doing to find a way out of the energy crisis?

In this crisis, Croatia fared better than many countries thanks to developed renewable energy projects, mostly hydroelectric power plants. However, due to the increase in electricity prices, the government of the Republic of Croatia, like other EU countries, implemented special measures such as capping the electricity and heat prices. Furthermore, it adopted measures for developing renewable energy sources, including the abolition of VAT on solar panels. At the same time, this crisis has once again confirmed that only energy produced within the state’s borders can ensure protection from external influences.

With the passing of the Electricity Market Act and the Renewable Energy Sources Act, deadlines for completing relevant administrative processes have been shortened. How does that look in practice, and how fast are renewable energy sources projects implemented?

Photo-illustration: Unsplash (Karsten Würth)

Both acts brought big and significant changes to the RES sector in Croatia. Energy approval has become the first important step in project development, in contrast to the former system where energy approval consequently came after the project was almost developed. According to the new Electricity Market Act, this is a key tool of the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development in developing and managing the energy sector. The government introduced significant changes regarding the duration of the project development. Before, a project could last over 10 years, but now it is limited by law to a maximum of five. The time given to fulfil the prerequisites for connection to the power grid has been significantly shortened, and it has now been reduced to three months compared to last year because the requirements have been met for the Croatian transmission system operator to hand over part of its operations to external authorized and certified companies. Opportunities for innovative business formats have also been created. And for the first time, the law introduced electromobility as an important part of the country’s energy transition. After the law’s passing, key by-laws and other regulations were missing, so the development of renewable energy projects could not be implemented at the expected pace.

There were no known rules on the criteria for conducting a public tender for issuing energy permits, which investors often complained about. Thanks to transitional provisions of the new law, it was possible to complete all serious RES projects. Thus, 87 energy approvals with a total power of 2,132MW were issued. Their implementation should begin soon, which means that in the next five years, we will have 2,000MW of energy produced by new RES facilities.

IN FOCUS:

What is our region’s position in the RES segment compared to the rest of Europe?

Photo-illustration: Freepik (@
Oleksandr Ryzhkov)

In terms of the region, it is often associated with great potential. Solar has the strongest potential because it does not depend on location, and each location has insolation far greater than any country in northwest Europe. Indeed, this potential is huge and can put the entire region on the map of those countries which achieved energy independence with the help of renewable energy sources and can also export electricity.

Each country in the region is better than the other in some respects, but we all need administrative obstacles to be eliminated to accelerate the development of RES projects. We have recently published an Action Plan for the Uptake of Offshore Renewable Energy Sources in Croatia, which clearly shows that we have the potential to develop as many as 25GW od offshore wind farms. Our experts have calculated that with the development of 2,500MW of wind and 2,500MW of solar power plants, we could cover all electricity imports. However, the potential for the development of solar energy is significantly higher than that. SolarPower Europe believes Croatia can develop up to 7GW of solar projects by 2030. Croatia has abundant geothermal deposits, and the potential for developing around 1,000MW of geothermal projects has been estimated. We currently have only 10 MW installed. Biogas and biomass plants are also essential to us.

RES Croatia became part of the large European RE-Source platform dedicated to the development of PPA contracts in the European Union. At the same time, Croatia was also included in the PPA statistics for the first time. What changes do PPA contracts bring in Croatia?

Croatian companies sign PPA contracts and receive inquiries for concluding new contracts almost daily. Power purchase agreements (PPAs) are extremely important to the entire energy system and benefit everyone. Companies that are large electricity consumers sign long-term contracts with renewable energy producers on the purchase of electricity at pre agreed prices. It enables producers of energy from renewable sources to safely sell produced electricity and customers to supply green energy at an agreed price safely. This way, companies can more easily plan their annual expenses without contemplating whether a crisis would hit them.

Prepared by: Milica Radičević

Read the story in the new issue of the Energy portal Magazine RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES

THE MT-KOMEX COMPANY EXPANDED BUSINESS IN BIH

24.09.2023

solarni-paneli-solar — Photo-illustration: Unsplash (Asia Chang Yr)

Many years of experience in constructing solar power plants have positioned MT-KOMEX as a safe and reliable partner. Engineers and installers employed by the company regularly attend specially prepared trainings and have so far built and delivered equipment for numerous solar power plants on the ground and on roofs, with a total installed capacity of 60 MW. As pioneers in solar power plant construction projects in Serbia, they are always there to help with expert advice and find the best solution for each client.

The leaders of the company realized that with their knowledge and experience in this field, they could help the development of projects in the area of renewable energy sources in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is why in April of this year, the decision was made to open the company MT-KOMEX BH.

This area’s market is developing very quickly and has great potential, as needs in terms of energy and investments in renewable energy sources. BiH certainly requires its energy capacities in the production of clean electricity to stop using coal for energy production. As they are in the pre-accession arrangement for membership in the European Union, they must work to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, and they can achieve this by phasing out the use of fossil fuels. The logical sequence of events is the transition to clean energy.

IN FOCUS:

‘’Solar and wind energy are our chance to switch to green energy, and I see a lot of room for progress there. The problem in BiH is numerous legal regulations and regulations. It significantly complicates the entire procedure of obtaining all the permits required to construct a solar power plant, which significantly complicates the way for all potential investors’’, explains Radoslav Marić, director of MT-KOMEX BH.

The Law does not regulate the prosumer category in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and this deters people from investing in small solar power plants. At the same time, the situation is somewhat better in the Republic of Srpska. Still, Marić believes that the laws and measures that have been adopted are not sufficiently encouraging for ordinary citizens.

He hopes that the legal regulations will be changed and that the authorities will follow the examples of the Republic of Serbia and the Republic of Croatia, which recognized the importance of the prosumer concept by adopting the Law on the Use of Renewable Energy Sources. The fact that the number of small solar power plants doubled last year shows that this segment of the Law is also well-regulated.

Complicated procedure

Different legal procedures in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, at the level of Republika Srpska and in Brčko District, cause headaches for potential investors in solar power plants. Marić says that the company saw that it could help in this segment, and that’s where they recognized their chance.

‘’We offer, so to speak, a complete package of services. It practically means that the company’s expert team does everything, from idea to implementation. So we issue all the necessary permits, work on the project’s development, and obtain all the necessary approvals. We actually do the entire project, the whole administrative part, and then realize it according to the turnkey system. It is one of the rare and unique offers in Bosnia and Herzegovina’’, Marić explains.

Numerous investors are ready to invest in solar power plants in this country; projects are being prepared for solar power plants, both on the ground and on the roof. The engineers and installers of the company MT-KOMEX BH are ready for all the challenges that business brings to them in Bosnia and Herzegovina and to help every client construct a solar power plant.

Prepared by: Milica Radičević

Read the story in the new issue of the Energy portal Magazine RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES

Stepping up in renewables towards energy stability

23.09.2023

Alessandro Bragonzi, Head of Regional Hub for the Western Balkans, one of the participants in the OIE Serbia 2023 conference, organized by the Association of Renewable Energy Sources of Serbia, wrote for OIE Serbia about renewable sources, the increase of which leads to energy stability.

With cold season approaching, European economies are reevaluating their energy plans, hoping for equally mild winter temperatures as in 2022, even though a lot has been achieved to shore up the energy security, independence and foster the path to decarbonisation. Thanks to the REPowerEU plan, wind and solar generated a record one fifth of EU electricity in 2022 (22 percent), for the first time overtaking fossil gas (20 percent), and remaining above coal power (16 percent), according to the European Electricity Review.

Accompanying infrastructure to enable expansion of renewables

Despite the progress, vulnerabilities in the energy sector remain. Clean energy investments on a global scale need a threefold increase by 2023, if we are to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. Public spending constraints make progress even more challenging. Investments are also hindered by higher upfront expenditures, making the cost of funding a crucial variable for investors, even if this is offset over time by lower operating costs.

Expanding transmission and distribution capacity, building interconnections, and bolstering energy storage capabilities to improve grid flexibility will be key determinants for achieving EU renewable targets of 45 percent by 2030. The European Commission estimates that investments of 584 billion euros will be needed. The International Energy Agency indicates that up to a record 2.6 trillion euros will be invested in energy in 2023.

Climate change and the accompanying extreme weather events may seriously impair these ambitions, insofar as causing severe damages to power lines and energy supply. On top of that, heat waves are increasing the demand for energy for cooling, which represents 10 percent of global electricity demand on average, reaching up to 50 percent in some countries. Prolonged droughts are also responsible for water shortages which are directly affecting hydropower and other electricity production capacities. In 2022, due to extreme droughts across Europe, hydropower generation was the lowest in over two decades.

Initiative for coal regions in transition

In the Western Balkans, fossil fuels still account for around three quarters of primary energy supply and energy intensity of GDP is still relatively high. When you look at the technical issues associated with the operation of coal plants, high electricity prices, but also the impact of drought on hydropower and the cost of biomass, the pressure to shift to a more secure and diversified energy strategy becomes clear. However, due to limited financial resources and unstable investment climates, the financing renewable energy projects can be challenging, especially for countries with weaker economies.

Further support of policy makers, enhanced public-private collaborations, targeted investments and technological advancements will be decisive going forward. The EU is providing ongoing support for the regional energy transition through the EU accession process that harmonises energy policies, facilitates cross-border projects and fosters market integration.

The Western Balkans is also part of the EU’s Initiative for Coal Regions in transition that helps countries move towards a carbon-neutral economy, while ensuring that this transition remains just. Thirteen NUTS-2 regions have been identified as eligible, including Kostolac, Kolubara, Obrenovac and Pomoravlje in Serbia. The country also benefits from the EU energy support package allocated to the Western Balkans in 2022, with an individual allocation of 165 million euros provided for Serbian citizens and companies as response to energy crisis.

Increasing financing targets for green investments

As the EU Bank, the EIB Group is contributing to this just and inclusive transformation through clean energy investments, as key enablerof the REPowerEU plan. In July 2023, the bank approved an increase by 50 percent of the financing targets of the original EIB commitment, thus aiming to achieve up to 45 billion euros until 2027 under this initiative. This additional financing is expected to mobilise over 150 billion euros in new green investments, helping Europe cut its carbon emissions to net zero by 2050.

In the Western Balkans, EIB Global aims to help utilities decarbonize their energy production and to back transmission systems operators in their efforts to integrate renewables in modernised electricity grids. Along with large-scale energy infrastructure, it is providing financing for SMEs and local municipalities for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects through dedicated credit lines available at commercial banks.

Alongside European Commission, the bank will continue to help drive forward EU initiatives, including the Economic and Investment Plan, the Global Gateway and the Green Deal which entail substantial funds towards more secure and sustainable energy system in the region.

Author: Alessandro Bragonzi, Head of Regional Hub for the Western Balkans

Lagging policy support and rising cost pressures put investment plans for low-emissions hydrogen at risk

22.09.2023

variety-wonderful-abstract-forms-with-oil-water — Foto-ilustracija: Freepik (freepik)

Momentum behind low-emissions hydrogen continues to grow despite the slow roll-out of financial incentives and stubborn cost pressures that threaten to delay projects, a new IEA report says today. But production levels can still increase substantially by 2030 if all announced projects are realised and greater efforts are made on encouraging uptake.

The number of announced projects for low emissions hydrogen continues to expand rapidly while more than 40 countries worldwide have set out national hydrogen strategies to date. Yet, installed capacity and volumes remain low as developers wait for government support before making investments. As such, low-emissions hydrogen still accounts for less than one percent of overall hydrogen production and use, according to the latest edition of the IEA’s annual Global Hydrogen Review 2023.

Against the backdrop of a global energy crisis, high inflation and supply chain disruptions, new projects face rising costs, at least temporarily, that threaten long-term profitability. Inflation and more expensive borrowing costs are affecting the entire hydrogen value chain, driving up financing costs for developers and reducing the impact of government support. This confluence of factors is particularly detrimental for an industry that faces high upfront costs related to equipment manufacturing, construction and installation.

Despite economic headwinds, deployment of electrolysers is beginning to accelerate. By the end of 2022, electrolyser capacity for hydrogen production reached almost 700 MW. Based on projects that have reached final investment decision or are under construction, total capacity could more than triple to 2GW by the end of 2023, with China accounting for half of this. If all announced projects are realised, a total of 420GW could be achieved by 2030, an increase of 75 percent compared to the IEA’s 2022 review.

“We have seen incredible momentum behind low-emissions hydrogen projects in recent years, which could have an important role to play in energy-intensive sectors such as chemicals, refining and steel,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol. “But a challenging economic environment will now test the resolve of hydrogen developers and policymakers to follow through on planned projects. Greater progress is needed on technology, regulation and demand creation to ensure low-emissions hydrogen can realise its full potential.”

Beyond the challenges facing manufacturers and developers, the report also finds that efforts to stimulate demand for low emissions hydrogen are lagging behind what is needed to meet climate ambitions. Hydrogen use globally reached 95 million tonnes in 2022, an increase of nearly three percent compared with the previous year. There was strong demand growth in all major consuming regions except Europe, which suffered a hit to industrial activity due to the sharp increase in natural gas prices. However, uptake of low emissions hydrogen remains very limited, accounting for only 0.6 percent of total hydrogen demand. As a result, hydrogen production and use in 2022 released some 900 million tonnes of CO2 to the atmosphere.

The report outlines how low-emissions hydrogen can be an opportunity for countries to boost their economies for the future by creating new industrial supply chains. Government funding programmes are already available through schemes such as the US Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit, the European Union’s Important Projects of Common European Interest, and the UK Low Carbon Hydrogen Business Model. However, the lengthy time lags between policy announcements and implementation are causing developers to delay projects.

Annual production of low-emissions hydrogen could reach 38 million tonnes per year in 2030, if all announced projects are realised, with almost three quarters of it coming from electrolysers running on renewable energy and the remainder using fossil fuels with carbon capture, utilisation and storage. The best prospects for low-emissions hydrogen use are in hard-to-abate industrial sectors, by replacing hydrogen produced from unabated fossil fuels, but progress has been slow. The lack of attention to hydrogen demand creation is illustrated in existing country commitments. The sum of all government targets for low-emissions hydrogen production accounts for up to 35 million tonnes today, but targets for creating demand account for just 14 million tonnes, only half of which is focused on existing hydrogen uses. Direct purchase agreements with private sector consumers are beginning to emerge but remain at a very small scale.

The report suggests several steps for governments to reduce risk and improve the economic feasibility of low-emissions hydrogen such as effective delivery of support schemes, bolder action to stimulate demand, and addressing market barriers such as licensing and permitting. Moreover, establishing international markets in hydrogen requires cooperation to develop common standards, regulations and certifications.

Source: IEA

INVESTING IN RENEWABLE ENERGY POWER PLANTS

20.09.2023

hidroelektrana — Foto-ilustracija: Unsplash (T L PlbeyaME7Jk)

Photo: courtesy of professor Milenko Đurić

In this article, I will focus only on those electricity sources that use renewable energy, which I know relatively well. These are small hydroelectric power plants, wind farms, solar power plants and power plants that use biomass that they burn directly or generate gas from biomass, mainly used by piston engines with internal combustion.

The basic feature of the first three types of power plants is the great variability of available power. The available power at these power plants is stochastic and can only be partially predicted. It means that the power system to which these power plants are connected must at all times have a working reserve that is at least equal to the power currently generated by small hydropower plants, wind farms and solar power plants. In other words, the installed power in the base part of the power system cannot be reduced at the expense of the installed power in power plants that use renewable energy sources. Power plants that use renewable energy sources can save energy that would otherwise have to be supplied by the base part of the power system. It reduces the consumption of coal, gas and fuel oil in thermal power plants, as well as the release of unwanted gases into the atmosphere.

IN FOCUS:

Given that funds must be invested in constructing power plants that use renewable energy, the number of MWs installed in the power system has been increasing. It leads to a higher fixed part in calculating the electricity price. The variable part in the calculation is zero for these power plants because the energy of water, wind and sun is free. However, the price of electricity in a power system with renewable energy power plants must be higher than in the same power system without renewable energy power plants because the number of installed MWs in such a power system is higher. The price of electricity in thermal power plants depends a lot on the fuel price (coal, oil, and gas). The increase in the prices of these fuels goes in favour of power plants that use renewable energy because their fuel is practically free.

Power plants that use biomass as fuel have less variability in available power. In this respect, these power plants are better than the previous three types. However, biomass must be collected from large areas of arable or other land and delivered to the power plant, incurring transportation, storage, and biogas production costs.

professor PhD Milenko Đurić

Read the story in the new issue of the Energy portal Magazine RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES

WHY SHOULD WE ALL USE SOLAR ENERGY

17.09.2023

solar-solarna-elektrana — Photo-illustration: Unsplash (Andreas Gucklhorn)

We are all witnesses that the climate is changing faster and that global warming threatens the very survival of the planet and all its inhabitants. Research confirms that humans are to blame for all of this. If we cause the problem, we are the only ones who can offer a solution.

How to translate our words into action? Is it possible for us as individuals to do something really significant about it?

The answer is “yes”; it is possible. One of the key ways is to be determined to start using renewable energy sources.

Sun-generated energy

Solar energy is one of the biggest and inexhaustible sources of green energy. People have been using it for more than 2,000 years. The ancient Greeks and Romans used concave mirrors to direct the sun’s rays onto a target and set fire to enemy ships. Today, instead of mirrors, we have photovoltaic solar panels and systems that absorb sunlight and generate electricity, which we then use to supply households, power cars, production plants and even entire cities.

How can we become users of solar energy? First of all, we need to become aware of all the benefits of its use.

IN FOCUS:

Bank as an advisor and financial supporter

Having understood why solar energy is the energy of the future, the next step is the investment. We learned from Marina Mijić, Head of the Energy Efficiency and Environmental Unit at ProCredit Bank, that using solar panels and solar systems is no longer science fiction for us.

“Someone might wonder why people from our bank took it to explain why and how to invest in renewable energy sources, specifically solar. The answer is simple – ProCredit Bank has been actively engaged in green investments for more than a decade. The green loan portfolio already makes up almost 20 per cent of the total portfolio of ProCredit Group.

Our team consists of available environmental protection experts who know every step of the solar investment process. They can explain to you why it is good to invest in solar systems, what exactly you and your household get from it and what the benefits are for nature. They can also explain the financial construction in detail and give you the proper justification for the investment but also recommend adequate manufacturers and subcontractors with the best performance. Because we are committed to environmental protection as an institution, we have developed an appropriate organizational framework to support it. Our special department deals with environmental protection and renewable energy sources. Although massive investments in renewable energy sources have been made recently, we have been doing it for a decade, and we can say that our banking advisors have good expertise in this area of financing. Implementing solar technologies in households will immediately show its good sides, while the justification for the investment will be more than obvious in the long run. The maturity of the return on the investment has decreased significantly, almost halved, so you should take advantage of the current market opportunities and invest in something that helps us and everyone around us,” says Ms Mijić.

ProCredit Bank

Read the story in the new issue of the Energy portal Magazine RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES

Stronger international cooperation in high emissions sectors crucial to get on track for 1.5°C climate goal

15.09.2023

co2-ugljen-dioksid-zagadjenje — Foto ilustracija: Pexels

Foto-ilustracija: Pixabay (SailingOnChocolateRoses)

Insufficient progress in transitions to clean technologies and sustainable solutions over the past year highlights the need for strong and targeted international collaboration in high emissions sectors to deliver transitions that are faster, easier and cheaper for all, according to the latest Breakthrough Agenda Report.

The new report – an annual collaboration between the International Energy Agency (IEA), the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the United Nations Climate Change High-Level Champions – shows that current efforts on clean energy and sustainable solutions, while improving, are not yet delivering the levels of investment and deployment required to meet international climate goals. In response, it calls on governments to strengthen collaboration in key areas – such as standards and regulation, financial and technical assistance and market creation – to turbocharge the transition.

Released on the eve of Climate Week NYC, the report examines the advances made and actions needed to meet the goals of the Breakthrough Agenda, a commitment signed by 48 countries representing close to 80 percent of global economic output since it was first launched at COP26 in Glasgow in 2021, and which announced a Partnership with the UAE COP28 Presidency in January 2023.

The annual process aims to align actions by countries to make clean technologies and sustainable solutions the most affordable, accessible and attractive option in each of five key sectors: power, road transport, steel, hydrogen and agriculture. The scope of coverage has been expanded in this year’s edition of the report to also cover buildings and cement. Collectively, these seven sectors account for more than 60 percent of global GHG emissions, while the focus of the Agriculture Breakthrough also addresses issues around climate adaptation, nature and food security.

The second annual report assesses progress made since 2022 in priority areas for international collaboration, and sets out a series of recommendations for countries to work together in each sector to help reduce emissions over the next decade and stave off the worst effects of climate change. The report shows how the transition to clean energy and sustainable solutions is accelerating across many sectors, with unprecedented expansion in technologies such as electric vehicles and solar PV. It highlights that electric passenger cars are set to account for 18 percent of total car sales in 2023, while investment in clean energy technologies is significantly outpacing spending on fossil fuels. But other high emissions and hard-to-abate sectors such as steel, hydrogen and agriculture are not transitioning quickly enough despite encouraging progress in some areas.

The report’s recommendations span financial assistance, research and development, demand-creation, infrastructure, standards and trade, to accelerate the transition in each sector. Coordinated actions in each of the seven sectors will help mobilise investment, and can create the economies of scale required to bring down the price of crucial technologies and sustainable agriculture solutions.

The report found that in the past year, only modest progress has been made in strengthening international collaboration in the areas where it is most needed. Progress has been made in expanding financial assistance to developing countries in some sectors, and in joint research and development initiatives. But much more progress is needed in aligning policies to create demand for clean technologies, and in establishing dialogue on trade in sectors where this is likely to be critical to the transition. In most sectors, participation in the leading initiatives for practical cooperation still falls short of a majority of the global market.

The report argues that greater political commitment is needed to progress from softer forms of collaboration, such as sharing best practice, to harder forms such as alignment of standards and policies, which are more difficult but can yield greater gains in mobilising investment and accelerating deployment.

Source: IEA

ABB invests in strategic partnership with clean energy start-up to offer end-to-end wind energy portfolio

13.09.2023

ABB Motion and WindESCo, have signed a strategic partnership, where ABB has acquired a minority stake in the company through its venture capital unit, ABB Technology Ventures (ATV). US-based WindESCo is the leading analytics software provider for improving the performance and reliability of wind turbines. Leveraging WindESCo’ solutions, the investment will strengthen ABB’s position as a key enabler of a low carbon society and its position in the renewable power generation sector. It will allow the company to continuously improve wind turbines’ performance and reliability, offer end-to-end solutions to wind customers and open a new market channel for its digital offering. Financial details of the investment were not disclosed.

ABB is a leading independent supplier of wind converters for medium voltage and low voltage wind turbines. WindESCo has around 25 employees and works with 40 customers on projects in 18 countries. It has developed a market leading OEM agnostic asset performance monitoring software to detect anomalies in wind turbines, propose corrective actions and measure their results. The company has also developed a wake optimization solution that leverages data across a wind plant to optimize plant output. With their combined offering, ABB and WindESCo can now offer a complete solution approach to customers. WindESCo will be able to leverage ABB’s electrical domain expertise to further strengthen its software offering, while ABB closes a gap in its wind portfolio by adding a digital offering to the already digitally enabled wind converters.

“This strategic venture capital investment allows us to strengthen our market position supporting the energy transition and continue to shift our portfolio of customer solutions towards renewables and decarbonization. It will complement ABB’s wind portfolio with a strong digital offering by WindESCo, that enables both companies to leverage their strong presence in the growing wind market. This win-win transaction will offer a holistic solution approach to our customer bases, and it will expand the service offering by ABB Motion. We look forward to developing new synergies with the talented team at WindESCo,” commented Chris Poynter, President, System Drives division, ABB Motion.

Foto-ilustracija: Unsplash (Grahame Jenkins)

Mo Dua, CEO, and founder of WindESCo, said: “There is tremendous value locked in the wind turbine converter data. While most of the solutions have focused on the mechanical systems, there are no solutions having a meaningful impact on the electrical system. The equity investment by ABB and our technical collaboration will allow WindESCo to expand its offering to the wind turbine electrical system with the goal of being the leading comprehensive asset performance monitoring solution provider for the wind industry. We are glad ABB chose WindESCo as their digitization partner.”

The partnership helps expand ABB’s ecosystem of innovation partners developing solutions that support decarbonization and energy efficiency. Since 2009 ABB has made investments of around 400 million dollars from its capital venture arm that are aligned with its electrification, robotics, automation and motion portfolio.

ABB is a technology leader in electrification and automation, enabling a more sustainable and resource efficient future. The company’s solutions connect engineering know-how and software to optimize how things are manufactured, moved, powered and operated. Building on more than 130 years of excellence, ABB’s ~105,000 employees are committed to driving innovations that accelerate industrial transformation. www.abb.com

WindESCo’s mission is to ensure that every wind turbine produces as much energy as possible, through improved performance, reliability, and/or plant-level control. Maintaining a hyperfocus on wind energy WindESCo is actively addressing the industry’s technical pain points driving an increase in profit margins. The company’s platform is actively optimizing wind plants covering 21 turbine OEMs, 74 turbine models in 18 countries.

Source: ABB

SIGNIFICANCE AND APPLICATION OF ESG PRINCIPLES IN THE REAL ESTATE SECTOR

13.09.2023

Image-by-Q-K-from-Pixabay — Photo-illustration: Pixabay (Q K)

The Novaston company plans and aligns Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) activities with its general goals. They recently published a Guide to real estate development: an example of office space, which they worked on together with the law firm Gecić Law.

Mia Zečević, general director of the Novaston company, says that within the guide, an entire chapter is dedicated to ESG principles, their importance, and their application in the commercial real estate sector.

‘’The guide can be downloaded free of charge from our website, as well as from the website of the law office; it is available in both languages (Serbian and English). With this, we wanted to, as a socially responsible company, contribute to a better understanding of the ESG concept and principles and facilitate the entire process for investors when they decide to invest in business premises’’, Zečević points out.

On how she sees the role and development of ESG in this company as a wider business environment in the years to come, Mia Zečević says that ESG principles are no longer a matter of trend and choice. Still, their implementation in all business spheres is a key factor and a necessity for all companies. Soon it will be necessary for everyone who wants to do business with other companies in the EU market.

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‘’All banks, especially European ones, see the implementation of these principles as imperative, which is also shown by the incentives they receive from the EU. This year, most banks will perform a screening – what is green in their portfolios, which projects meet ESG standards, which meet the requirements for obtaining an energy passport, which meets the standards for LEED and BREEAM certificates and for which categories. Those companies whose projects are not aligned with ESG standards will have a different risk assessment, and it will be more difficult for them to borrow, get a development loan or a development investment’’, explained Zečević.

As for the Novaston platform, they started working on a strategy to introduce ESG principles into business. This company primarily provides services, so they are already very much up to date with everything. Following the situation, they advise clients and investors on applying ESG principles, primarily in constructing or applying them within existing buildings.

On the one hand, Novaston’s role as a renowned company is to educate clients and employees, initiate initiatives, and point out the importance of applying all these principles in business to be sustainable and scalable.

Novaston

Read the story in the new issue of the Energy portal Magazine RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES

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