30 September 2022

OX2 adds an offshore wind project of approximately 5,000 MW to its development portfolio outside Åland

Together with Ålandsbanken Fondbolag, OX2 is developing offshore wind power in two projects, one in the south of Åland and one in the north of Åland. The two projects are operated by two joint ventures, with OX2 as the developer and Ålandsbanken Fondbolag as a long-term shareholder in its investment fund. The Åland government has recently issued a permit to investigate these projects and as a result OX2 has included its share of the projects, estimated at around 5,000 MW, in its project development portfolio. In addition to offshore wind farms in Åland's waters, the Noatun project also includes grid solutions for the distribution of electricity in Åland, Sweden, Finland and Estonia. At the end of the second quarter of this year, OX2's total project development portfolio amounted to 23,864 MW.

Press Release 

IKEA Sweden reduces food waste in its department stores by 43% 

IKEA Sweden reduced food waste by 43% in four years, which is equivalent to 1,270,088 meals or 2,184.6 tonnes of CO2 emissions in the same period. Today, about one-third of all food produced and harvested worldwide is wasted, thus accounting for 8-10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. As part of IKEA's goal to be recycling and climate positive by 2030, IKEA set a goal in 2017 to reduce global food waste production by 50%. IKEA Sweden prepares and serves food to approximately 20 million customers each year in its 21 stores and sees an opportunity to address food waste by combining employee awareness with technology. An important factor in their effort is the use of artificial intelligence in part through Ingka's partnership with Winnow Solutions, and in part through a comprehensive training program for all employees who work with food. The Winnow Vision AI tool uses the same type of technology as driverless cars to measure and record food waste in IKEA restaurants, bistros and Swedish food markets around the world.  

VIA

Ecoclime Group and Akademiska Hus agree on two partnerships

Akademiska Hus has reached a new agreement with Ecoclime Group for the new construction project Aquila. The project includes 170 student apartments equipped with Ecoclime's recirculating energy system Evertherm SEW, which recovers 95% of the thermal energy from waste water. The order value amounts to SEK 2.9 million. By installing Evertherm SEW, up to 95% of the heat in the wastewater can be recovered. In the Aquila project, it is estimated that 350 MWh of energy will be saved annually, while reducing the climate footprint by 24.9 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year. Meanwhile, SDC Automation, a subsidiary of Ecoclime Group, has signed a three-year framework agreement, valued at USD 10 million, for building automation to improve the energy efficiency of Akademiska Hus' property portfolio in Stockholm. 

Press Release, Press Release 

Nordfund invests NOK 220 million in wind farms in South Africa

Norwegian development assistance company, Norfund, is investing NOK 220 million in three wind farms in South Africa from a new climate investment fund. Norfund reports in a press release that the wind farms will be built by French company EDF Renewables. When the plants are operational, they will provide more than 1,400 GWh of electricity per year. Given South Africa's current energy mix, in which coal is the largest source of energy, the project could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by more than 1.3 million tonnes per year, according to the press release. This is equivalent to the annual emissions of 700,000 petrol vehicles in Norway. The Climate Investment Fund, which started operations in May this year, is planned to increase to NOK 10 billion over five years.

Adresseavisen

What we're reading

• Nord Stream explosions - The point of no return for gas in Europe? (Mundus Nordic Green)
• Finland wants to transform how we make clothes (BBC)
• Baltic Sea pipeline leak damages marine life and climate (The Independent)
• Too expensive: BNEF questions use of Australian green ammonia in Japan coal generators (RenewEconomy)

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