26 May 2023

Today's Top Nordic Green News:

• Linde Gas withdraws from PtX project at Port of Aabenraa
• Ørsted strengthens position in the US offshore wind market
• Nordic duo team up for Direct Air Capture and Storage in Iceland

Linde Gas withdraws from PtX project at Port of Aabenraa

Swedish Linde Gas and the Port of Aabenraa in Denmark had previously announced their collaboration to explore the establishment of an electrolysis plant at the port. However, Linde Gas has completed a feasibility study and decided not to participate in the project. This decision is not based on any shortcomings of the port's location or technical infrastructure.

The Port of Aabenraa is now considering its next steps and evaluating other potential projects. Despite Linde Gas's withdrawal, there is still significant interest in the area due to its unique location and infrastructure. The port's director, Henrik Thykjær, remains optimistic and sees this as an opportunity for new possibilities and ventures to emerge.

​​soefart, Press Release

Ørsted strengthens position in the US offshore wind market

Ørsted has signed an agreement to acquire Eversource Energy's 50% stake in an undeveloped offshore wind area called Lease Area OCS-A 500 (Lease 500) in the northeastern United States. The area spans 756 km2 and has a potential capacity of up to 4 GW. As part of the deal, Ørsted will also take over contracts, leasing agreements and partnerships related to strategic port facilities, operations and maintenance centres and a service vessel. The acquisition, valued at USD 625 million, strengthens Ørsted's position in the US offshore wind market and aligns with its ambition to build a thriving offshore wind industry, create jobs and foster innovation. Lease 500 is strategically significant due to its proximity to existing Ørsted projects, favourable wind conditions, and its ability to supply power to Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2023.

EnergySupply

Nordic duo team up for Direct Air Capture and Storage in Iceland

Icelandic Carbfix and ReMovr from Norway announced that they would collaborate to work on a direct air capture (DAC) and storage project in Iceland. Carbfix, best known for its innovative approach to carbon capture and storage (CCS), while ReMovr specialises in DAC using Zeolite to capture CO2 molecules in microporous pellets. The aim of their joint effort is to develop a scalable solution for removing CO2 directly from air and storing it underground in Iceland.

The project will involve utilising Carbfix's existing infrastructure, which involves injecting CO2 into underground basaltic rock formations, where it mineralizes and becomes permanently stored. ReMovr's DAC technology will be integrated into this process to capture CO2 directly from the atmosphere. Carbfix’s largest project Coda Terminal, received a €115M grant from the EU’s Innovation Fund, with an expected capacity to mineralize 3 million tons of CO2 annually

By combining these technologies, the collaboration aims to significantly reduce the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, contributing to climate change mitigation efforts. The project's success could have positive implications for addressing global carbon emissions and advancing sustainable practices.

Arctic Today

Wind power production greatly reduced during summer in Finland

Finnish transmission system operator Fingrid has announced restrictions on wind power production along the west coast during the summer due to ongoing modifications and construction of new sub-stations in the 400-kilovolt grid. The regional adaptation of electricity production will last for several weeks, and during transmission interruptions, wind power generation may temporarily be up to 2000 MWs lower than the installed capacity, depending on wind conditions. The growth of wind power capacity along the west coast has necessitated these restrictions. Fingrid states that the concentrated production in the region could pose challenges to the stability of the transmission grid in exceptional operating situations until the new network investments are completed in 2025, 2027 and 2028. Fingrid will also not collect grid fees for six months this year.

Taloussanomat, Helsingin Sanomat

AWS collaborates to accelerate wind power deployment in the EU through digital platform

Amazon Web Services (AWS), in collaboration with WindEurope and Accenture, has launched a project aimed at expediting the permitting process for new wind power plants in the EU. With the objective of increasing renewable energy sources to account for over 40% of electricity by 2030, the project aims to create a digital platform that simplifies and speeds up the licensing process. By automating tasks such as data extraction, checklist creation and information accessibility, the platform seeks to reduce the workload of authorities and facilitate faster decision-making. AWS's involvement aligns with its position as the world's largest corporate buyer of renewable energy, with multiple wind power projects in progress across the Nordic region.

NordiskaProjekt

Orsted to join work on biodiversity blueprint for UK offshore wind power sites

Orsted and UK-based marine consultants Bluedot Associates have teamed up to develop a biodiversity framework to apply to the planned offshore floating wind power leasing round the UK is planning in the Celtic Sea.

Carbon Pulse

Compensate Climate Action app to shut down

On 3 May, Nordic Green News reported that Finnish non-profit Compensate Foundation was scaling down. Now it has announced the closure of the its consumer app and monthly subscription-based emissions compensation service at the end of the month. The app had channelled €2.5 mln into climate projects, translating into 315,932 carbon credits retired and 147,836 tCO2 real climate impact, according to Compensate’s overcompensation model based on its in-house project screening and rating process. The Compensate Foundation will continue its non-profit work to reform the voluntary carbon market and is planning to produce a white paper on non-offset climate claims in early June.

Compensate

What we’re reading

• G7 calls on all countries to reach net zero by 2050 (Climate Home News)
• Norway adds pressure as oil major climate protests heat up (Reuters)
• ‘Outraged and furious’: Germans rebel against gas boiler ban (Financial Times)
• China’s car market has become a Darwinian battleground (Financial Times)
• EU gas demand expected to fall by more than Russian imports in 2023 (Financial Times)
• Solar power investment to exceed oil for first time, says IEA chief (Financial Times)

According to Fatih Birol, the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA), there has been a big shift in energy investments, with solar power investment predicted to surpass spending on oil production for the first time this year. 

The IEA forecasts that $1.7tn will be spent on clean technologies in comparison to $1tn on fossil fuels this year. This is a significant shift from five years ago when the $2tn in annual energy investment was evenly split between fossil fuels and clean technology.

The surge in clean energy development is driven by a rebound in economic growth post-Covid-19, concerns about price volatility and energy security due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and enhanced policy support such as the US Inflation Reduction Act.

Solar power is highlighted as the "star of global energy investments", with total spending in 2023 forecasted to reach $382bn, exceeding the $371bn expected to be spent on oil production.

Despite the increase in clean energy spending, global energy-related carbon emissions grew by 0.9% last year to a record 36.8bn tonnes. Birol calls on oil companies to direct more of their spending towards low-carbon energy solutions, as currently, less than 5% of the total spent on fossil fuel production is invested in low-emissions sources of energy.

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