Denmark’s Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities Lars Aagaard sought to reassure the offshore wind industry as he said on Monday that the government will start auctions for 9 GW of offshore wind this year.

Negotiations on the framework for these tenders are planned to begin next month, with the goal of having the capacity in operation by 2030. The turbines would supply green electricity to Denmark and Europe and could also power Danish power-to-X (PtX) projects.

In addition, the minister said the government is studying how to allow developers to build more wind turbines at the sites designated for tenders, which could increase the planned 9 GW of capacity.

“In addition to negotiating the 9 GW of offshore wind, we also need to decide in the spring how the energy island in the North Sea is to be offered to tender,” added Aagaard.

In parallel, the government is seeking a quick clarification on whether offshore wind projects under the open door scheme are in breach of EU regulations. The scheme was suspended earlier in February sparking anger from the industry. The minister admitted this creates uncertainty and said that there is a dialogue with the EU Commission at all levels.

Industry group Green Power Denmark welcomed the announcement that government tenders are getting underway but emphasised that a solution to the open-door scheme is urgently needed.

Green Power Denmark chief executive Kristian Jensen said that if the offshore wind turbines are to be spinning before 2030 and providing power for the country’s climate goals, the entire planned capacity should be offered at once and not one offshore wind farm at a time.

The planned 9 GW stems from the Climate Agreement on Green Electricity and Heat from June 2022.

Source: renewablesnow

Danish scale-up CarbonClear featured as a commitment maker at high profile Clinton Foundation event to future-proof the carbon market with their technology-powered solution.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark : At the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) 2022 meeting in New York on the 19th of September 2022, Danish scale-up CarbonClear presented their Commitment to Action: To transform the carbon market with their data-driven inclusive model for carbon credit issuance. Their commitment addresses a fast-growing carbon market developed to deliver on the goals of the Paris Agreement, but is now collapsing under the pressure of rising demand.

By leveraging data points in the CO₂ projects it funds, the CarbonClear model enables fast, reliable and cost-effective generation of third-party verified credits. Through a real-time, transparent, and secure technological infrastructure, CarbonClear provides trackable progress and connects funds with sustainable solutions. The model eliminates the heavy auditing fees that are making carbon finance inaccessible to underfunded communities today. With minimal fees and instant verification, issuance of quantifiable emission reductions happens in only 3 months – instead of the 3 years faced by the market today.

CarbonClear has already proven its transformative model through off-grid solar projects in Africa and Latin America and is planning three further technology streams to scale its inclusive value chain. With funding to scale its organisation and Advanced Market Commitment (AMC) from participants at the Clinton Global Initiative, CarbonClear will be able to consolidate its model as a new standard for carbon credits and unlock the full potential of the exponentially growing Voluntary Carbon Market, predicted to grow 100-fold by 2050.

About the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI)

The Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) convenes global and emerging leaders to create and implement solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges. CGI works with partners to drive action through its unique model. Rather than directly implementing projects, CGI facilitates action by helping members connect, collaborate, and develop Commitments to Action — new, specific, and measurable plans that address global challenges. Through CGI, the community has made more than 3,700 Commitments to Action that have made a difference in the lives of more than 435 million people in more than 180 countries.

About CarbonClear

Denmark-based technology company CarbonClear, formerly Solstroem, was founded by Karim Jabbar and Rachid Jabbar in 2018, and creates carbon finance for sustainable impact through renewable and circular capacity building. Neither a SaaS nor a digital marketplace, the CarbonClear model is a tech-powered carbon value chain that aggregates big data from data points implemented in carbon projects and issues third-party verified, traceable carbon credits that instantly become available to global buyers. The company already has partnerships with some of the largest distributors of solar home systems in Africa and the Americas, such as SunKing, ENGIE Energy Access, Zola Electric, and iluméxico, and is developing a further three technology streams; Clean Cooking, Waste to Energy, and Sanitation.

Sungrow will work with engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) company BeGreen on their first partnership in Denmark. The project is set to install 320 MW for a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) pipeline, all integrated with Sungrow’s industry-leading inverters.

Copenhagen, Denmark, June 15, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Sungrow, the global leading inverter solution supplier for renewables, is supporting EPC BeGreen on a new project pipeline of utility-scale solar PPA installations in the country. The news comes as Sungrow makes moves to expand into the Nordic countries and is the first partnership of its type between the two companies.

The project, named Brilliant, will deploy mainly utility-scale solar of 320 MWp, (258 megavolt amperes). The project is set for delivery as early as July this year, with grid connection scheduled for the final quarter of 2022.

BeGreen has chosen to integrate Sungrow’s multi-MPPT SG250HX string inverter into their projects. The SG250HX features easy installation, smart operations and maintenance as well as 12 MPPTs with maximum yield of 99% efficiency. Sungrow’s award-winning portfolio of inverters are designed for seamless integration whilst prioritising affordability and performance. An additional advantage of the SG250HX for this region is the innovative C5 coating and cooling concept with heat exchanger, which gives the system added protection and durability on sites prone to strong winds and coastal areas with salt air which is corrosive.

Director for the CEE and Nordics Region at Sungrow, Moritz Rolf, said: “We are proud to support BeGreen in the development of their utility-scale solar deployment pipeline. This is the first project pipeline of this scale for Sungrow in Denmark, a country with vast potential for further solar power generation, which offers energy security and independence and reduces carbon emissions in this vital decade for the clean energy transition. Sungrow is committed to providing clean power for all and we look forward to progressing with this project stream.”

Denmark could reach the milestone of one gigawatt of installed solar capacity this year. The country is a promising market for continued growth of the solar sector, as the world strives to phase out fossil fuels in light of the latest IPCC report findings which call for the continued scaling up of clean energy assets.

BeGreen is an EPC focused on realising their vision of building solar parks in Denmark completely without public subsidies. The company achieved this for the first time in 2019. Since then, more parks have been added, with the ambition to produce as many as 4,000 gigawatt hours of clean power every year before the end of 2025. BeGreen’s projects to date have saved 240,000 tonnes CO2e with a view to save a total of 3,400,000 tonnes CO2e by the close of 2025.

Anders Dolmer, Leading Partner at BeGreen Denmark said: “As a company, we are passionate about the green transition. We want to make a difference in cooperation with municipalities, farmers, neighbours and interest groups, so that together we can solve the climate challenge in a sustainable and acceptable way for the benefit of future generations. We want to lead the Danish way.”

Sungrow has been granted approval to commence work in the country from the Danish transmission system operator Energinet. Northern Europe represents a key market for Sungrow which has installed over 224 gigawatts of solar worldwide in its 25 years of operation.

About Sungrow

Sungrow is the world’s most bankable inverter brand with over 224 GW installed worldwide as of 2021. Founded in 1997 by University Professor Cao Renxian, Sungrow is a leader in the research and development of solar inverters, with the largest dedicated R&D team in the industry and a broad product portfolio offering PV inverter solutions and energy storage systems for utility-scale, commercial, and residential applications, as well as internationally recognized floating PV plant solutions. With a strong 25-year track record in the PV space, Sungrow products power installations in over 150 countries.

About BeGreen

BeGreen is founded on the vision of developing and building the first 100% subsidy-free commercial solar farm in Denmark, and thereby actively contributing to the green transition. The first PV plant was grid-connected in 2019.

BeGreen develops, constructs and operate solar plants for the generation of guaranteed green power without any subsidies in Denmark, Sweden and Poland. At the same time, we deliver a stable, high return to our investors and contribute to attractive electricity prices for consumers.

1. Topsoe will build the world’s most advanced industrial scale electrolyzer production plant to meet society’s need for Power-to-X solutions.

2. Topsoe’s ambition is to speed up the green energy transition with solutions that decarbonize hard to abate industries.

3. The plant will be built in Herning, Denmark. Construction work will start in second half of 2022 with expected start of operations in 2024.

4. When in operation, it will be world’s largest electrolyzer plant with 500 megawatt capacity per year and with an option to expand to 5 gigawatt.

Lyngby, Denmark: Topsoe, the global leader in decarbonization technologies, today announces its intention to construct world’s largest and most advanced industrial scale electrolyzer production plant. Topsoe’s ambition is to rapidly accelerate the adoption of green solutions in particular within Power-to-X. In this field, the company has the leading technology to decarbonize hard-to-abate sectors such as transport, chemicals, steel, and cement.

The new electrolyzer production plant, which will be constructed in Herning, Denmark, will be operational by 2024 and have an annual capacity of 500 MW with scalability up to 5 GW, making it one of the first industrial scale plants of its kind. Construction is scheduled to begin in the second half of this year, subject to Board and other regulatory approvals.

Roeland Baan, CEO at Topsoe, says:
”We are willing and able to support society’s green ambitions and the need to accelerate the energy transition, and we have the technology to do it. With our new electrolyzer production plant, we lead the way in speeding up commercial-size Power-to-X solutions, and we do it with our highly innovative technology that outmatches technologies currently in the market.”

Topsoe is already seeing considerable interest in our Power-to-X solutions and is in advanced discussion with a number of potential partners over future offtake agreements and commitments to reserve capacity from the electrolyzer plant.

Developing a strong Power-to-X industry in Europe will also enforce EU’s ambitions of being independent of energy imports from other regions. The milestone in ensuring large-scale availability of electrolyzers for Power-to-X solutions takes place at the same time as Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, and state leaders from Denmark, Germany, The Netherlands, and Belgium signed an agreement, in which the parties agree to invest in a ten-fold capacity increase of offshore wind by 2050. The political agreement ensures significant availability of the renewable power needed to supply future Power-to-X facilities in the EU.

Roeland Baan says:

“The agreement between the EU Commission and the four North Sea countries is an important step in the transition to renewable energy. At Topsoe, we are also ready to invest. Our mission as a company is to reduce society’s emissions in 2022 by 12 million tonnes of CO2. By introducing solutions to decarbonize transportation and other hard to abate-sectors, we secure significant CO2 emissions not only in 2022 but for years to come, while also moving closer to energy independence.”

Dorte West, Mayor of Herning Municipality, says:

“There has been a great interest – also internationally – to attract Topsoe’s coming manufacturing plant. The fact that a renowned company like Topsoe chooses Herning makes me happy and proud, and it tells me, that our entrepreneurial spirit and drive is broadly recognized. Sustainability is highly prioritized by the City Council and fits perfectly together with Topsoe’s Power-to-X plans that points to the future. And surely, it’s a great in terms of new jobs in the municipality of Herning.

About the production plant

• Topsoe and Herning Municipality has signed a land lease agreement.
• Capacity: The plant will have a capacity of 500 megawatt electrolyzers per year and with an option to expand to 5 gigawatt.
• The plant will produce SOEC electrolyzers – Solid Oxide Electrolyzer Cells – which have a higher energy efficiency that competing technologies.
• Size: The leased land covers an area of 72,000 m2. The production plant will cover an area of more than 200×100 meters – or 23,000 m2.
• Jobs: When fully operational, 170 people will work on the site.

About Topsoe

Founded in 1940, Topsoe is a global leader in developing solutions for a decarbonized world, supplying technology, catalysts, and services for worldwide energy transition.

Our mission is to combat climate change by helping our partners and customers achieve their decarbonization and emission-reduction targets, including those in challenging sectors: aviation, shipping, and production of crucial raw materials. From low-carbon or zero-carbon chemicals, to renewable fuels and plastic upcycling, we are uniquely positioned to aid humanity in realizing a sustainable future.

Topsoe is headquartered in Denmark, with 2,100 employees serving customers all around the globe.

Source: topsoe

While the European Union has refused to ban Russian oil and gas over the Ukraine war so far, the 27-nation bloc aims to cut its gas imports from the country by the end of the year.

Copenhagen: Denmark presented on Tuesday a roadmap to end its dependence on Russ…Read More…

Source: PTI

The Board of Directors has appointed Jens Bjerg Sørensen as new Chairman

NORDBORG, Denmark : After the Annual General Meeting of Danfoss A/S on Friday, March 25, 2022, the company conducted a board meeting. The Board of Directors constituted itself with Jens Bjerg Sørensen as Chairman.

Further information about the new chairman can be found on the company’s website.

Danfoss engineers solutions that increase machine productivity, reduce emissions, lower energy consumption, and enable electrification. Our solutions are used in such areas as refrigeration, air conditioning, heating, power conversion, motor control, industrial machinery, automotive, marine, and off- and on-highway equipment. We also provide solutions for renewable energy, such as solar and wind power, as well as district-energy infrastructure for cities.

We deliver value to our customers as a global technology partner with global leading positions, deep application knowledge and sustainable innovation in our core businesses:

Danfoss Power Solutions – Full solutions capabilities in mobile and industrial hydraulics, fluid conveyance, electrification and software
Danfoss Climate Solutions – Sustainable heating and cooling solutions for buildings, cold chains, industry and infrastructure
Danfoss Drives – Clean-energy solutions such as AC drives, power semiconductor modules, and electrification in automotive and various industries
Our innovative engineering dates back to 1933. Danfoss is family-owned, employing more than 40,000 people, serving customers in more than 100 countries through a global footprint of 95 factories.

• Haldor Topsøe AS signs €45 million loan agreement with European Investment Bank to support research into innovative green hydrogen technologies that can lead to carbon emission reductions.

• Financing will also back Haldor Topsøe’s R&D investments in new catalysts and catalytic technologies.

• The transaction is supported by the European Fund for Strategic Investments, the main pillar of the European Commission’s Investment Plan for Europe.

In line with its strategy to become the global leader in carbon emission reduction technologies by 2024, Danish technology provider Haldor Topsøe has signed a €45 million loan agreement with the EIB to support its R&D investments in that domain.

The EIB financing is supported under the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the main pillar of the European Commission’s Investment Plan for Europe. The European funding highlights the company’s commitment to developing new technologies to support a wide range of energy intensive industries in their transition towards a low-carbon future.

Roeland Baan, CEO of Haldor Topsøe, said: “Transitioning society towards clean energy solutions is vital in the battle against climate change. This funding will support our research into innovative hydrogen technologies that will ultimately enable our customers to produce low-carbon products for society. We are thankful for the funding, which is a testimony to our strong cooperation with the EIB.”

The R&D investments backed by the EIB financing support Haldor Topsøe’s ambition to develop new technologies and catalysts to assist its customers in the transition towards the increased use of renewable energy, as well as the carbon neutrality of industrial operations. In line with this goal, the company specifically focuses on R&D activities with the highest potential for reducing carbon emissions.

“The development of innovative products requires sizeable and sustained investment, and I am glad that we can once again support Haldor Topsøe’s R&D investments,” said EIB Vice-President Christian Kettel Thomsen. “Supporting this type of cutting-edge research by a European company is of strategic importance in terms of safeguarding technology and know-how, but it obviously also benefits economic growth and employment. Haldor Topsøe’s research and development tackles key challenges of our times by protecting our climate and the environment, which is fully in line with the EIB’s climate action objectives.”

A clear focus are R&D investments for the development of new catalysts, innovative hydrogen technologies and other catalytic technologies that are expected to reduce carbon emissions. Some of the most promising environmentally-friendly technologies in that regard are intended for the production of greener chemicals and renewable fuels, such as green hydrogen, green ammonia, biofuels, and electrified methanol.

Valdis Dombrovskis, European Commission Executive Vice-President responsible for an Economy that Works for People, said: “I welcome this agreement between the EIB and Danish company Haldor Topsøe AS, which benefits from a guarantee under the Investment Plan for Europe. The additional financing will go towards research to develop innovative hydrogen technologies and contribute to reducing carbon emissions. We need businesses and their innovation potential to deliver on the European Green Deal and our goal of carbon neutrality by 2050. This example is a great contribution to these efforts.”

Background Information:

In 2020, the EIB provided over €600 million in loans for Danish projects in various sectors, including services, innovative industry and small and medium-sized enterprises. The EIB has previously supported Haldor Topsøe with financing agreements signed in 2013 and 2017.

The European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) is the main pillar of the Investment Plan for Europe. It provides first loss guarantees enabling the EIB Group to invest in riskier projects. The projects and agreements approved for financing under EFSI have so far mobilised €546.5 billion in investments, benefiting over 1.4 million small and medium-sized enterprises across the European Union.

Founded in 1940, Haldor Topsøe is a world-leading technology provider and catalysis specialist. The company provides heterogeneous catalysts, as well as engineering and design services and proprietary technologies for plants using catalytic processes. Haldor Topsøe’s solutions help clients in the chemical and oil & gas industries achieve optimal performance and meet regulatory emission standards.

The group’s headquarters and main research labs are located in Lyngby, Denmark. Haldor Topsøe is a highly innovative company that frequently collaborates with the Technical University of Denmark, and whose research has been regularly published in scientific journals.

Source: eib

The Danish government said Thursday it will donate 100 million kroner (USD 15.6 million) to efforts to purchase and decommission coal power plants and invest in new energy sources.

“As part of our comprehensive climate efforts, the Danish government is working to phase out coal while also investing massively in new green energy sources,” Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said in a statement.

Minister for Climate and Energy Dan Joergensen said the money “will help coal-intensive countries reduce their coal consumption and create new income opportunities in local communities, which is absolutely vital to accelerating the energy transition.” Denmark’s money will go to the Climate Investment Fund’s new Accelerating Coal Transition program, and the primary focus will initially be on South Africa, India, Indonesia and the Philippines.

The Danish government said the program includes efforts supporting alternative employment of the local population in impacted areas.

Source: devdiscourse

New Delhi : India and Denmark on Saturday took forward their unique Green
Strategic Partnership by launching a five-year results-oriented Action Plan with focus on
sectors like water, renewable energy, smart cities, food and agriculture, during the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen here, that also saw the inking of a number of agreements, including on skill
development.

The visit by Frederiksen is her first to India and it is also the first state visit by a head of
government to India in the past 20 months since such bilateral visits were stopped in the wake
of the Covid pandemic.

Prime Minister Modi highlighted this factor in his speech as he said that Hyderabad House had
been witness to numerous such diplomatic meetings with visiting heads of state or government, which came to a standstill due to Covid.

“I am happy that we are making a new beginning (of holding meetings in Hyderabad House)
with the visit of the Danish PM,” he said, welcoming the delegation.

He described as “historic” the decision between the two sides to establish the Green Strategic
Partnership last year. “Our partnership is an example of how through cooperation both sides can
work towards promoting green growth using technology.” Both sides reviewed the Green Strategic Partnership, and reiterated their commitment to enhance cooperation towards mitigating climate change. He also announced that Denmark has decided to join the International Solar Alliance, which he said would add a new dimension to their partnership.
The joint statement issued after the talks said the two PMs “reconfirmed their commitment to an aspiring and results-oriented Green Strategic Partnership. They welcomed the detailed 5-year Action Plan (2021-2026) and noted the progress in its implementation. They agreed that
strengthening of the Green Strategic Partnership will be important for green growth and will
lead to mutually beneficial cooperation.

“The two PMs focused on ways to augment and consolidate green and low carbon growth as
reflected in the 5 year Action Plan. This includes the following sectors: water; environment;
renewable energy and its integration into the grid; climate action; resource efficiency and circular economy; sustainable and smart cities; business; trade and investments including
cooperation on Intellectual Property Rights; maritime cooperation, including maritime security; food and agriculture; science, technology and innovation; health and life science; cooperation in multilateral organizations; as well as cultural and people-to-people relations,” it said.

Modi said Danish companies have been in India for long, and work in fields like energy, food
processing, logistics, infrastructure, machinery, software. “They have contributed to the success of not only Make in India but also Make in India for the World. Danish companies have played a major role in contributing towards India’s vision for progress, and the speed and scale with which it seeks to move forward.”

He said the economic reforms in India, especially in the manufacturing sector, provide a great
opportunity for Danish firms.

PM Modi proposed that the two sides should collaborate in the field of agriculture technology,
and in related fields like food safety, cold chain, food processing, fertilizers, fisheries,
aquaculture and also smart water resource management, ‘Waste to Best’, and efficient supply
chains.

Both sides also had productive and detailed discussions on regional and global issues.
The joint statement had a para on Afghanistan. It said the two Prime Ministers shared
perspectives on developments in their respective regions, including the worrisome situation in
Afghanistan and agreed on the importance of: 1) Avoiding further regional destabilization; 2)
strengthening regional engagement including regional trade and connectivity, and taking firm
steps to counter radicalisation; and 3) maintaining progress on fundamental rights.

They committed to continuing support to the Afghan people, while underlining the need for
inclusivity in Afghanistan, counter-terrorism guarantees and respect for human rights, in
particular women’s rights, in accordance with UNSC Resolution 2593, adopted during India’s
presidency of the UNSC in August this year.

On the Indo-Pacific, the two PMs welcomed the recent announcement of a EU strategy on IndoPacific and noted the plans for increased European engagement in the Indo-Pacific region, it said.

On the India-EU FTA talks, it said the two PMs acknowledged the India-EU Leaders’ Meeting in May 2021 as a new milestone in the India-EU Strategic Partnership and welcomed the decision to resume negotiations on an ambitious, balanced, comprehensive and mutually beneficial India-EU Free Trade Agreement and launch negotiations on a separate investment agreement. The Prime Ministers underlined the need to start the negotiations on the FTA at the earliest.

They also welcomed the India-EU Connectivity Partnership and agreed to collaborate bilaterally and at the EU level to promote connectivity projects, it said.

In his speech, Modi also expressed gratitude to Denmark for its strong support to India in
multilateral forums. “In future too, our two democracies that believe in rules based order, will
continue to work with each other,” he added.

The Joint Statement said PM Frederiksen congratulated India on its successful Presidency of the UN Security Council and reiterated Denmark’s support for India’s permanent membership of a reformed and expanded UN Security Council. PM Modi confirmed India’s support for
Denmark’s candidacy for non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council for the period 2025-2026.
Prime Minister Frederiksen, in her remarks, said they had a “very fruitful and productive
meeting, which illustrates the warmth in our relationship”.

“Both believe in the international system based on rules, and I am proud as Danes to have such a strong partner in India,” she said.

“Our cooperation is a great example of how green growth and green transition can go hand in

She said she was happy that Danish companies are supporting the green transition in India and
contributing to a greener and healthier life for Indians.

“I am convinced India and Denmark have a huge and untapped trade potential,“ she said, and
thanked PM Modi for accepting the invite to Denmark for the next summit.

The MoUs signed were in the field of mapping of ground water resources and aquifers, on
Traditional Knowledge Digital Library Access, for natural refrigerants for tropical climates with
potential applications, and in skill development. Three commercial agreements were also
announced.

The Danish PM, who is here on a three-day state visit, also called on President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Source : uniindia

New Delhi: Denmark signed the framework agreement of the International Solar Alliance Framework Agreement (ISA FA) and Instrument of Ratification with India, informed Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi on Wednesday.

“On 22 June, Freddy Svane, Ambassador, Royal Danish Embassy, deposited signed copies of ISA Framework Agreement and Instrument of Ratification with @MEAIndia, the depositary of Agreement. Signed copies of ISA FA were handed over to Additional Secretary (ER),” Bagchi tweeted.

Meanwhile, Denmark becomes first country to ratify International Solar Alliance Framework Agreement (ISA FA) after amendments to it entered into force on January 8.

“Kingdom of Denmark becomes 1st country to ratify International Solar Alliance Framework Agreement (ISA FA) after amendments to it entered into force on 8 January this year, opening its Membership to all Member States of the United Nations,” Arindam Bagchi, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson tweeted.

ISA is an alliance of over 120 countries initiated by India, most of them being sunshine countries which lie either completely or partly between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.

Source: ANI

“This Danish scheme will contribute to substantial reductions in greenhouse emissions, supporting the objectives of the Green Deal,” the commissioner in charge of competition, Margrethe Vestager, said.

The European Commission on Tuesday approved 400 million euros ($480.12 million) Danish state aid supporting the production of electricity from renewable sources, according to a statement.

“This Danish scheme will contribute to substantial reductions in greenhouse emissions, supporting the objectives of the Green Deal,” the commissioner in charge of competition, Margrethe Vestager, said.

According to the statement, Denmark intends to support energy generation from onshore and offshore wind turbines, wave power plants, hydroelectric power plants and solar technology with a scheme designed to guarantee stable prices to electricity producers. ($1 = 0.8331 euros)

Source: Reuters

Birol said he was optimistic the new U.S. administration would join other major economies in committing to a net zero emissions target by mid-century. President Biden has temporarily suspended the issuing of permits for oil and gas drilling in federal acreage, reversing the direction taken by his predecessor Donald Trump who had sought to maximise output from federal areas.

he International Energy Agency (IEA) is launching a global commission to address the impact on employment and society from the transition to renewable energy from fossil fuels, it said on Tuesday.

The commission, chaired by Denmark, will include energy ministers from Canada, Norway, Mexico and Oman. It will also include U.S energy officials, as Washington shifts course under President Joe Biden, who has pledged to tackle climate change. “We believe the real success of this transition is critically hinging on whether or not citizens will benefit from the opportunities and how we navigate the disruptions of clean energy transitions,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said.

“Employment will change, some sectors will gain significantly while others inevitably decline. Governments will need to proactively prepare for change and to protect those adversely affected,” he told a webinar. The Paris-based energy watchdog said this month that global emissions that had dropped sharply in 2020 due to the coronavirus crisis would rebound in 2021 unless governments acted.

Britain hosts a summit in Glasgow in November aimed at drawing up global goals to tackle climate change. Birol said he was optimistic the new U.S. administration would join other major economies in committing to a net zero emissions target by mid-century.

President Biden has temporarily suspended the issuing of permits for oil and gas drilling in federal acreage, reversing the direction taken by his predecessor Donald Trump who had sought to maximise output from federal areas. Critics say Biden’s initiative will cost jobs. Federal leases account for close to 25% of U.S. crude output, making them a big contributor to energy supply but also a major contributor to America’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Source: reuters

Egypt’s electricity minister said that the government has worked hard with its development partners to overcome challenges in the electricity sector.

LONDON : Egyptian Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mohamed Shaker met with Danish Ambassador to Egypt Svend Olling to discuss improvements to investment opportunities and cooperation in their allied field of renewable energy.

The partnership is a result of an agreement between Egypt’s ministries of international cooperation and electricity and the Danish ministry of climate, energy and utilities’ energy agency. The Egyptian-Danish Energy Partnership Program (2019-2022) aims to push Egypt’s green transformation forward while also investing in a renewable future.

Shaker stated that Egypt’s government has worked hard with its development partners to overcome challenges in the electricity sector.

Among the state’s strategic aims, he said, is drawing benefits from Egypt’s natural resources, including new and renewable, as well as increasing renewable energy’s share in the electricity system. Egypt aims to increase the share of renewable energy in the nationwide electricity network to 20% by 2022 and 42% by 2035, elevating it from 5% in 2014.

Shaker said one reason Egypt is adopting a large-scale programme is to encourage the private sector to take part in initiatives that can draw investors to Egypt. Investment confidence in the country’s electricity and renewable energy sector has already increased as a growing number of local and foreign private investors take part in these projects, which include the establishment of solar power plants, hydropower facilities and wind turbines.

Many mechanisms are provided for the private sector participation, including auctions and tenders, such the establishment of 600MW solar plants toward the west of the Nile. The auctions are held by the International Finance Corporation, which approved various energy companies to be qualified.

Shaker also emphasised that the ministry looks forward to taking on electricity linkage projects with neighbouring countries that could allow Egypt to export electricity to Europe and one day be a regional energy centre.

Olling praised relations between Egypt and Denmark, which he hoped to see strengthened further. He also praised Egypt’s experience in developing its renewable energy sector.

He noted the interest held by international entities and bodies currently investing in Egypt, which is considered by many to be a critical gateway to Africa. He also expressed Denmark’s desire to further invest in the country and increase cooperation between the nations’ electricity sectors.

Cooperation between Egypt and Denmark dates back to 1969, when $560 million was invested in several fields, including culture, housing, environment, water, sanitation and renewable energy, according to Egypt’s ministry of international cooperation.

Source : thearabweekly

The solar farm will be built near planned data centres as well as a major regional transformer station in the municipality of Aabenraa in Southern Jutland, it said in a statement

OSLO: Danish renewables firm European Energy will build a 300 megawatt (MW) solar power farm in southern Denmark, the biggest installation of its kind in northern Europe, it said late on Wednesday.

The solar farm will be built near planned data centres as well as a major regional transformer station in the municipality of Aabenraa in Southern Jutland, it said in a statement.

Construction of the 1 billion Danish crown ($159 million) project will begin early next year and is scheduled to start operations before the end of 2021.

It will deliver enough green power to supply more than 75,000 households, European Energy said.

In September, the firm announced plans to build a 170 MW solar farm in southern Sweden next year.

European Energy has installed 1.5 gigawatts of wind and solar capacity in 11 countries, according to its website.

Installed solar capacity in Denmark stands at about 5 GW, up from 3 GW a year ago, and could reach 16 GW in 2025, according to Danish transmission grid operator Energinet.dk.

($1 = 6.2952 Danish crowns) (Reporting by Nora Buli; editing by Jason Neely)

Source: reuters

Egypt’s energy strategy seeks to increase the country’s renewable energy production to over 42% of its needs

Egypt has signed an Egyptian-Danish Energy Partnership Program (2019-2022) agreement that will push forward Egypt’s green transformation and investments in renewable energy.

The agreement was signed by Egypt’s Minister of International Cooperation Rania Al-Mashat and Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mohamed Shaker, and Denmark’s Energy Agency, which falls under the country’s Ministry of Climate, Energy and Utilities.

Minister Rania Al-Mashat said that the new partnership agreement aims to create a platform to push for closer cooperation between Egyptian governmental institutions and their Danish counterparts. This is set to take place through strategic cooperation in the energy field beginning from this year.

She added that the agreement aims to consolidate the two countries’ commercial relations, and exchange experiences in the field of technology and clean energy between them.

The agreement comes as part of Global Partnerships for Effective Development Cooperation multi-stakeholder platform, launched in April by Egypt’s Ministry of International Cooperation. The platform will work with Egypt’s multilateral and bilateral development partners, and aims to ensure that development interventions are prioritised and are strongly aligned to maximise impact and achieve sustainability.

Additionally, the agreement helps achieve Goal 7 of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which will see a doubling in the improvement of energy efficiency. It also aims to accelerate Egypt’s implementation of its sustainable energy strategy, which was adopted by the government in October 2016, and is set to run until 2035.

The strategy aims to improve financial sustainability and the operational efficiency of the energy sector, as well as ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy sources.

Through the New Global Partnership Narrative, a human-centred model of economic growth was adopted to accelerate the achievement of the UN’s 17 SDGs and ensure that “no one is left behind”. For that reason, it focuses on three pillars, namely: People at the Core; Projects in Action; and Purpose as the Driver.

As part of the first pillar, Egypt has given top priority to improve the lives of its citizens, whilst pushing them towards realising their full potential. Under the second pillar, projects are implemented across multiple sectors including in education, transportation, water desalination, renewable energy, entrepreneurship, and women empowerment to answer to each of the SDGs. For the third pillar, development partnerships are set to be established, to generate sustained and inclusive growth in a rapidly changing world.

For his part, Shaker said that his ministry will form a joint committee with the Danish side to serve as a forum for comprehensive strategic dialogue between the two countries. The committee will discuss energy sector cooperation, to reach decisions on the strategic cooperation programme between the two sides.

He stressed that the agreement signed with the Danish side supports Egypt’s capabilities in pushing forward the country’s green transformation. It is set to develop plans to ensure nationwide access to affordable clean energy and implementing wind energy projects. The minister added that Egypt’s energy strategy seeks to increase the country’s renewable energy production to over 42% of its needs.

Denmark’s Minister of Climate, Energy and Utilities, Dan J?rgensen, expressed his pleasure with the new energy agreement, saying “We need to speed up the fight against climate change. I am very pleased to be establishing this cooperation on renewable energy with Egypt.”

He added, “The Egyptian government’s strong dedication to renewable energy, combined with excellent wind and solar resources, offers Egypt a great opportunity to become a regional, green pioneer, and I am delighted that Denmark will be working closely alongside Egypt on this journey.”

For his part, Denmark’s Ambassador to Egypt Svend Olling praised the cooperation between the two countries, which aims to confront the increasing challenges the energy sector faces.

He noted that Denmark is a leading global partner in the renewable energy and green transformation fields.

Egyptian-Danish cooperation extends back to 1969, with about $560m in investments having been made in several different fields in this period. The investments have been channelled towards new and renewable energy, water and sanitation, environment, culture and housing.

Source : zawya

Ministers from around world joined by leaders of international organisations and major companies in meeting focused on role of energy efficiency and renewables in stimulus plans.

The International Energy Agency and the Government of Denmark today hosted a high-level roundtable meeting in which government ministers and business leaders from around the world discussed the importance of making clean energy a central part of the global economic recovery from the Covid-19 crisis.

Co-chaired by Dan Jørgensen, Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities of Denmark, and Dr Fatih Birol, IEA Executive Director, the virtual meeting focused in particular on the potential of energy efficiency and renewables – two of the key pillars of clean energy transitions – to create jobs, enhance economic competitiveness and improve the resilience of energy systems.

Leading participants included Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations; Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission; Simonetta Sommaruga, President of Switzerland; Seamus O’Regan, Minister of Natural Resources of Canada; Elisabeth Borne, Minister for an Ecological and Inclusive Transition of France; and R.K. Singh, Minister of Power and New & Renewable Energy of India. A full list of the main participants is provided lower down in this article.

“Putting clean energy at the heart of stimulus plans is an excellent strategy for revitalising economies while building a more secure and sustainable energy future,” said Dr Birol. “I am delighted that such a high-profile and diverse group of ministers and leaders – in large part from countries supporting the IEA’s Clean Energy Transitions Programme – joined us today for this vital conversation during such challenging times. I warmly thank everyone for their contributions, and Minister Jorgensen for his leadership.”

At the meeting, ministers from around the world highlighted the extraordinary challenges governments are confronting as a result the immediate public health and economic crises – and their desire to make well-informed decisions in their plans to rekindle economic growth as their countries emerge from confinement.

“In the face of human tragedy and the plethora of consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, we have also been handed an opportunity to rebuild society in a manner that makes it more resilient to future crises,” said Mr Jørgensen. “The choices we take now to kick-start our economies will also determine our ability to mitigate the impacts of climate change. The impressive turnout at today’s roundtable is a clear indication that this approach resonates in many capitals, and I would like to thank all participants, and of course my great co-host Fatih, for their invaluable contributions.”

The aim of the roundtable event was to catalyse and elevate the conversation among governments on the best ways to achieve the mutual benefits that clean energy transitions and economic recoveries can bring to one another.

“Today’s discussion provided ample food for thought. Renewable energy and energy efficiency are both cornerstones in our fight against climate change, and at the same time both sectors have massive job potential,” Mr Jørgensen said. “As we look to stimulate the economy, it only makes sense to design our interventions in ways that takes advantage of these synergies. Not only will that allow us to create even more green jobs, it will also support and underpin our efforts to keep global temperature rise to manageable levels.”

The meeting is expected to be the first in an ongoing series of high-level discussions about accelerating the development and deployment of clean energy technologies in order to spur renewed economic activity and put the world on track to meet international climate goals and other sustainability objectives.

“It was very encouraging to hear governments reaffirm their commitments to support renewables, energy efficiency and other clean energy technologies despite the current crisis,” said Dr Birol. “As the leading global energy authority covering all fuels and all technologies, the IEA will continue to support governments with the highest quality data, analysis and advice to inform the enormously consequential decisions they are making as they design their stimulus packages. It is crucial to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past: although emissions fell as a result of the 2008 global financial crisis, they soon rebounded sharply. We must learn from that experience.”

Key IEA reports and events coming soon:

• In June, the IEA will release a new World Energy Outlook special report that will provide hard numbers on the economic and job-creation potential of building a more resilient and cleaner energy sector.
• The Global Commission for Urgent Action on Energy Efficiency will soon publish its recommendations, providing actionable recommendations to governments around the world on how they can act quickly to accelerate energy efficiency progress.
• In early July, the IEA will release the first instalment of our revamped Energy Technology Perspectives report, the world’s guidebook on clean energy technologies. The July release will have concrete advice on how governments can accelerate technology innovation even in this time of crisis.
• On 9 July, the IEA Clean Energy Transitions Summit take place. This major global event will bring together a very large group of ministers and key energy decision-makers in an effort to identify ways to step up real-world action.

Source: moderndiplomacy.eu

He also said Danfoss India will be investing Rs 25 crore in expanding production here and targets to close 2020 with a turnover of Rs 2,000 crore.

Chennai: Danish energy efficiency products major Danfoss A/S’ $3.3 billion global acquisition of power management company Eaton’s hydraulics division is expected to conclude by the end of this year, said a top official of Danfoss India.

He also said Danfoss India will be investing Rs 25 crore in expanding production here and targets to close 2020 with a turnover of Rs 2,000 crore.

The 6.3 billion euro turnover Danfoss business segments are classified under power solutions, cooling, drives and heating and it supplies components and systems for original equipment manufacturers.

“The acquisition of Eaton’s global hydraulics business is expected to be completed by the end of this year as there are several regulatory approvals have to be obtained,” Ravichandran Purushothaman, President, Danfoss India Region told IANS.

In January this year Danfoss and Eaton announced a deal, whereby the former has agreed to buy the latter’s global hydraulics business for $3.3 billion.

Interestingly, the hydraulics divisions of both Danfoss and Eaton are present in Pune in India.

According to Purushothaman, Danfoss India will be expanding the production capacity of its cooling product range.

“We will be investing Rs.25 crore this year, a similar amount was invested last year. The new products will be in cooling, industrial refrigeration and drives,” he said.

Speaking about the business scenario Purushothaman said there is demand but the sentiment is weak and banks are not lending. The 2018 drought had its impact on 2019 sales as well.

According to him, there was no shifting of production from China to India happened due to the Coronavirus impact in that country.

On the other hand, in February this year the Indian company faced some challenge in importing compressors and drives from China but now we are able to get them, Purushothaman said.

In line with the parent company’s target of having 30 per cent female leaders by 2025, 25 per cent by 2022 Danfoss India is also working towards that.

Currently, the women workforce is about 18 per cent, he said.

On turning the Danfoss India plants CO2 neutral by 2030 Purushothaman said 70 per cent of the Chennai plant’s 12 MW power needs are met from renewable sources and the share will go up.

Source: IANS

Wind accounted for 47 per cent of Denmark’s power usage last year, up from 41 per cent in 2018 and beating a previous record of 43 per cent in 2017, the country’s grid operator Energinet said on Thursday

COPENHAGEN : Denmark sourced close to half its electricity consumption from wind power last year, a new record for the Nordic country and an important step in realizing one of the world’s most ambitious climate targets.

Wind accounted for 47 per cent of Denmark’s power usage last year, up from 41 per cent in 2018 and beating a previous record of 43 per cent in 2017, the country’s grid operator Energinet said on Thursday.

Source : reuters

ISLAMABAD, UrduPoint / Pakistan: Federal Minister for Energy, Omer Ayub Khan on Wednesday said that Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI), government was working on many projects to generate cheap energy in the country.

Wind, solar and renewable energy projects would be completed in near future to meet the growing demand of industrial and other sectors in the country, he stated while talking to a private news channel programme.

He said Korea, Japan, Denmark, America and other countries companies had shown keen interest in different projects of energy in Pakistan.

In reply to a question, he said that PTI government would complete its constitutional period and the party would come into power on the basis of performance in the the next general election.

The Opposition parties had been united against the development and progress of present government, he stated.

About the Jamiat-Ulama-e-Islam (JUI-F) prediction, he said Maulana Fazal ur Rehman’s party dream would never be fulfilled. The PTI government would complete its five years tenure with success.

To a question, the minister said that National Accountability Bureau (NAB), was working independently and without discrimination. He said that NAB was investigating the cases against the corrupt elements.

Omer Ayub Khan said that many leaders of Pakistan Muslim League-N and Pakistan Peoples Party had been facing jail and fighting the cases in the courts due to corruption charges.

Source: urdupoint

With its lively waterfront, tree-lined canal, and red-brick buildings topped by steep gunmetal-gray roofs, Aarhus looks like just another coastal city in Northern Europe. But get closer, and what comes into focus is a place central to the continent’s remarkable shift to renewable energy. Down by the docks, at a facility nestled among huge oil tanks that reek of the past, the world’s biggest wind-turbine maker tests parts for these gargantuan machines of the future. Meanwhile, in offices all across Denmark’s second-largest city, fast-growing cadres of energy traders are making big bucks from the volatility that wind and solar power generate.

This didn’t happen by accident. What would ultimately become Vestas Wind Systems A/S started as a blacksmith shop in 1898 on the western edge of Jutland, a windswept peninsula sandwiched between the North Sea and southern Sweden. Until the 1970s the company’s products ranged from milk coolers to steel window frames. As Denmark, a net energy importer, was stung by that decade’s oil crises, Vestas turned its hand to alternative energy. Early turbine prototypes—including one that looked like a giant egg whisk—were developed in secret. After several decades building up its wind-turbine business, the company moved its headquarters to Aarhus, Jutland’s biggest city.

Today wind regularly meets more than half of Denmark’s demand for power. As the country’s reliance on wind has grown, Aarhus and surrounding towns have become a renewable energy melting pot—of manufacturers and suppliers, traders and analysts, specialist lawyers and academics. China’s largest maker of wind turbines, Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co., has a research office here. In 2016 energy and environmental companies accounted for the port city’s second-biggest export industry (after food), according to the latest available data from the municipality. “Renewable energy plays a huge role in the city,” says Mayor Jacob Bundsgaard. “It’s not just Vestas.”

Traders sometimes liken Aarhus to the Swiss commodities hubs in Geneva or Zug. Judging from the low turnover rates at local trading firms, the city (population 345,000) offers enough to keep people from shoving off to Copenhagen or London or beyond. Besides the buzz of the work, the attractions range from the cosmopolitan ambiance provided by Aarhus University to four restaurants with Michelin stars. “Aarhus more than lives up to big brother Copenhagen’s reputation as a foodie destination,” says Soren Jessen, a Danish former banker who owns restaurants in London.

Bundsgaard, 43, has been mayor since 2011. Most mornings, typifying the municipality’s mission to become carbon neutral by 2030, he cycles to work at city hall. Aarhus, where CO2 emissions have been cut in half over the past decade, has built a 110-kilometer (68-mile) electric tram network and will introduce electric buses this year. Wastewater treatment plants are ordinarily very energy-intensive; Aarhus’s produces 40% more power than it consumes.

Perhaps the most striking monument to Aarhus’s place in the world of renewable energy is a biomass plant that opened in 2017. Atop a hill at Lisbjerg, on the edge of the city, three enormous 45-meter-high glass boxes soar above a landscape of farms and woodland. More than 60 trucks a day deliver agricultural straw to the plant when it’s running at full capacity. Next door, in another box, there’s an older waste facility. Here, 150 trucks a day dump rubbish that’s incinerated at 1,000C (1,832F). Both plants produce electricity and pump hot water into the Aarhus district’s heating system. “We’re almost free from coal now,” Bundsgaard says.

Trading Places
To get onto one of the trading floors at Danske Commodities A/S, you take a glass walkway across a shallow pool of water whose murmuring lends an air of tranquility to the space. For the traders, it can be a place of respite: The markets they cover are anything but calm.

While many assets may move a percentage point or two at most during a daily session, intraday electricity contracts can jump or slump at many times that rate. All it takes is a sudden drop in wind or a few unexpected hours of sunshine. This volatility has spurred the development of a niche industry here. DC is the biggest of the 10 or so companies in Aarhus that specialize in Europe’s power and natural gas markets, which together were worth €1.65 trillion ($1.85 trillion) last year, according to Prospex Research Ltd.

A gas trader named Henrik Lind founded DC in 2004. He’d spotted an opportunity to profit from price differentials across geographical markets and began to move power between Denmark and Germany. The company, whose profit rose 28% to €72 million in 2018, has about 300 employees and operates in about 40 markets. Equinor ASA, a Norwegian oil major, bought out Lind, who owned a majority of DC, and other shareholders for €400 million in a deal that was completed in February. Lind is staying on as board member.

Bolstered by $100 million in capital from Equinor in the second quarter of this year, DC is expanding, looking to buy more capacity on international power cables and more gas storage capacity on the continent. Pursuing an expansion strategy it calls Level Up (after the computer-gaming term), it will start trading in the U.S. power market this year following its foray into Australia last year.

Helle Ostergaard Kristiansen, DC’s chief executive officer since April, says the expansion won’t stifle the startup ethos instilled by Lind. “It is part of our DNA, that entrepreneurial culture that we want to maintain,” says Ostergaard Kristiansen, who began working at DC in 2010.

That spirit is exemplified by Cagdas Ozan Ates, a Turk who acquired a master’s degree in finance and international business at Aarhus University. He joined Lind at DC as one of its first employees when it was little more than a small office with a handful of computers and stayed for more than a decade in various senior roles. Last year, Ates was appointed CEO at MFT Energy A/S. In a departure from DC, which had been built around a strong majority owner, MFT’s plan is to set up partnerships that will give traders a larger share of profits. Lind “always asked, ‘What else can we do tomorrow, what can we do better?’ says Ates. “We learned a lot from him. And we took it with us.”

As more countries turn to wind and solar to replace polluting fuels, markets have become more turbulent and rich in opportunities for trading companies. In Germany, the largest European electricity market, consumers have spent many billions of euros to help finance “climate chancellor” Angela Merkel’s green economy agenda, her double-edged strategy to phase out both coal and nuclear energy. Trading in contracts for power delivered the same day in Germany last year surged 13% to a record high on Epex Spot SE, the main exchange for such markets.

As more companies pile into the intraday power market, margins on trades are decreasing and more and more deals are automated. While individual trading companies don’t disclose the ratio of machine- to human-led transactions, 37% of the German intraday market was automated last year, according to Epex. Automation is constantly taking the speed of transactions to new levels. DC has set up a server in Frankfurt that will cut execution time to 6 milliseconds from 24 milliseconds.

Jesper Johanson is taking no chances. He runs another Aarhus-based trader, InCommodities A/S. Since he co-founded the company in 2017, it’s grown to almost 40 employees. To feed the next growth phase, Johanson says he’s hiring developers as well as traders. “We are just as much an IT company as we are a commodity trader,” he says.

The Wind Farmer Vast swaths of flat farmland dominate the west coast of Jutland. About the only thing that breaks up the landscape is the dispersed forest of turbines that convert wind from the gusty North Sea into electricity. One of them, a Vestas V112 model, towers almost 100 meters above a farm that grows everything from carrots, cabbage, and potatoes to parsley and dill. The spread’s proud owner also happens to be Vestas’s chief technology officer, Anders Vedel, 62.

Vedel’s interest in wind was first roused when he was a young child sailing the waters north of Copenhagen. This melded fortuitously with an attraction to tech: Also as a youngster, he built his own solar-heated water system. Even so, he remained a full-time farmer until he was in his early 30s, when he set out to receive a mechanical engineering degree. When he got his start at Vestas in Lem, Jutland, in 1995, the biggest blades the company made were 19 meters long; today they stretch to 73 meters, or a bit longer than the wingspan of a Boeing 747. Over that time, the power capacity of the turbines has increased more than tenfold.

In the early days, the cost of producing power with wind was much higher than anybody would willingly pay. So a company like Vestas, with a tiny customer base at the time, was at the mercy of government subsidies, tax breaks, and tariff exemptions in the countries where it did business.

Last year wind supplied 5% of the world’s total power output. As the industry has matured in recent years, nations have been able to scale back their support and switch to auctions, forcing both utilities and suppliers such as Vestas to narrow their profit margins.

Today onshore wind in Europe is competitive with conventional power sources, or nearly so. In Spain, wind technology’s so-called levelized cost of energy (the unit cost of electrical energy over the lifetime of a generating asset) dropped 41% from 2016 through the first half of this year, according to BloombergNEF, Bloomberg LP’s primary research service on energy transition.

Markets and the turbine industry are becoming increasingly linked. Vedel says his turbine is regularly switched off when wind speeds exceed about 9 meters per second because of plunging prices. And who’s switching it off? The folks over at DC.

“It’s good that we drive down the cost of energy, and we’ll still focus on that,” Vedel says. The challenge is this: If energy costs fall too quickly, turbine manufacturers won’t be able to get a sufficiently large return on their own investments. At that point, Vedel says, “the industry starts to have a problem.”

So far, Vestas hasn’t reached that stage, according to Jacob Pedersen, head of equity research at Sydbank A/S, based in Aabenraa, Denmark, who’s tracked the company for almost two decades. “The sharp drop in prices has hit the competitors harder,” he says. “Vestas still has the best profitability in the industry.”

To stay ahead, Pedersen says, Vestas needs to keep doing what it’s doing well and also to innovate. A team of more than 70 people in Aarhus has been tasked with thinking beyond wind to help the company become a global leader in sustainable energy—including connecting wind, solar, and storage batteries. Wind will always be at the center of what the company does. Bo Svoldgaard may be Vestas’s head of innovation and concepts, but even he says wind is “our heart and soul.”

It’s clear where Vedel’s heart is. “From my living room and kitchen, I can see 22 turbines,” he says. “I wanted to tear down another building on the farm because some of them I can’t see very well. But my wife said, ‘Stop!’ ”

Source: Bloomberg L.P.

A.P. Moller Holding, which controls Denmark’s A.P. Moller-Maersk, made its first move into the renewable energy market yesterday, revealing it will buy local wind turbine supplier KK Group from Swedish private equity Solix Group.

“Denmark is the leading hub for the wind industry worldwide with significant global growth potential. We look forward to supporting KK Wind Solutions’ further development and growth in this important industry”, chief investment officer of A.P. Moller holding, Jan Nielsen, said in a statement.

No price for the acquisition was revealed.

Source: splash247

The firm, Denmark’s self-styled largest energy group, used a recent Q1 2019 update to reveal an agreement to buy a subsidiary of US-based Coronal Energy.

The statement did not name the subsidiary in question but contacted by sister title PV Tech, a source close to Ørsted identified it as HelioSage Energy.

The deal was to purchase the unit from Panasonic-owned Coronal – which had scooped it up in 2015 – in return for a “low double-digit US dollar million” figure, the source explained, adding that the transaction only completed today.

The deal marks a boost for the US renewable portfolio of Ørsted, known as DONG Energy before its rebranding in 2017.

Prior to the deal, the traditionally wind-focused player only owned a couple of PV projects in the country: the operational 10MW Oak Solar plant in New Jersey plus the 400MW Permian facility in Texas, which is awaiting a final investment decision and is backed by a 250MW PPA with Exxon.

How much capacity will be added via the HelioSage acquisition remains unclear. Other than describing it as “significant”, Ørsted has yet to share a MW figure for its new portfolio. The pipeline doesn’t feature operational projects, only those at the development stage, PV Tech understands.

Elsewhere, the UK was Ørsted’s choice for its first standalone, large-scale battery energy storage project. Operational since January, its 20MW Carnegie Road scheme features lithium battery and power conversation systems from NEC, designed to support a 90MW offshore wind portfolio.

Source: energy-storage.news

COPENHAGEN: The world’s largest offshore wind developer Orsted said on Tuesday it had decided to proceed with building two wind farms in Taiwan, a growth market and stepping stone to the wider Asian market.

The decision to go ahead with the projects comes after the Changhua 1 and 2a farms were put on hold earlier this year due to political uncertainty regarding the feed-in tariffs it would receive.

Orsted said it had now signed a power purchase agreement with Taipower for the wind farms with a capacity of 900 megawatts, which is enough to supply around 1 million Taiwanese households with green power.

The wind farms will be constructed in 2021 and 2022.

Taiwan is making a big push to attract investment in renewable technology as it phases out nuclear power by 2025, after the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan highlighted the risks of using nuclear energy in a region prone to earthquakes.

For developers in Europe, where expanding offshore wind projects particularly in the North Sea have driven down costs, Taiwan is seen as a route into Asian markets such as Japan and South Korea.

Source: reuters

The objective of the Cooperation Agreement is to promote cooperation between the two countries in the field of renewable energy with special focus on Off-shore wind. The areas of cooperation would include technical capacity building for management of off­shore wind projects, measures to develop and sustain a highly efficient wind industry, onshore as well as offshore; measures to ‘ensure high quality of wind turbines, components, and certification requirements; forecasting and scheduling of off-shore wind

The Indo-Danish Centre of Excellence in Integrated Renewable Power would work on Renewable energy resource assessments with focus on onshore and offshore wind; Hybridisation of wind, solar, hydro and storage technologies; integration of renewable energy inch high level of wind energy, Testing and R&D; and skill development / capacity building.

The signing of the documents will help in strengthening bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

****

* SAYS TO SUPPLY TURBINES FOR DENMARK’S LARGEST ONSHORE WIND FARM

* TO SUPPLY 18 ONSHORE TURBINES WITH TOTAL CAPACITY OF 77 MW

* SAYS TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MAINTENANCE OF THE WIND TURBINES FOR EUROWIND ENERGY FOR 20 YEARS

Source: reuters