1. Germany boosts offshore wind and hydrogen
There is an increase in renewables targets and a commitment to end coal-powered generation by 2038.
In recent months, the German Government has taken significant steps to support the offshore wind sector, as well as the development of green hydrogen, an emissions-free alternative fuel created using electrolysis powered by renewables.
Long-awaited draft amendments to offshore wind legislation were agreed by the German Cabinet in June. Changes include a 5GW increase of the 2030 offshore wind target, to 20GW, and a new target of 40GW by 2040. The draft also includes greater flexibility for auction scheme volumes, to account for future grid connection issues as renewable generation continues to increase to meet targets. To address future hydrogen needs, it establishes a basis for a new legal framework to allow for offshore wind farms without a grid connection, which would be used for green-hydrogen production.
The latest draft of Germany’s national hydrogen strategy, published in June 2020, discusses connecting German electrolyzer capacity to other EU states, to use North Sea or Baltic state offshore wind capacity to produce green hydrogen for German consumption.
In September, the German and Australian Governments also agreed to explore the possibility of cooperating on a green-hydrogen supply chain. The joint study will look at production, storage, transport and use of green hydrogen, as well as current technology and research.
In another boost to Germany’s green-hydrogen industry, its Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy awarded the Westküste100 green-hydrogen project an initial €30m (US$35m). The five-year project aims to build a 30MW electrolyzer connected to offshore wind. It will study equipment operation, maintenance, control and grid compatibility, with the aim of scaling up to a 700MW-capacity electrolysis plant. The consortium behind the project, which includes EDF Deutschland and Ørsted Deutschland, wants to “map and scale a regional hydrogen economy on an industrial scale,” producing green hydrogen for transmission in the gas network and use in industrial processes.
In addition, the German Government committed to ending all coal-powered generation by 2038 with the adoption of the Coal Phase-Out Act on 14 August 2020. From this date, no new coal-fired plants can start operating unless they were granted a license before 29 January 2020. The commitment also amends the German Renewable Energy Sources Act, to raise the renewable generation goal to 65% by 2030.
2. India’s solar auction attracts record-low tariff bid
The auction garners international interest, with winners from Spain, Canada and the UK.
India’s April 2020 solar auction had a record-low tariff bid from Spanish developer Solarpack of INR2.36 per kilowatt hour (US$0.03/kWh).
This was the ninth tranche of the Interstate Transmission System solar PV tender operated by the Solar Energy Corporation of India, the company established by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy to facilitate solar development. The auction attracted international interest, with winners including Canada and the UK, as well as India.
In July, India’s Power Minister, R. K. Singh, set a new target to reach 60% renewables generation – 510GW – by 2030, extending the 172GW target by 2022. He made the announcement at the launch of a report, by the Energy and Resources Institute, that argues India can integrate more than 30% wind and solar generation before security of supply and electricity system costs are affected.
3. France’s subsidy-free PPA market has an active summer
A government package will also help decarbonize industry and develop green technologies.
Despite low wholesale power markets, several deals were signed in France’s subsidy-free power purchase agreement (PPA) market over the summer, and a landmark offshore project finalized financing.
Transport company SNCF Mobilités signed a 25-year PPA for 150MW of solar power with French producer Voltalia in June, the first of its size and length in France, according to the developer. The deal will support the construction of three new solar facilities, with commissioning expected between 2022 and 2023.
Canadian wind producer Boralex has also signed offtake agreements in recent months – one in July with telecommunications company Orange France and another in September with French retailer Auchan. The Orange deal will give the company the full 39MW generated by Boralex’s Ally-Mercoeur wind farm in the Auvergne Rhône-Alpes region for five years from 1 January 2021. And Auchan Retail France will take 16MW from two wind farms for three years from January, to supply outlets and warehouses in northern France.
Renewable developer RES and Swiss power company Alpiq signed a contract in July to repower a French wind farm. The deal will see the replacement of six wind turbines and increase the park’s electricity production by 30%.
In the offshore sector, one of France’s first offshore wind projects – the €2b (US$2.3b), 500MW Fécamp project, off the northwest coast – finalized financing agreements in early June.
The European Investment Bank, among other investors, committed a €450m (US$527m) credit line, which will be guaranteed by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (the Juncker Plan). The project is underpinned by a 20-year PPA agreed with the French Government in June 2018.
The French renewables sector will also benefit from the launch of a €100b (US$117b) economic stimulus package by the Government in September. Almost a third of the funds have been earmarked for green projects. The recovery plan will finance efforts to decarbonize industry and develop green technologies, including €7b (US$8.2b), invested over 10 years, to develop the France's green-hydrogen industry.
Citing the central role of green hydrogen in the recovery plan of France, French energy multinational Engie and aerospace company Ariane Group announced plans in October to work on a joint hydrogen initiative. The project will look at liquefaction solutions for the heavy-duty and long-distance transportation sector.
4. China’s renewables market sees mixed pandemic impact
The COVID-19 crisis has affected new capacity additions, but solar-panel production is growing.
China is forecast to add 251GW of new wind before the end of the decade, according to figures from Wood Mackenzie, to reach cumulative grid-connected capacity of 461GW by 2029. The research firm points out that developers face several challenges at present; in addition to the termination of national subsidies by the end of this year, the COVID-19 crisis has affected 10% of new capacity additions in 2020.
However, the pandemic has had little impact on China’s photovoltaic (PV) solar industry, according to Wang Bohua, Vice-Chairman of the Chinese Photovoltaic Industry Association. Speaking about the PV industry in the first half of the year at an online industry briefing in July, he said Chinese solar-panel production has grown by 15.7% versus the same point in 2019.
5. The Netherlands addresses renewables shortfall
A deal with Denmark will help the Dutch meet their 2020 green energy target.
Denmark and the Netherlands agreed to a statistical transfer of renewable energy in June, to help the latter reach its 2020 green energy target. Under the EU agreement, the Dutch will pay €100m (US$117m) for 8TWh of renewable energy, with the option to purchase a further 8TWh if it notifies Denmark before August 2021. Denmark plans to use the payment to finance a tender for green hydrogen production projects.
Meanwhile, the Netherlands is looking into ways to improve future renewables generation capacity. In September, Dutch transmission system operator TenneT announced plans to cooperate with the commercial development arm of the UK’s National Grid on an interconnector to share offshore wind capacity.
The subsea cable would link up to 4GW of Dutch and British offshore wind generation to the energy systems of both markets. It would also allow them to trade any spare transmission capacity. The companies want to develop a “pathfinder” project by the end of 2021, with the aim of delivering an operational asset by 2029.
The deal will help both the Netherlands and the UK reach ambitious offshore wind targets set this year. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson boosted Britain's target by 10GW, to 40GW by 2030, in his October keynote at the Conservative Party conference, while the Dutch have pledged to reach 11.5GW of offshore capacity by 2030, before adding 20GW–40GW more by 2050.
6. Japan sets sail on journey away from fossil fuels
The aim is for 10GW of offshore wind by 2030 as it closes coal plants.
Japan’s first offshore tender was launched in June, for the 16.8MW Goto Islands floating wind project, which Japan hopes will be a catalyst for larger fixed-bottom and floating projects. A supply price has been set under the feed-in tariff regime at JPY36/kWh (US$0.34/kWh), one of the world’s most attractive tariffs. The bid deadline for developers is 24 December, with the winner of the auction to be announced in June 2021.
After last year’s launch of a new offshore wind bill, Japan aims to boost development of the sector across 30 potential locations, with a target of 10GW by 2030. The sector will face challenges though, because Japan’s deep waters make floaters the only practical solution for utility-scale offshore wind.
As the nation aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, developing affordable floating offshore wind technology will be crucial, as Japan has limited available land and lacks shallow coastal areas.
It is counting on an increase in renewable capacity after announcing, in July, that it will shut down about 100 of the nation’s oldest and most inefficient coal-fired power plants by 2030, in a bid to reduce emissions. Japan’s 144 coal plants currently account for 32% of its energy supply mix, and it is seeking to lower that level to its target of 26% by 2030.
7. Portugal’s record-breaking solar auction includes storage options
Enerland’s €11.14/MWh (US$13.12) bid sets a new industry benchmark.
Portugal’s second solar auction in August drew developers’ attention, and the highlight was Enerland’s record-low price bid of €11.14/MWh (US$13.12) for a 10MW lot. Portugal's first solar auction last year also yielded a record-low bid.
Q CELLS was awarded 315MW in August’s auction, winning six of the 12 lots available, and other winners were Enel, Audax, Iberdrola and TagEnergy. Although 700MW were available, the final figure stood at 669MW because one batch of 100MW was only awarded 69MW.
The developers now have 15-year contracts with Portugal’s national grid operator and perpetual access to the grid, one of the enablers for the low bids.
It was the first auction in Portugal to invite firms to place bids with a storage component included, with eight of the 12 batches awarded to solar-plus-storage projects. The auction’s popularity meant that instead of the system paying for storage to be included, the projects committed to pay the system at an average of €37,000/MW (US$43,400) of installed storage capacity per year. As a result, at least 100MWh of energy storage will now be deployed in Portugal by 2024.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Portugal only held one solar auction this year, but looking ahead to 2021 and beyond, the Government hopes to hold two per year, awarding a total capacity of 1GW per annum.
8. South Africa moves to ease its power shortage
Two tenders for 8.8GW of renewables are launched to fill a short-term supply gap.
Seeking to fill its short-term electricity supply gap, South Africa announced in September that it would organize a procurement program for 11,813MW of new power infrastructure, including 6,800MW of renewable energy.
A number of bid windows will now be opened up, including 6,800MW of wind and photovoltaic and 513MW of storage. Deployment is expected during 2022 and will be an important contribution to halting loadshedding, which continues to plague the nation.
The competition round targets risk-mitigation capacity that will help South Africa fill its short-term electricity supply gap and reduce the use of diesel-based peaking electrical generators. A closing date of 25 November has been set for the tender round.
This follows a tender, kicked off in August, for 2GW to come from a range of sources through a request for proposals (RFP) invitation. The tender round is being held under the Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme. Projects will need to be in commercial operation by mid-2022 and the proposed technical solutions must be dispatchable and able to provide “a range of support services to the grid system operator.”
South Africa estimates the RFP will attract investment in the region of ZAR40b (US$2.4b).
9. Mexico’s regulatory uncertainty clouds renewables future
Two court battles with the Energy Ministry puts the sector on an unsure footing.
A tug of war between state-owned utility CFE and energy generators has engulfed Mexico’s energy sector, after CFE published new transmission fees in June, with increases of up to more than 800%.
High tension fees, applicable to energy generators with legacy permits, changed from Peso 0.049 (US$0.0023) to Peso 0.27857 (US$0.013), a 469% increase. Medium tension fees were changed from Peso 0.049 (US$0.0023) to Peso 0.2586 (US$0.012), a 428% increase, while low tension fees were raised more than 800%, from Peso 0.09799 (US$0.0046) to Peso 0.8928 (US$0.042).
Generators obtained legacy permits before energy reforms in 2013. These provided low tariffs as a way to incentivize investment in clean energy, but CFE contends the legacy permits are unfair. The hike in transmission fees has since been suspended, although a final ruling has yet to be made by the Mexican Supreme Court.
Many private energy generators fear the increased fees could bankrupt them, as companies – desperate to cut costs because of the COVID-19 pandemic – could seek to end PPAs that no longer look advantageous.
This follows a dispute, earlier this year, between the energy ministry (Sener) and renewables developers over a policy that placed limits on the number of permits issued for wind and solar projects, and prohibited their construction in certain locations.
In response to a complaint filed by Mexico’s antitrust regulator that this violated free competition, the Supreme Court suspended the policy, although Sener can appeal the decision.
10. Egypt building back better with wind, solar and infrastructure projects
Abundant resources and infrastructure funding are driving renewables growth.
Egypt was granted a €225m (US$253m) loan from the African Development Bank in June, to support its electricity sector’s resilience during the COVID-19 crisis. The loan will help finance Egypt’s Electricity and Green Growth Support Program, and will be used partly to address infrastructure gaps and improve confidence among domestic and international investors.
Pressure has been mounting on the nation’s energy supply because of a growing population and years of underinvestment in the energy sector due to the 2011 revolution and subsequent fiscal crunch.
However, with an abundance of land, sunny weather and high wind speeds, Egypt is seeking to capitalize on its prime location for renewable energy projects. The nation is considered a “sun belt”, with between 2,000kWh/m2/year and 3,000kWh/m2/year of direct solar radiation. It also enjoys excellent wind along the Gulf of Suez, with an average speed of 10.5m/s, and the Government has allocated 7,845km2 in the Gulf of Suez region and the Nile banks to implement additional wind energy projects.
Egypt currently has about 500MW of wind-power plants in operation, plus three privately owned independent power producers (IPPs) with a generation capacity of 2.5GW. It also has about 1,340MW under development. The Government’s renewable energy plan for 2015-2023 has a target of 3.2GW of government projects, including 1.25GW under Build Own Operate models and 920MW as IPPs.
Looking further ahead, Egypt’s 2035 Integrated Sustainable Energy Strategy seeks to increase the supply of electricity generated from renewable sources to 42% by 2035, with wind providing 14%, hydro power 2%, photovoltaic 22%, and concentrating solar power 3%. In total, this would amount to 61GW of renewable energy. The private sector is expected to deliver most of this capacity, with the Government also seeking to increase the share of local developers.
Summary
When COVID-19 lockdown measures were implemented, the share of renewables used in the energy mix soared across most regions globally due to depressed electricity demand, low operating costs and priority access to the grid through regulation. It gave us a glimpse of what the energy industry might look like in the future – but technological advancements will have to be harnessed if we are to reach net zero in a post-COVID-19 world.
