9 September 2022
Norway’s largest pension fund KLP backs fund pursuing Australia’s biggest battery project
Norway's largest pension fund, KLP, has AUD 105 billion in assets and plans to invest AUD 1 billion a year in 'climate-related investments', which currently account for 8% of its total. Some of the largest solar power plants in the US and UK, as well as the Supernode project near Brisbane. KLP has invested NOK 2 billion (AUD 300 million) in the Quinbrook Renewable Energy Investment Fund with the aim of building Australia's largest battery energy storage installation. With a capacity of 2000MWh, this could be the largest battery storage facility in Australia. The “Supernode” battery project proposes to support data centres, provide dispatchable services to the grid, firm additional renewables capacity, and act as a “backstop” to reduce the risk of power outages in Queensland. Quinbrook is also proposing another 1,000MWh battery storage project at Lockyer, where an original idea to build a gas peaking plant has been converted into a plan to focus on battery storage.
Enequi's QuiPower solution granted a new European patent
Enequi has been granted a patent for the unique power balancing solution and method offered by the QuiPower platform. Enequi's solution learns consumption patterns and analyses energy data to optimise usage and reduce energy costs in residential and commercial properties. Enequi says that its unique and patented solution, can reduce homeowners electricity costs by 50% or more, while reducing their carbon footprint and contributing to a more stable national grid.
Danish Government, Regions and KL agree to save energy in the public sector
Denmark, like the rest of Europe, is facing a serious energy crisis, making the switch to green heat and renewable energy even more urgent. Across the public sector, extensive work is already being done to save energy. For example, public office buildings etc. are only being cooled to 19°C, outdoor lighting in public buildings is being switched off, and the firing heating season is being shortened.
Umeå Energi starts preliminary research on CO2 capture
With funding from the Energy Agency (Sw. Energimyndigheten), Umeå Energi is now looking at various technology options for CO2 capture. The aim of the project is to reduce CO2 emissions from the Dåva cogeneration plant, with the potential to generate up to 300,000 tonnes of negative emissions. The Dåva cogeneration plant is fuelled by waste and biomass. Umeå Energi says that it has the potential to result in significant negative CO2 emissions by directly capturing bio-sourced CO2 from biofuel combustion. The advantage of running a Bio-CCS project in the region is that it is of great interest to municipalities, commercial and logistics and transport companies.
The Stockholm Norvik Port gets hydrogen refuelling station
The Port of Stockholm has invested in hydrogen and started the procurement of a refuelling station for the Stockholm Norvik Port. The hydrogen operation is part of the goal to achieve an environment that is free of fossil truck operations by 2025. The procurement includes the delivery and commissioning of a hydrogen refuelling station and also includes a hydrogen distribution agreement, and is part of the environmental goal of achieving the Port of Stockholm's entire operation being fossil fuel free by 2030.
Letter of intent signed to build the world's first hydrogen-powered cruise ship
Northern Xplorer has signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) with Portuguese shipbuilder West Sea to build its first ship, which is claimed to be the world's first zero-emission cruise ship. It is expected to be delivered at the start of the 2025/2026 cruise season. The ship has been designed with ABB's all-electric propulsion system, including battery and hydrogen fuel cell technology, which will enable it to sail emission-free in the Norwegian fjords and further afield as the green shift takes root. The LoI is an important step towards creating a new paradigm for the cruise industry and achieving Norway's ban on fossil fuel powered ships in its World Heritage fjords from 2026. The West Sea Manager, Vitor Figueiredo said that they are proud to be the first to build such a high standard of innovative and technologically advanced vessels with minimal environmental impact.
NCC and Svea Solar to build Norrland's largest solar park
NCC and Svea Solar have started a partnership to accelerate the development of solar energy in order to contribute to the green transition. So far, the cooperation includes at least two projects and the aim is to have more. The first project is expected to be completed in Björke, outside Gävle. The solar park will be the largest in Norrland.
NYBRO ENERGI and SOLTECH ENERGY SOLUTIONS launch strategic solar partnership
In order to meet the growing demand for locally produced solar energy, the municipal energy company Nybro Energi has entered into a long-term power trading agreement with Soltech Energy Solutions. The agreement involves PPA solutions for large-scale solar installations.
Aneo acquires Swedish solar company
Aneo, the French renewable energy company owned by TrønderEnergi, is acquiring the Swedish solar energy company Sunna Group AB. Aneo will acquire 23% of the shares of Sunna, which is based in Åre. With this acquisition, Aneo hopes to finance Sunna's goal of producing 1 TWh of solar energy by 2023, equivalent to the consumption of approximately 50,000 households.
ABB and Caverion forge new partnership and move towards carbon-neutral buildings
Caverion and ABB have announced an agreement to work together to accelerate the development of energy efficient and sustainable buildings. The goal of the collaboration is to provide customers with advanced and intelligent solutions to achieve carbon-neutral buildings and meet their sustainability goals. The expanded offering can be used in new buildings and modernisations to promote more automated, intelligent and sustainable buildings to meet evolving customer needs. Optimal conditions in intelligent buildings can also improve the well-being and satisfaction for the user of the building.
First large grid-scale battery connected at Vesta headquarters in Denmark
Denmark’s largest grid-scale battery has been deployed at the Vestas headquarters in Aarhus, Denmark. The battery system was developed in-house by the Vestas Storage and Energy Solutions team and has a capacity of 2.3 MWh, making it the largest battery in Denmark.
What we're reading
- Climate tipping points of coral die-off, ice sheet collapse closer than thought (Reuters)
- LEAK: EU plans ‘revenue cap’ on power firms, mandatory electricity savings at peak hours (Euractiv)
- Europe’s power producers ‘face €1tn’ in margin calls (Financial Times)
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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