4 April 2023
Today's Top Nordic Green News:
- Finns Party wants looser climate policy to join new government coalition
- Equinor cleared to collaborate on 1 GW offshore wind farm in Tasmania, Australia
- Vattenfall acquires two offshore wind projects off Denmark's coast
Finns Party wants looser climate policy to join new government coalition
In the recent Finnish election on 2 April, the popular, young female Prime Minister, Sanna Marin, and her Social Democrats party appear to have lost to two conservative opponents. The centre-right National Coalition Party claimed victory, followed by the right-wing populist party The Finns Party. The leader of The Finns Party, Riikka Purra, has outlined the conditions that must be met for his party to consider entering into a government coalition. Speaking after the party's strong showing in the election, Purra highlighted that the National Coalition Party must change its climate change policy.
Equinor cleared to collaborate on 1 GW offshore wind farm in Tasmania, Australia
Equinor has been granted approval by Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board to invest in the Bass Offshore Wind Energy project in north-east Tasmania. Equinor will work with Australian renewables company Nexsphere on the 1 GW wind farm, which was first proposed by Nexsphere for up to 70 wind turbines off the coast of Tasmania. The project aims to export electricity through the Marinus Link to Victoria in the future and produce green hydrogen and ammonia facilities planned by companies including Fortescue, Woodside and Origin.
Equinor's participation in the Bass Strait project provides the company with more opportunities to establish itself in Australia's growing offshore wind market, which is supported by state and federal governments.
Vattenfall acquires two offshore wind projects off Denmark's coast
Vattenfall has acquired full ownership of two offshore wind projects, located near Hanstholm and Djursland in Denmark, with a total capacity of 765 MW. The projects were developed by Green Nest Partner and Peak Wind under a joint venture called Anker Development. Vattenfall plans to continue developing the wind farms with the joint venture, subject to Danish authorities resuming proceedings and issuing necessary permits. The acquisition will add to Vattenfall's Denmark offshore wind portfolio, which includes the Vesterhav Syd and Nord projects with a combined capacity of 344 MW.
Ørsted and Google enter PPA for 150 MW renewable energy
Ørsted has entered into a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Google, under which Google will buy 150 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy from the Helena wind farm in the US over the next 15 years. The agreement is the first between the companies in the US and builds on Ørsted's growing portfolio of American renewable energy projects. Ørsted aims to reach a capacity of 17.5 GW in onshore renewable energy by 2030, with a portfolio consisting of wind energy, solar energy, energy storage and renewable hydrogen. While Google has set a goal that all of its data centers, cloud regions, and offices will be powered by green energy 24/7 by 2030.
Sana Ouji, Energy Lead at Google, has stated that the Helena wind farm will help the company in achieving their goal, as it will enable them to optimize production on an hourly basis by combining different resources in their energy portfolio.
Arise completes acquisition of 51% of shares in Finnish Pohjan Voima
Swedish independent green energy company Arise has completed its acquisition of 51% of the shares in Pohjan Voima, a Finnish company that develops onshore wind and solar power. The deal increases Arise's development portfolio by approximately 1.7 GW, including 600 MW of late-phase projects.
Soltech Energy acquires Swedish electrical installation company Din Elkontakt
Soltech Energy has acquired Swedish electrical installation company Din Elkontakt. The deal was financed using both Soltech's own cash and newly issued shares. Din Elkontakt had a turnover of approximately SEK 16 million in 2022.
What we’re reading
- Norway should push for a global moratorium on deep-sea mining (Financial Times)
- Gupta to stop use of coal in steelmaking at Whyalla, use wind and solar instead (RenewEconomy)
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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