8 June 2023
Today's Top Nordic Green News:
- Denmark shuts down commercial windmill proposals – not enough grid capacity
- Ørsted to invest SEK 475 billion in renewable energy by 2030
- Ørsted and Vestas partner for net-zero wind farms
Denmark shuts down commercial windmill proposals – not enough grid capacity
Until now there were 27 commercial projects awaiting processing under Denmark’s open-door scheme for wind energy. The scheme allowed companies to apply for free allocation of Danish waters in return for bearing the full costs of wind farm projects. However, Ministry of Climate, Energy and Utilities today announced that due to insufficient grid capacity, all but 3 of the 27 projects will be rejected. The scheme was originally put on hold in February 2023, since which time 6 projects under the scheme have been allowed to progress.
The news follows last week’s launch of the largest ever offshore wind tender in Denmark’s history. The tender includes massive expansion of Bornholm Energy Island, which will generate between 9 and 14 GW of energy, and has been met by industry with broad enthusiasm. Nevertheless, interest group Green Power Denmark has expressed shock at today’s announcement, calling it “a huge failure”.
Ørsted to invest SEK 475 billion in renewable energy by 2030
Ørsted has announced plans to invest DKK 475 billion (EUR 63b) to achieve its goal of reaching a total capacity of 50 GW in renewable energy by 2030. This investment amount is an increase from the previously stated DKK 375 billion. Additionally, Ørsted has raised its expectations for the company's overall operating earnings, projecting it to be between 50-55 billion kroner in 2030 - an average annual growth in earnings of 14%. The company had previously set a long-term target of SEK 35-40 billion in operating earnings for 2027, representing an annual growth rate of approximately 12%.
VNExplorer, EnergiWatch, Reuters
Ørsted and Vestas partner for net-zero wind farms
Ørsted and Vestas have announced a commercial sustainability partnership. The partnership aims to address decarbonization and circularity challenges in the wind industry by procuring low-carbon steel wind turbine towers and blades made from recycled materials. The companies commit to integrating sustainable procurement in all future joint offshore wind projects, signalling a demand for innovative low-carbon and circular solutions. The collaboration also includes scaling circular blade recycling technology and exploring other areas of sustainability collaboration. The partnership highlights the urgent need for industry-wide action in the fight against the climate crisis.
Ørsted commits to reuse or recycle all globally installed solar panels
Ørsted has pledged to reuse or recycle all of its globally installed solar panels. The expansion of solar energy requires significant amounts of raw materials, and their extraction has environmental and social consequences. Currently, solar panels are only recycled to a limited extent, with many ending up in landfills. Ørsted aims to address the critical waste issue in the industry and reduce the social and environmental impacts by partnering with Solarcycle, a technology-based company specialising in solar cell recycling. Solarcycle's facility in Texas can extract 95% of valuable materials from the panels, including metals like silver, copper and aluminium, as well as glass and silicon. Ørsted's commitment aligns with its ambition to achieve a renewable energy portfolio of 17.5 GW in wind and solar energy by 2030.
Swedish climate goals irrelevant after new EU legislation
The Expert Group on Public Economics (Sw. Expertgruppen för Studier i Offentlig ekonomi, ESO), a committee attached to the Ministry of Finance, released a report yesterday examining Sweden’s climate policy in relation to the EU’s new Fit for 55 climate reform package. Sweden’s climate goals were adopted by the Riksdag in 2017, enjoying multilateral support from all parties except the Sweden Democrats. Yet the EU’s new climate legislation is considerably more ambitious and if Sweden fails to live up to its requirements, it can be forced to pay fines from the EU’s Court of Justice. The author of the report, Magnus Nilsson, remarked: “The EU has caught up with and almost surpassed Sweden, meaning that Sweden’s climate goals no longer determine Swedish climate policy - rather, they are decided by EU legislation.” Nilsson remarked that Sweden could easily get rid of its current climate goals, but “it can be good to have national goals to gather around.” However, these goals will not “in themselves create lower emissions.”
Fortum buys Telge Energi
Fortum announced on Wednesday that they will buy Telge Energi, with the deal to close during the third quarter of 2023. The SEK 450 million purchase of the Södertälje-based electricity company, which still requires approval by Södertälje Municipality and the Swedish Competition Authority (Sw. Konkurrensverket). Following the acquisition, Fortum will become the biggest energy supplier in Sweden. Fortum also announced on Wednesday the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Westinghouse Electric Company regarding the development and installation of new nuclear plants in Finland and Sweden. This memorandum aligns with Fortum’s new strategy for nuclear power, launched in autumn 2022.
Fortum and Westinghouse to explore new nuclear power possibilities
Fortum and Westinghouse have signed an agreement to explore the possibilities of new nuclear power in Finland and Sweden. The collaboration aims to assess the feasibility of investing in nuclear power projects in the two countries. Fortum has previously conducted a two-year study on small modular reactors (SMRs) and large conventional reactors in Finland and Sweden, working with other companies such as EDF, Karnfull Next and Helen. The companies will assess the conditions and make potential investment decisions later. Cooperation agreements have been made with other entities as well. Westinghouse is currently developing an SMR that is expected to be available from 2033 onwards. Fortum has also been exploring opportunities with Rolls-Royce to deploy SMRs in Finland and Sweden.
Australian state backs Equinor’s offshore wind farm in Bass Strait
The state government of Tasmania in Australia has expressed support for the development of a large-scale offshore wind farm in the Bass Strait. The project, known as the Bass Offshore Wind Energy Project (BOWE), is a collaboration between Australian start-up Nexsphere and Norwegian energy company Equinor. The government has committed to sourcing green power from the wind farm once it is operational and has also agreed to work with the project owners to have northern Tasmania declared as an Offshore Renewable Energy Zone. The BOWE project aims to install up to 70 wind turbines off the coast of Tasmania, initially generating around 1 GW of power. The offshore wind zone in the Bass Strait is expected to contribute significantly to Tasmania's renewable energy targets and create job opportunities in the region. The project will progress through the feasibility licensing process pending government approvals and customer demand.
Sweden's largest electrolysis plant for steel production to start in September
Ovako, a Swedish steel and recycling company, is set to inaugurate the world's first facility for fossil-free hydrogen heating of steel, which will also be Sweden's largest electrolysis plant. The plant, scheduled to start operations on September 5th, aims to heat steel at the Hofors steelworks. The 20 MW facility will generate 3,880 cubic metres of fossil-free hydrogen per hour and is a significant step towards Ovako's goal of achieving zero emissions and contributes to Sweden's renewable energy targets. The company plans to utilise local hydrogen production in all its steel rolling units by 2030, contingent on the availability of fossil-free electricity. The development of the plant is supported by the Swedish Energy Agency and the European Union.
Revolutionising wind turbines with tree-inspired foundations
STILFOLD, a Swedish technology company, has developed a potentially groundbreaking solution for constructing foundations using their unique steel origami technique inspired by tree roots. By mimicking the anchoring properties of plant root systems, STILFOLD Foundation aims to revolutionise the construction of large structures such as wind turbines and bridges. This innovative approach offers significant environmental benefits by minimising material consumption, reducing CO2 emissions and decreasing the overall environmental impact associated with traditional concrete-based foundations. With the potential to significantly enhance sustainability in construction, STILFOLD's technology has garnered interest from various industries and has the potential to make a substantial difference in reducing the carbon footprint of infrastructure projects.
Teco 2030 and Skeleton Technologies partner for renewable hydrogen in maritime sector
Teco 2030 and Skeleton Technologies have formed a strategic partnership to accelerate the use of renewable hydrogen in the maritime sector and demonstrate zero-emission travel and port operations. The initial step of the partnership involves integrating Skeleton's "superbattery" with Teco 2030's fuel cell modules in the HyEkoTank project.
What we’re reading
- EU Parliament could scrap ‘strategic’ clean tech label in Net-Zero Industry Act (Euractiv)
- ‘No flower power exercise’: ECB flags stark risks from biodiversity loss (Financial Times)
- Wildfires burn across Canada with little relief in sight (Reuters)
- EU parliament to require companies to implement climate transition plans (Seneca ESG)
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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