Mundus Nordic Green News – 30 November, 2020

 

Equinor proceeds with GBP6 billion Dogger Bank project

British utility SSE and Norwegian oil company, Equinor have agreed to invest £6 bln to construct the first two phases of the Dogger Bank offshore wind power project, the two companies said on Thursday, making it the world’s largest offshore wind farm. The construction of 2.4 GW of capacity in the British part of the North Sea will be financed by a group of 29 banks and three credit export agencies. The first phase, of 1.2 GW, is expected to start operations in 2023, with the second following about a year later. A third phase is planned for completion by 2026, by which time Dogger Bank would produce enough electricity to supply 5% of British demand, the companies said.

 

Indian Environment Minister, Prakash Javadekar signs MoU with Finland

India’s Environment Minister, Prakash Javadekar, signed a MoU with Finland's Environment Minister Krista Mikkonen to develop cooperation between the two countries in the field of environment protection and biodiversity conservation. India’s Minister said that the MoU is a platform to further advance Indian and Finnish partnership and support, exchange best practices in areas like prevention of air and water pollution, waste management, promotion of circular economy, low-carbon solutions and sustainable management of natural resources, including forests, climate change and conservation of marine and coastal resources.

 

As part of the occasion, Javadekar said India will achieve its target of reducing the emissions intensity of its GDP by 35% well before the year 2030. "India has achieved its voluntary target of reducing emissions intensity of its GDP by 21% over 2005 levels by 2020 and is poised to achieve 35% reduction well before the target year of 2030.”

 

Netherlands teams with Norway, Denmark and Sweden to advance CCS

A position paper submitted on Friday by the governments of the Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, and Sweden proposed that the EU step up its efforts in deploying CCS and further integrating carbon removals into the bloc's climate policy. "Technologies like bio-energy CCS (BECCS) and direct air capture of CO2 have an important role in providing negative emissions for residual emissions that may remain in the economy and to achieve negative emissions thereafter," the non-paper said. Considerable investment is needed in developing safe and sufficient geological storage sites, the document added, with Scandinavian countries pioneering efforts to establish large-scale CCS networks. The paper highlights three policy recommendations targeted towards the deployment of CCS across the EU:

1. Establish robust, transparent and consistent monitoring and reporting guidelines for transportation of CO2 by waterborne vessels, road vehicles and rail.
2. Further integrate CO2 removals from negative emission technologies in EU climate policy and analyse policy options for incentivising their development and deployment.
3. Consider broadening the Trans-European Networks – Energy (TEN-E) Regulation to include geological storage and associated infrastructure as part of cross-border CO2 networks. The TEN-E regulation should be compatible with the goals of the Paris Agreement.

 

 

“Sweden needs a better equipped electricity grid”

To cope with both climate change and growing prosperity, Sweden needs more electricity, especially as future forecasts indicate an increase of 60% in use compared with today, according to the CEOs of Scania, the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise, Holmen AB, SveMin AB, Tyréns AB, and the Swedish Construction Federation. In order to achieve effective energy production levels while maintaining cost-effectiveness, security of supply and ecological sustainability, the CEOs contend that one must first understand the broader context of the electricity grid. Future political decisions should also be made with this context in mind, especially in tackling the problem of Sweden’s overproduction of electricity in the north, and deficit in the south. So far, electricity supply has been secured by nuclear power, cogeneration and the controllability of hydropower, write the CEOs, who continue by outlining efforts they deem capable of safeguarding Sweden’s grid. Short-term, some of the possibilities achievable by Sweden include striving towards a fossil-free electricity system, expanding cheap wind power, and creating the services required for the overall cost efficiency and function of the electrical system. Ensuring that Sweden has a cost-effective, delivery-secure and technology-neutral fossil-free electricity system in the long term is a prerequisite for jobs, the CEOs conclude, as well as increased prosperity and a healthy climate.

 

Azelio gets four new patents approved

The energy storage company Azelio has been granted four new patents. The patents refer to innovations to efficiently store energy and generate electricity from heat, which is central to being able to store renewable energy and make it available around the clock in an efficient way. CEO Jonas Eklind commented, “The fact that we get four patents approved in a short time shows the height of innovation in our energy storage solution and strengthens our position vis-à-vis competitors. We have developed unique ways to utilize energy, store and make it available when needed. The new patents complement our previously approved patents in a commercially relevant way”.

 

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