Category: News

                  ESB Networks’ 95MW Gillinstown solar farm in County Meath has begun delivering power to the grid. The company connected 23 large-scale renewable generator projects to Ireland’s electricity network in 2022, with total green energy capacity of 688MW. In addition, some 79MW across four battery storage projects were connected this year. ESB Networks Managing Director Nicholas Tarrant said: “The connection of almost 700MW of clean energy this year is a significant collective achievement for ESB Networks, the renewables community and for Ireland. “It represents a 15% increase in renewable generation year-on-year and it is testament to ESB Networks’ continued investment and innovation in the development of a safe, resilient and flexible electricity network. “Ireland is a world leader in the integration of intermittent renewables on its electricity system, with wind comprising almost half of electricity generation for October and November. The Climate Action Plan and ESB’s Net Zero by 2040 strategy commits to an acceleration in renewables connections in the next decade as we seek to deliver on our climate targets as we transition to a greener, brighter future.”

Credits: renews.biz [Image: ESB Networks]

               Bluefield Solar has acquired an operational solar portfolio from Fengate Asset Management with a capacity of over 46MW. The portfolio consists of two ground mounted solar photovoltaic farms, the 39.3 MWp Raventhorpe plant located in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire and the 7.1MWp Roanhead facility located in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria. The enterprise value of the portfolio is £56m, including the economic benefit of all cashflows from May 2022. Both solar sites are accredited under the Renewable Obligation Certificate (ROC) regime with a tariff of 1.4 ROCs. In the period 2022 to 2035, the proportion of contracted and regulated revenues from the portfolio is projected to be approximately 60%. Following the acquisition, the total installed capacity of Bluefield’s portfolio has grown to 813MWp. John Scott, Chairman of Bluefield Solar, said: “We are delighted to have acquired this high-quality portfolio of operating assets from Fengate Asset Management. The portfolio includes a high proportion of contracted and regulated revenues, and so represents a natural complement to the company’s significant development pipeline of new build solar and storage projects.”

Credits: renews.biz [Image: Pixabay]

               Enfinity Global has closed €142m in long-term and VAT financing, and LCs facilities for the construction of 112MW in three utility-scale solar power plants in Italy. This financing was comprised of two tranches with Santander Corporate & Investment Banking and BayernLB providing project financing for two power plants totaling 72MW, and an additional tranche for 40MW that also included Nomura. These institutions have acted as mandated lead arrangers for each project financing through a club deal structure that includes €85m of non-recourse senior debt financing, and €57m of VAT financing and LC facilities (PPA and PV modules). Carlos Domenech, chief executive of Enfinity Global, said: “We are grateful to partner with three leading financial institutions and demonstrate the quality of our portfolio and the depth of the financing sector. “Enfinity Global has an additional 318MW of permitted projects and is committed to build out its incremental 2GW of advanced permitting projects in Italy.

                 “We aim to bring solutions to our customers by delivering predictable and affordable clean energy. “Our plan will accelerate the country’s energy independence goal while creating thousands of jobs in the green economy.” The 112MW portfolio is located across the Lazio region and is expected to be operational in the first half of 2024.

Credits: renews.biz [Image: Robert Anasch/Unsplash ]

                AIB has invested in BNRG, an Irish-based developer and operator of solar energy projects globally. BNRG currently has a solar development pipeline of 2.7GW across Ireland, the USA, UK and Australia, in addition to 23MW of operating assets in the USA. AIB’s €8.5m investment will help fund BNRG’s ongoing development pipeline, which aims to have 1.8GW of solar energy products installed or under construction by 2025. AIB’s investment follows a recent partnership between Impax Asset Management and BNRG to deliver portfolios of solar energy projects, with an initial focus on the US and Ireland. In the US, BNRG aims to take 70MW of projects into construction in Maine in the coming months. In Ireland, BNRG was recently successful in winning CFD contracts in the Renewable Energy Support Scheme 2 auction for four projects totalling 55MW in Cork and Kildare, with construction expected to commence early next year. These contracts will ensure material savings for electricity consumers. BNRG has also recently re-entered the UK, after a period of success between 2011 and 2017. Recent success in the UK government’s CfD auction will allow a portfolio comprising 42 MW in the South of England to be constructed between 2023 and 2024, it said. In Australia, in partnership with the Leeson Group, BNRG is developing a portfolio of 135MW of solar projects co-located with 220MWh of battery storage.

                   The first five projects, comprising 35MW will commence construction in mid 2023. In all, BNRG expects to commence construction on over 200MW next year. BNRG chief executive and founder David Maguire said: “BNRG welcomes this investment from AIB, an Irish financial institution that has demonstrated a clear commitment to helping fund the fight against climate change. “The investment will help BNRG accelerate the development of our solar portfolio, across multiple jurisdictions and expand our activity globally.” Head of AIB Investment Banking Finlay McFadyen added: “AIB is delighted to partner with BNRG, a leading Irish solar developer and operator. “The investment is part of AIB’s ambitious strategy to help address the challenges of climate change by providing funding to companies and projects that are helping to create a cleaner and more sustainable future. “This will be of benefit to our economy and society.”

Credits: renews.biz [Image: BNRG ]

               RWE has begun producing power from a solar-storage plant in Germany that has been built on an opencast mine site. The 14MW plant has been built on the Inden lignite opencast mine in the district of Düren, in North Rhine-Westphalia. The “RWE indeland Solarpark” hosts around 26,500 solar panels. Katja Wünschel, CEO Onshore Wind and Solar Europe & Australia of RWE Renewables, said: “With the RWE indeland solar park, we are making an important contribution to the energy transition in Germany. “And that’s just the beginning: In our home market, we will realise every wind and solar project that is possible. “By the end of the decade, we want to invest around 4 billion euros gross in the green energy world in North Rhine-Westphalia alone.” Lars Kulik, member of the Executive Board of RWE Power responsible for lignite, added: “The RWE indeland solar park is a visible sign that structural change and the energy transition can succeed. “There is plenty of space for renewables on our opencast mining sites. We will use this to ensure that the area remains an energy location in the future.” The RWE indeland solar park was built on a gravel area of around 15 hectares on the western edge of the Inden opencast mine. After the end of the opencast mine at the end of 2029, this area will be lakeshore, provide 20 years to use the site to host a clean energy plant.

Credits: renews.biz [Image: RWE]

               Gamesa Electric will supply its Proteus PV inverters to the Zvizdan solar farm in Bosnia and Herzegovina under a new deal signed with MET Consulting The scope of the project includes the design, supply and commissioning of seven PV4500 Proteus Inverters, supplied as three units of PVS9100 and one unit of PVS4500 integrated, fully assembled and factory tested PV Power Stations, and their corresponding spare parts. On top of that, Gamesa Electric will also supply the Orchestra Power Plant Controller (PPC).

               “We are delighted to be making our debut in the Balkans with a great client,” said Enrique de la Cruz, Sales Director of Solar & Storage at Gamesa Electric. “This project is another example of how competitive the Proteus series inverter is in large-scale projects. They are inverters with a power of up to 4,700 kVA/unit, reaching up to plug & play solutions of 9,400 kVA at medium voltage. “With such high-power ratings, the number of units can be reduced and therefore the LCoE of the project can be optimised. In addition, the record efficiency levels of 99.4% and the low THD make the performance of the Proteus PV solutions excellent.”

Credits: renews.biz [Image: Siemens Gamesa]

               Neoen has begun the construction of one of Portugal’s largest solar parks, with a capacity of 272MW. The park will comprise two contiguous solar farms, which are the 68MW Torre Bela Solar Farm, fully owned by Neoen, and the 204MW Rio Maior Solar Farm, owned in partnership with Aura Power. The facility is located at Herdade da Torre Bela, in the municipality of Azambuja, 70 km north of Lisbon and connected to the REN substation, in Rio Maior, via a 400 kV overhead line. Aldesa, one of the largest construction groups in Spain, has been given notice to proceed under an Engineering, Procurement and Construction turnkey contract. The commissioning of the solar park is scheduled for early 2024. Some 80% of the renewable energy produced will be purchased by the Portuguese State, under two 15-year power purchase agreements (PPA) awarded under the 2019 renewable capacity auction.

               The PPAs are expected to start in the course of 2025. The remaining energy and certificates of origin will be sold on the electricity market. The solar park will be built in plots with an average size of 20 hectares, separated by green corridors to improve connections between almost 200 hectares of biodiversity protection areas. Over 6000 cork oaks, a protected tree species in Portugal, will be maintained in these protected spaces. A tree and shrub curtain will shield the panels from view, so that the solar farms blend in with the surrounding landscape. Bernardo dos Santos, Managing Director of Neoen Portugal, said: “It gives us great satisfaction to see the Rio Maior and Torre Bela solar farms get off the drawing board: their construction will bring Portugal closer to its objective of achieving net zero emissions by 2050. “I would like to thank the Ministry of Environment and Climate Action and all public institutions for their support over the past years. “We would also like to thank the people and local government in the surrounding community who have championed the project and the benefits it will bring.”

Credits: renews.biz [Image: Neoen]

               Danish developer European Energy has acquired a majority stake in a company developing a 3600MW solar and PtX project in Australia. European Energy’s acquisition of Austrom, based in Queensland, will accelerate the 3.6GW Pacific Solar Hydrogen Project in the Gladstone region, the developer said. European Energy will be doing the development work as well as managing the grid process for the Pacific Solar Hydrogen Project portfolio. Austrom has already secured the rights to four renewable sites covering 6000 hectares in proximity to the Gladstone export hub. The Pacific Solar Hydrogen Project is estimated to be able to produce well over 100,000 tonnes of green hydrogen a year. “It is one of the biggest projects that we or anyone in the world for that matter have undertaken. “We do believe that it is feasible and realistic to realise this project in 2026 not least because of the willingness of the local authorities in Australia to see the possibilities of moving ahead on the green transition and become a key exporter of the fuel of tomorrow” said Thorvald Spanggaard, Executive Vice President at European Energy and Head of Project Development.

               Austrade and Trade and Investment, Queensland (TIQ) stated it was pleased to welcome a major international investment in renewable energy in Queensland. “Austrade welcomes European Energy’s investment in Austrom, as the company develops the Pacific Solar Hydrogen Project in Queensland.  “European Energy is a welcome new entrant into Queensland’s hydrogen future.  We wish the companies well as they work towards developing the Pacific Solar Hydrogen Project” said Acting CEO Trade and Investment Queensland, Richard Watson. Austrom is an Australian enterprise specialising in the procurement and development of large-scale renewable projects. In September 2022, Austrom and European Energy agreed that European Energy would acquire a majority stake in Austrom. European Energy said it will be accelerating the formal development and grid connection processes for the Pacific Solar Hydrogen Project portfolio in the coming months.

Credits: renews.biz [Image: European Energy]

               Solar developer Better Energy has landed a “three-digit million euro investment” from pension fund. The new funds will form part of Better Energy’s ambition to scale green energy production across their markets of Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Poland. After the transaction, ATP owns 15 % of Better Energy and will have a seat on the company’s board of directors. The investment cements the central role of solar power in the future energy mix in Europe. Better Energy is one of the fastest growing producers of solar energy in Northern Europe with a pipeline of more than 10GW of large scale solar parks that will supply companies, cities and countries with green energy that reduces carbon emissions, boosts biodiversity, and is cheaper than coal, oil and gas.

               The investment from ATP is a lever for Better Energy’s continued scaling across their active markets of Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Poland. Better Energy chief executive Rasmus Lildholdt Kjær said: “In 2020, we completed our transition from developer to renewable energy company. “We are on the first few pages in the next chapter in the green transition, where it’s all about rolling out and accelerating scalable renewable energy production. “The investment from ATP helps boost our momentum in all our markets, not least Poland where the need for cheap, green energy is almost insatiable.” Polish electricity generation is currently dominated by fossil fuels, with more than 70% of electricity being generated from coal. The positive environmental impact of additional renewable energy resources in Poland is therefore significantly higher than in many other countries, Better Energy said. The investment from ATP further strengthens Better Energy’s push to develop subsidy-free large scale solar parks in the country. Better Energy Poland already has Postomino 30MW and Polanow 30MW projects under operation.

Credits: renews.biz [Image: Better Energy ]

               UK developer Renewable Connections has secured planning permission for solar and battery project in Scotland.  Angus Council has given the go ahead for a solar farm, with battery storage, which will have a capacity of 42MW. Renewable Connections submitted the application to the Council earlier this year, following a community consultation. It is anticipated construction could commence in 2025. Montreathmont Solar Farm, is located 13 km to the east of Forfar and 6 km south of Brechin. The project was approved unanimously at Angus Council’s Development Standards Committee, on the 13 December 2022 following a recommendation for approval by Council officers.

               The addition of the battery storage facilities will enable the renewable energy produced by Montreathmont Solar Farm to be used at different times of day and climatic conditions, helping to balance supply and demand in the grid. John Lindsay, Development Manager for Scotland, at Renewable Connections said: “Locally this project will make a valuable contribution towards Angus Council’s Sustainable Energy & Climate Action Plan. “Throughout the development of this project we have engaged extensively with local people, the Council and statutory consultees. The feedback received has helped shape the final design of the project, which includes proposals to greatly enhance the biodiversity of the area, including the creation of new habitats via wildflower meadow planting, as well as the installation of bat and bird boxes, and other ecological enhancement measures.” The site originally received planning permission for a 42MW solar farm via another developer in November 2015. In late 2020, Renewable Connections reopened discussions with the landowner and the project was reappraised. The approved application includes flexibility as to whether a fixed or tracking solar panel mounting system is used in order to maximise the potential energy yield from the site and a commitment to provide a community benefit fund of up to £2000 per MW.

Credits: renews.biz