25 January 2023
Green Go Energy plans to build a green energy park to produce over one million tonnes of green fuel
The Danish energy company GreenGo Energy plans to build a green energy park that has solar and wind energy installations of a total of 4 GW, and a 2 GW hydrogen electrolysis plant in the Danish Ringkøbing-Skjern municipality. The new energy park will be named Megaton and will be one of the largest in the world, when it is completed in 2030. However, the plans for the energy park have not been finalised and therefore a formal application for Megaton has not been submitted to the municipality.
The green electricity from the renewable energy created will be fed into a nearby plant, which via electrolysis and chemical processes will produce over one million tonnes of PtX fuel annually. The project is expected to create 300-500 permanent jobs and require an investment of DKK 60 billion.
CEO of GreenGo Energy, Karsten Nielsen, says “we will once again put Denmark on the world map as a leader in the conversion to 100% green power and green fuels that are absolutely necessary to achieve the global climate goals by 2050.” Green Power Denmark, hopes other municipalities will be inspired by the project.
New research challenges Swedish green steel investments
The Journal of Clean Production has published the work of a British research team that found that there is a possibility to reduce emissions from the steel production process without the need for expensive new equipment.
Instead of reducing emissions through a costly investment in green hydrogen, it is possible to use a form of mineral perovskite to capture carbon dioxide produced in blast furnaces in traditional steel production. This potential solution would not require investment in new equipment, but can occur in the exciting blast furnaces and would greatly reduce emissions. This alternative solution has proved to work in a laboratory environment and commercialised plants using the solution can be ready in five years according to the researchers.
Two energy companies dispute over overlapping seabed
A decade ago, Britain granted BP carbon capture and Orsted wind farm plans beneath the North Sea. At the time, the overlapping 110 sq km seafloor of the plans was not considered a problem. The Department of Business, Energy and Industry explained the overlap occurred due to ambitious carbon capture and wind farm targets set by the government.
Now there is a dispute developing between the two energy companies due to recent studies that underline the risk of boats monitoring carbon leaks on the seafloor colliding with wind turbines. Moreover, the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA), which regulates offshore energy activity, confirms that current technology does not allow the ventures to co-exist in the same geographical area.
The companies are unwilling to compromise commercial competitiveness by conceding the overlapping seafloor or implementing alternative expensive solutions. For instance, BP could switch to a costlier boat-free monitoring system, but they are unwilling to do so.
The projects are crucial for Britain achieving their climate goals, which has now been undermined by the dispute. John Underhill, a geoscientist at Aberdeen University, believes Britain will have to establish a process of deciding which renewable technologies have primacy in overlapping areas if they want to achieve their climate targets.
British authorities plan to make a decision on the matter by 22 February 2023 and avoid future similar disputes by increasing coordination through a forum of regulators and industry figures. Furthermore, BPs final investment decision will be made by the end of the year, but BP remains uncertain of whether a compromise can be found in time, reducing their chances of getting enough debt financing.
Aneo invests SEK one billion in Swedish wind power
Norway’s Aneo has acquired the wind parks Grimsås and Brännliden in Sweden for about SEK one billion, which is an important step towards establishing Aneo as a wind power actor in Sweden. Aneo aims to be an innovative and secure partner specialising in energy build-out, electrification and energy efficiency.
Currently, Aneo has an investment capacity of SEK 15-20 billion, which may mostly be utilised outside of Norway if a new tax system for wind power is implemented in Norway. Aneo has also established a Stockholm office and started talking to 43 big Swedish grocery stores regarding energy efficiency services.
Nel ASA divests Hyon shares
Renewable hydrogen company Nel ASA has sold all of its shares in marine hydrogen fuel company Hyon for NOK 7 million.
Ellevio Energy Solutions plans to invest SEK half a million in battery storage
Ellevio, an energy service company, widened its strategy two years ago from only focusing on the electricity network to energy systems, which has led them to invest SEK half a million in battery storage. The Swedish energy storage market, which includes batteries, has become increasingly attractive to many companies. Recent increases in load have resulted in the need for services to balance the load-generation, which frequency regulating batteries can provide.
The CEO of Ellevio Energy Solutions (EES), a company within the Ellevio Group, Kristofer Fröjd is not intimidated by the competition. Fröjd says, “...Right now there is a lot of talk, but few projects that have actually been invested in and started. You talk a lot because you know it's an interesting market.” However, EES does admit capital access has decreased due to the economic situation, projects have become more expensive and lead times are longer compared to last year. Nonetheless Fröjd expects the market to move quickly, competition to drive more cost-effective solutions, and the industry to expand as more battery warehouses are built.
Metacon signs MoU with RDSF in Poland for hydrogen project
Metocon AB has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Regional Directorate of State Forests (RDSF) in Poland in preparation for an expected 5 MW hydrogen electrolyzer establishment.
Norwegian tax break increases European gas and oil supply
As a response to the European energy crisis caused by the Russian-Ukraine conflict, Norway has set a record by greenlighting 35 oil and gas projects in the past two and half years on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). These projects were sanctioned under Norway’s temporary tax-regime, which was implemented during the pandemic induced market downturn in 2020.
According to RystadEnergy research, these projects will help maintain high gas production on the NCS until 2030 and push back production decline to 2028. It is expected that in five years, Norway will go from supplying 24% to 30% of all European gas.
The investment in the NCS is set to reach USD 9.6 billion in 2023 due to build-out of the project portfolio. While the temporary tax-regime reduced the investment uplift rate between 2020 and 2022, net present value (NPV) increased and break-even prices lowered. Now that the oil prices have recovered from the 2020 slump, NSC operators have been trying to get their project plans submitted as soon as possible within the tax window.
What we’re reading:
- Bill Gates backs new startup aiming to reduce emissions from cow burps (The Guardian)
- US states seek to lure European clean tech groups (Financial Times)
- UK forced to reconsider £1.4bn English Channel electricity cable project (Financial Times)
- Netherlands opposes new EU money to counter US green subsidies (Financial Times)
About Nordic Green News
The Nordic countries are some of the most dynamic and successful economies in the world. They are also leaders in sustainability, from renewable energy, biofuels, carbon capture and storage and the hydrogen economy, circular economy business models and battery development, the Nordics are pioneers in policy design, technology development and consumer uptake. Mundus Nordic Green News is covering this transition for the international community. Every day we curate the stories of most relevance to international businesspeople and policy experts from the flow of news. Mundus Nordic Green Indices summarise the meta-data from our daily coverage to enable easy tracking of trends. We supplement these with our own opinion pieces and commentary.
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