Bloomberg Activist investor ValueAct Capital Management has taken a stake in international power producer AES Corp., and the fund’s founder Jeffrey Ubben will join its board to help push for cleaner energy resources. Ubben will work with AES on the company’s plan to sell coal assets, reduce debt and develop more solar power and battery storage, according to AES. ValueAct, ...
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US solar sector has a $1.5 billion, long-shot plan to end a trade war
Bloomberg While President Donald Trump prepares to announce his decision on new solar panel import tariffs, the US industry is quietly trying to broker a sweeping deal to settle a different trade dispute with China involving an estimated $1.5 billion held by Washington. Since 2012, the US has been collecting duties on panels imported from China. American solar companies are ...
Read More »China solar boom boosts clean energy funding near record
Bloomberg China’s insatiable appetite for solar power led to a surprise increase in global clean-energy investment last year even as US President Donald Trump pushed to undermine pollution rules and curbs on coal. About $333.5 billion poured into renewable energy and cutting-edge power technologies, up 3 percent from 2016 and 7 percent short of the record set in 2015, according ...
Read More »Engie, ACWA bid for 800MW solar project in Morocco
Bloomberg Morocco attracted bids from France’s Engie SA and EDF Energies Nouvelles to build 800 megawatts of solar power as the North African country seeks to curb energy imports. The French utilities, as well as Riyadh-based ACWA Power International, led groups bidding last month for engineering, procurement and construction contracts, Obaid Amrane, a member of the Moroccan Agency for Sustainable ...
Read More »Saudi plans up to $7bn renewables this year
Bloomberg Saudi Arabia expects to start up to $7 billion of renewable energy projects this year, with solar plants leading the way. Tenders will be issued this year for eight projects totaling 4.125GW of capacity, Turki Mohammed Al Shehri, head of the kingdom’s Renewable Energy Project Development Office, said on Tuesday in an interview in Abu Dhabi. The cost will ...
Read More »Abu Dhabi aims for second solar plant
ABU DHABI / Reuters Abu Dhabi is pushing ahead with a second solar power plant and will invite bidders by the middle of the year, a top official of the emirate’s utility said on Monday. Last year the Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority (Adwea) closed a $872 million financing package for its first solar power plant with capacity of ...
Read More »Aussie solar shines as bills trigger clean energy shift
Bloomberg Australia, one of the world’s biggest users of rooftop solar panels, likely added the most new capacity on record last year as electricity users sought to ease escalating power bills. A preliminary estimate by Australia’s Clean Energy Regulator of 1.05 gigawatts installed last year would be a record for the country, the government body said in an emailed statement. ...
Read More »World’s best breezes lead to cheapest wind power in Brazil
Bloomberg In northeast Brazil, beyond the resorts and pristine beaches, lie some of the world’s best winds for generating electricity. Welcome to Serra Branca. It’s a wind generator’s heaven, featuring breezes so perfect for spinning turbines that this Brazilian region is capable of churning out more wind energy than any other part of the world. In the latest testament to ...
Read More »South Africa’s Eskom reviews ‘major impact’ of curbs on higher power prices
Bloomberg Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd., the South African power utility battling to maintain liquidity, said there will be a “major impact†from the regulator’s decision last month to grant only a quarter of its requested tariff increase. The National Energy Regulator of South Africa gave the cash-strapped utility permission to raise prices by 5.2 percent from April 1, far short ...
Read More »Japan’s renewable energy goals lag world: Minister
Bloomberg Japan’s plans to develop its renewable energy industry are lagging much of the world, as the nation has “prioritised keeping the status quo for fear of change,†Foreign Minister Taro Kono said. Japan wants renewable energy to account for 22 percent to 24 percent of its overall energy mix by 2030, while the global average today is already 24 ...
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