Head Lines

Microsoft Commits To Clean Energy. Signs Major Power Supply Deal With Vattenfall

Deals & Finance, Europe/Middle East/Africa, Head Lines, Wind

Microsoft has signed a ten-year agreement to power its international data centre operations in the Netherlands, with Vattenfall. The deal is the largest in the sector – based entirely on wind power. Production at the Wieringermeer Wind Farm, Netherlands is due to start from 2019. “Investing in local clean energy to power our local data centre is a win-win for our business and the Netherlands. Microsoft is committed to bringing new renewable energy sources online to power our data centres,” said Brian Janous, general manager of energy at Microsoft. The Wind Farm will eventually include 100 windmills, producing approximately 1.3 TWh of renewable electricity, comparable to the consumption of around 370,000 households.

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Amazon Launches Biggest Wind Farm Yet, Generating Over 1,000,000 MWh Each Year

Americas, Carbon, Head Lines, Wind

Amazon has announced that its largest wind farm yet—Amazon Wind Farm Texas—is now up and running, adding more than 1,000,000 MWh of clean energy to the grid each year. In total, Amazon has launched 18 wind and solar projects across the US, with over 35 more to come. Together, they will generate enough clean energy to power over 330,000 homes annually. The Farm includes more than 100 turbines – each over 300 feet tall with a rotor diameter more than twice the wingspan of a Boeing 787. It is built, owned, and operated by Lincoln Clean Energy (LCE).

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Uganda Inaugurates Breakthrough Tororo PV Plant. A Future Model For Africa?

Europe/Middle East/Africa, Head Lines, Policy

Production has commenced at the Tororo PV power plant; which, with 16 GWh of renewable energy generated annually, will cater for the energy requirements of 35,838 people and help reduce CO2 emissions by 7,200 tons. Overall, $19.6 million was invested to build the 10 MWp plant, with the engagement of several major organisations including KfW and FMO Development Banks, the World Bank and the EU. Attilio Pacifici, EU Ambassador said, “One of the key objectives of this plan is to encourage private sector participation in higher risk investments and we’re happy to demonstrate that Uganda is well positioned to be successful and a good model for replication.”

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Enel Starts Construction Of Australia’s Largest Solar PV Project

Asia Pacific, Deals & Finance, Head Lines, Solar

The Bungala Solar One facility is part of the Bungala Solar PV Project and will have an installed capacity of 137.7 MW out of a total of more than 275 MW for the whole project, that will be able to produce 570 GWh per year. The facility will cover an area of approximately 300 hectares and will consist of about 420,000 polycrystalline PV modules mounted on single-axis tracker structures which will follow the Sun’s path from east to west; increasing the amount of energy produced by the plant, compared to PV modules with fixed structures. The overall Bungala Solar PV project is expected to become fully operational in early 2019.

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ASEAN Eyes Clean Energy To Fuel Economic Growth And Build Climate Resilience

Biomass, Carbon, Energy, Head Lines

Governments of ASEAN and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), have established a strategy to accelerate the region’s transition to low-carbon, sustainable energy and build its climate resilience. “Increasing investment in renewable energy across Southeast Asia’s growing populations has significant social and economic benefits across the region, liberating them from expensive fossil fuel imports while boosting economic growth, supporting energy security, job creation and national resilience,” said Adnan Z. Amin, co-chair of the Dialogue.

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Wind Energy Has The Potential To Provide 30% Of Europe’s Power By 2030

Europe/Middle East/Africa, Head Lines, Hydro, Policy, Wind

Wind energy has the potential to provide up to 30% of Europe’s power by 2030 according to reports by WindEurope. These state that Europe is on course for an average installation rate of 12.6 GW per year in the years up to 2020, taking it to a total of 204 GW by 2020. By this date wind would be Europe’s largest renewable energy source, surpassing hydro and providing 16.5% of it’s electricity demand. The growth is concentrated in six countries, with Eastern Europe, a platform for growth beyond 2020.

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DEWA Awards World’s Largest CSP Project To ACWA, Shanghai Elec. Led Consortium

Deals & Finance, Europe/Middle East/Africa, Head Lines, Solar

Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has awarded the 700MW AED14.2 billion-fourth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park to a consortium comprising Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power and China’s Shanghai Electric. This is the largest single-site Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) project in the world and will have the world’s tallest solar tower, measuring 260 metres. The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park is the largest single-site solar park in the world and will generate 1,000MW by 2020 and 5,000MW by 2030.

DEWA Awards World’s Largest CSP Project To ACWA, Shanghai Elec. Led Consortium Read More »

Ministerial Meeting Gathers in Italy To Scale-Up Geothermal Energy Worldwide

Carbon, Geothermal, Head Lines, Policy

Leaders and ministers from more than 25 governments will meet in Florence, Italy on 11 September, to accelerate the global adoption of geothermal energy. The Global Geothermal Alliance (GGA) meeting is the largest such ministerial gathering dedicated to geothermal energy development. Geothermal energy today accounts for just 0.3 percent of globally installed renewable energy capacity. However – once start-up costs are met – it is one of the lowest-cost and most reliable renewable energy sources available. The global potential for geothermal is estimated to be in the region of 200 GW.

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Italy: Local Government Works With Enel To Make Florence A Leading Smart City

Head Lines, Policy

Public and private electric mobility and energy efficiency are the cornerstones of the partnership between the Municipality of Florence and Enel. The historic city has now made a bid to become Italy’s most cutting-edge smart city and a recent meeting between the two provided the opportunity to take stock of the current situation and plan the next moves for projects that include, and are not limited to, energy efficiency, smart grids, smart lighting, district heating with solar storage, e-mobility and the Internet of Things (IOT); complete with resilience, security and smart waste.

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Offshore Wind Prices Drop By 50% In 5 Years. Now Cheaper Than Nuclear And Gas

Carbon, Europe/Middle East/Africa, Head Lines, Wind

Offshore wind continues to highlight UK market leadership. During the last decade; government support and innovation combined with increases in turbine efficiency and sizes have resulted in the UK heading the global ‘installed capacity’ charts. Figures just published show that offshore wind is now the lowest cost option for large-scale, low-carbon power. Advances in turbine technology have contributed significantly to recent reductions in costs per megawatt hour. Huge blades, with a single rotation, now can generate enough energy to power a home for 24 hours. Impressively, by the mid-2020s turbine, capacities are set to double again.

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