27 October 2022

Ebba Busch (KD) presented with this year’s follow-up report from Fossilfritt Sweden

On 27 October, Fossilfritt Sweden together with 22 business sectors presented this year's follow-up report to the Swedish Minister for Energy, Business and Industry, Ebba Busch (KD). This year's report contains both examples of significant progress made by Swedish companies and priority recommendations on how politics should remove barriers in the business world. The report shows three specific developments: 

• Construction and mining are being electrified – new emission-free technologies are being put into use in the construction and mining value chain. Electric crushing stations, piled cranes, heavy-duty trucks and the world's first fuel cell yard are already in operation. In Östersund, the first emission-free workplace in the EU will be procured during the construction of the new kindergarten in Ottfjället.
• New battery plants – two more battery plants will be built. One supplied by Volvo Cars and Northvolt and the other by AB Volvo, which has created at least 4,000 jobs in Mariestad and Gothenburg. 
• Unique hydrogen storage in the world – Hybrit will open a pilot hydrogen storage facility in Luleå, which is an important step towards fossil-free steel and strong Swedish competitiveness.

The report also highlights five important policy developments that the industry collectively believes needs to be developed and expanded, as well as six priority policy areas:

• Cross-bloc energy settlements are necessary for companies to dare to invest in the long term.
• The permitting process should take half as long as it does today.
• Updating waste definitions and increasing opportunities to own and recycle waste are necessary.
• Significantly improve training capacity and remove barriers to the use of foreign expertise, as skills shortages are a major problem. 
• Actively pursue the issue of being able to support the use of residuals products from forestry in the EU’s climate regulations, as well as measures for EU countries to levy lower taxes on biofuels. This is a cornerstone of Swedish climate policy.
• Establish a strategy to make production climate neutral or climate positive by capturing, storing and using CO2 from industrial and heating plant flue gases.

Press Release

Energi Norge and Norwea join forces to form new renewable energy organisation

Energi Norge and Norwea have joined forces to form a new and large interest organisation for renewable energy, Fornybar Norge, which will be operational from 1 January 2023. For Norway to meet its climate commitments by 2030, the country’s share of renewable energy must reach 80%, which creates opportunity for Fornybar Norge to operate. Fornybar Norge will cooperate with other organisations in the renewable field and formalise this through its own agreements. This initially applies to District Energy, the Solar Energy Cluster, the Norwegian Hydrogen Forum, the Small Power Association and Norwegian Remote Heating. In the long term, it may also involve a wider range of organisations. “Fornybar Norge must speak on behalf of the entire renewable energy industry and provide clear advice to the politicians. To become that voice, we need close cooperation with the entire value chain,” said Knut Kroepelien from Energi Norge.  

Press Release

Danish experts: nuclear power is too expensive

In a recently published report, a group of energy planning researchers stated that nuclear power is expensive to build and, looking at Europe, requires state aid. This is in contrast to offshore wind power, for which the recent Danish site, Nørre Nissum, received no subsidy at all, but won the state the right to build it for DKK 2.8 billion. The researchers looked at nuclear power plants under construction across Europe to work out the price of producing electricity using nuclear power in Denmark today. The researchers found that it costs about two to three times as much to produce electricity using nuclear power, as it does using wind and solar power. In addition to the prices, the researchers also briefly looked at the construction times for different types of energy plants. Construction of nuclear power clearly lost to construction of wind power, and especially solar power. The researchers concluded that, realistically, it takes around 15 years to build a new nuclear power plant in Europe, not counting the time it takes to get the plans in place. The time span from idea to conception and commercial production for a new Danish nuclear power plant is therefore around 20 years. In contrast, a new offshore wind farm can be in production in two to three years and a new solar farm can be built in a very short time. The experts said they would like to have a public debate on the facts presented so that corrections and additions can be written into an updated version of the report.

Nordjyske

Neova intends to build solar power on the bogs

The energy company Neova plans to build solar power on its old peat production area. According to the company, old peat-producing areas are often ideal for building solar power because they are open and flat areas. The company owns more than 10,000 hectares of land potentially suitable for solar power projects. According to Neova, the six projects under development cover a total area of around 560 hectares and have a total nominal power of around 310 MW. The first Neova solar power plant could be ready for construction next year. Neova has also announced four hybrid projects combining wind and solar power, which will have a total of approximately 55 wind turbines and correspond to an estimated nominal power of just under 500 MW. A total of approximately 450 MW is planned for hybrid projects. 

KL

Virta launches 'superfast' chargers and V2G in Australia

Finland-based smart EV charging company Virta has officially launched its first EV charger on the Australian market, in partnership with Tetris Energy. Tetris Energy has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Virta to develop an initial EV smart charging portfolio valued at UDA 30 million, with a focus on the installation of a range of technologies across destinations like universities or office buildings. The first charger to be connected to Virta’s network in Australia will be installed at the Melbourne University Boat Club. Some of the features of Virta's smart charging platform include bi-directional charging capabilities, allowing V2G (vehicle-to-grid) charging, smart charging optimisation and demand management, as well as automated invoicing and platform management. 

Thedriven

What we're reading

• Germany aims to phase out all Russian gas: finance minister (Nikkei Asia)
• IEA sees global emissions peaking in 2025 (France24)
• Global warming to exceed Paris target despite climate pledges - but increase is slowing (Sky News)
• BASF to downsize ‘permanently’ in Europe (Financial Times)
• Germany Ready to Up Uniper Aid to €60 Billion in Worst Case (Bloomberg)

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