UK wealth fund to prioritise ‘clean energy’ investment

: Electricity, Emissions, Hydrogen
25/03/19

The UK government has set "clean energy" as a priority investment sector for its new national wealth fund, and set out a plan for the fund to interact with newly-formed Great British Energy to drive decarbonisation.

The two organisations will interact to provide a "strong end-to-end clean energy development and finance offer" and help the country hit its net zero targets, the government said. Great British Energy — staffed by specialists in the sector — will provide "development expertise", while the wealth fund will deliver finance, the government said.

Great British Energy "will develop, invest in, build and operate clean energy projects across the UK", including owning stakes in the projects it develops itself, the government said. The organisation will develop "clean energy assets from inception", as well as co-develop and invest in more advanced projects.

The national wealth fund "will unlock over £70bn ($90.7bn) in private investment to help deliver economic growth, make Britain a clean energy superpower, and strengthen the defence sector", the government said. The fund will prioritise investment in "clean energy, advanced manufacturing, digital technologies, and transport", and flagged likely spending on carbon capture and green hydrogen projects, as well as gigafactories and "green steel".

The government has made commitments to "clean power" deployment and hitting the UK's legally-binding net zero by 2050 target central to its approach, sticking to pledges made ahead of last July's election. The government is targeting 95pc "clean power" by 2030 and consulted on a "clean energy future" for the North Sea earlier this month.

By Georgia Gratton

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25/04/30

Brazil Aneel rejects grid access for green H2 projects

Paris, 30 April (Argus) — Brazil's electricity regulation agency Aneel has rejected requests for electricity grid connections filed by two renewable hydrogen projects in the northeast of the country — but the decision can be reverted, according to one of the companies. Spanish project developer Solatio, which is planning a renewable ammonia project in the state of Piaui, had its request for a grid connection rejected by Aneel in a resolution published last week. In March, Solatio received approval from Brazil's industry minister to build a 3GW electrolyser facility at the Parnaiba Export Processing Zone, with operations expected to start in early 2029. The firm had previously said it aims to achieve over 11GW of electrolyser capacity in Piaui in the long run. Aneel's decision to reject access to the grid was based on recommendations made by Brazil's grid operator ONS, which found the grid connection request to not be feasible as it "could result in overload and risks of voltage collapse". In the technical note, Aneel said that this decision "does not constitute a sanction or opposition to the investment itself". Instead it is a reflection of the "current technical limitations" of the power system. The regulator expects that "in the near future, structural works capable of safely serving large loads in the northeast will be proposed and granted". Brazil's energy ministry has already requested energy planning body EPE an expansion of 4GW of capacity in the northeast grid to accommodate demand from renewable hydrogen projects in the coming years. Solatio has already submitted a "new technical solution" that was designed with support of the Piaui government and state investment promotion agency Invest Piaui and that it could be approved soon, the developer told Argus . Earlier this month, renewables firm Casa dos Ventos also had a grid connection request rejected for its 900,000 t/yr renewable ammonia project planned at the Pecem port complex, in Brazil's Ceara state. Output from the Iracema project could supply TotalEnergies , which is a shareholder in Casa dos Ventos. Casa dos Ventos' request included a grid link to power a data centre project, which was refused by Aneel too. Aneel has asked ONS to provide "the set of technical information" for its recommendation and increase transparency on its assessments. Casa dos Ventos was not immediately available to comment. Hydrogen industry participants in Brazil have grown increasingly concerned about power grid bottlenecks. Even though the government has approved plans to expand grid capacity across the country, the sector worries that this could come too late for projects that hope to be early beneficiaries of Brazil's tax credit scheme unless the procedures are sped up. By Pamela Machado Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Nemos commit to 15-minute settlement in power SDAC

25/04/30

Nemos commit to 15-minute settlement in power SDAC

London, 30 April (Argus) — Eleven nominated electricity market operators (Nemos) have confirmed their "readiness and commitment" to proceed with a 15-minute settlement in the single day-ahead coupling (SDAC) market on 11 June, according to a statement given to Argus . The co-signing Nemos — Oslo-based Nord Pool, Czech OTE, Austrian EXAA, Greek Enex, Italy's GME, Spain's Omie, Bulgarian Ibex, Poland's TGE, Slovakian Okte, Croatia's Cropex and Romanian BRM — confirmed that they "do not share the misgivings" about the 15-minute settlement transition expressed by European power exchange Epex Spot earlier this month , the Nemos told Argus . Nord Pool previously told Argus on 17 April that it was "confident and ready" to deliver 15-minute trading. The market operators do "not recognise" the problems cited by Epex and are sure that the "necessary infrastructure and processes" are in place to implement the move on time successfully. Instead, the co-signed Nemos stressed that the transition is a "pivotal advancement" and any delay risks "hinder[ing] progress" towards a better-integrated market. Specifically, the signatories clarified that the decoupling registered in some tests and cited by Epex Spot was not "due to a lack of reliability" in the system. Instead, they attributed this to "internal local testing issues of certain parties in the initial [testing] stage". The Nemos added that all performance tests of the central matching algorithm (Euphemia) were "successfully completed and validated by all parties, including Epex Spot". The co-signed Nemos noted that most test scenarios, "both functional and procedural", were "successfully completed and validated", adding that any reference to the implicit intraday auction (IDA) decoupling scenario is "misleading and inappropriate" as these were "caused by local issues" and the "time allocated to IDA executions" is less than 25pc of the "overall time available for SDAC". By Daniel Craig Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

France to review role of renewables in energy plan

25/04/30

France to review role of renewables in energy plan

London, 30 April (Argus) — The French government will delay the publication of its 10-year energy plan (PPE), and could change its content to take into account criticism that it gives too much priority to renewables, after a debate in the French parliament earlier this week. Prime minister Francois Bayrou on 28 April held a parliamentary debate on the much-delayed plan, which was initially due to come out in 2023. Publication appeared imminent last month, but revolts in the parliament — in which the prime minister does not have a majority — have forced the government to reconsider. The government will take its decisions "in some months", Bayrou told the parliament. "This PPE is not written in advance and everyone will be able to contribute before the final version," he said, opening the door to a rewrite of the plan, which committed to large increases in wind and solar photovoltaic capacity. A commission will deliver a report at the end of May, to be followed by a parliamentary debate on a version of the plan authored by senator Daniel Gremillet in June. The government's support for renewable energy will be "reasoned", he said, suggesting there could be a scaling back of wind and solar ambition. Bayrou highlighted the problems of solar energy, including that its peak output does not correspond to peak demand periods. To solve this problem, France must make its demand more flexible — including through the upcoming reform of tariffs, which will offer lower prices to some customers in the middle of the day — and through developing storage, he said. But the question of cost remains. Roof-mounted installations in France — the sector which has advanced the fastest over the past year — produce at a cost of €100/MWh, he said, compared with €40/MWh at large ground-mounted plants in Spain. But the public acceptability of covering large areas of countryside with low-cost solar farms remains a question, he said. And the development of onshore wind must be "reasonable", as public acceptability of the technology diminishes as the number of installations increase, Bayrou said. France must focus on repowering existing sites, he added. And the government firmly supports extending the lifespan of existing nuclear plants, and building at least six more reactors to enter service from 2038, Bayrou said. Right-wing Rassemblement National (RN) called for an increase in nuclear ambition, demanding the construction of 10GW of new nuclear by 2035, upratings at existing reactors and increasing the load factor of the fleet to 80pc. This would put France on the road to increasing its energy mix to 60pc low carbon by then, up from 37pc now, RN deputy Maxime Amblard said. But this would be accompanied by a moratorium on intermittent renewables, especially on wind farms, he said. The centre-left socialists called for the publication of the PPE as is, while left-wing LFI and green parties criticised what they characterised as a lack of ambition on emissions reduction and too heavy a reliance on nuclear. By Rhys Talbot Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Norway's Equinor sees minor fall in 1Q output, profit

25/04/30

Norway's Equinor sees minor fall in 1Q output, profit

London, 30 April (Argus) — Norwegian state-controlled Equinor posted a profit of $2.63bn in the first quarter — a decline of 2pc on the year — as production dropped slightly and it reported lower liquids prices. Although its profit fell compared with a "strong" first quarter of 2024, it was an increase of nearly a one third from the fourth quarter of 2024. Equinor's production was 2.12mn b/d of oil equivalent (boe/d) in the January-March period, lower on the year by 2pc. "The production decrease was similar for both gas and liquids," the company said. It cited "strong" operational performance for most of its Norwegian fields, which it said "almost offsets the negative production impact from the shut-in at Sleipner B… and planned and unplanned maintenance at Hammerfest LNG." The Sleipner B platform was shut down in October after a fire . Equinor's US production rose on the year, while its output from international assets fell over the same timeframe owing to its exits from Nigeria and Azerbaijan in 2024. Equinor reported an average liquids price of $70.6/bl in the January-March quarter, down by 7pc on the year. Its realised piped gas prices rose considerably over the same time, to $14.80/mn Btu for Europe and $4.06/mn Btu for the US — increases of 57pc and 74pc, respectively. The company's total first-quarter power generation increased by 9pc on the year, to 1.4TWh, driven by "stronger clean spark spreads in gas to power generation and onshore assets in Brazil." But the renewables share of this slid by 2pc over the same period, to 760,000GWh because of "unfavourable wind conditions." Equinor is considering its legal options with regards to its US Empire Wind project, chief executive Anders Opedal said today. The US government in April ordered work to stop on the planned 810MW wind farm, offshore New York. "We have invested in Empire Wind after obtaining all necessary approvals, and the order to halt work now is unprecedented and in our view unlawful," Odepal said. "This is a question of the rights and obligations granted under legally issued permits, and security of investments based on valid approvals." The company reported a marginal decline in its upstream CO2 intensity in the first quarter 6.1kg CO2/bl, compared with 6.2kg CO2/bl for full-year 2024. There was a similar drop in absolute scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions — at 2.7mn t/CO2 equivalent (CO2e) for the first quarter, compared with 2.9mn t/CO2e a year earlier. Equinor confirmed a cash dividend of $0.37/share for the first quarter and plans to launch a second tranche of its share buyback programme of up to $1.265bn, subject to authorisation at its annual general meeting in May. The first tranche of this year's buyback programme was completed on 24 March with a total value of $1.2bn. By Georgia Gratton Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Indonesia secures $60mn JETP funding for solar power

25/04/30

Indonesia secures $60mn JETP funding for solar power

Singapore, 30 April (Argus) — State-owned PLN Indonesia Power (PLN IP) and Saudi-listed Acwa Power will receive $60mn in funding from the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) to develop a solar project in Indonesia, indicating there is still interest in financing the country's energy transition. The 92MW peak (MWp) Saguling floating solar project in west Java will receive the funds from German development finance institution DEG, French development finance institution Proparco and Standard Chartered bank, announced the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) on 29 April. PLN IP and Acwa Power signed a power purchase agreement in August 2024 to jointly develop the solar project. The $60mn for the project is in addition to $1.2bn which Indonesia has already secured under the JETP. Indonesia joined the JETP in 2022 and is supposed to receive $20bn through the scheme from international partners including GFANZ, to help its coal phase-out. US president Donald Trump's decision to withdraw the US from the JETP raised concerns earlier in 2025 on whether Indonesia could stick to its energy transition policies. But the US' withdrawal may not necessarily have a major impact on JETP funding. The latest investment "points to appetite from both public and private sectors to finance the country's green energy transition," said GFANZ. France has already mobilised over €450mn ($511mn) for Indonesia's energy transition through the JETP, according to the ambassador of France to Indonesia, Fabien Penone. PLN IP, a sub-holding of state-owned electricity company PLN Persero, is the largest power generation company in southeast Asia. Indonesia's electricity demand is expected to grow by about 3.8pc/yr to 1,813TWh/yr by 2060, but its power sector is still heavily reliant on coal, which made up 61.8pc of the electricity mix in 2023. In comparison, renewables made up 19pc, out of which solar and wind power constituted a mere 0.2pc. Indonesia has large solar potential of up to 3,295GW, said PLN IP's president director Edwin Nugraha Putra. The Saguling solar project, which is expected to reduce carbon emissions in Indonesia's power system by at least 63,100 t/yr, will also increase the share of solar in Indonesia's electricity production by around 13pc, according to GFANZ. The share of renewables in Indonesia's power mix is expected to rise to around 21pc by 2030 and 41pc by 2040, according to think-tank Ember. By Prethika Nair Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

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