Author: Arnes Biogradlija

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has reported $1.71 million in funding to BP Australia to determine the viability of building a production facility for renewable hydrogen and ammonia in Geraldton, Western Australia. GHD Advisory will assist BP in delivering the $4.42 million feasibility study that will explore renewable hydrogen output using electrolysis. BP will use grid-connected power and procure renewable energy through a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) under this study. Renewable hydrogen would then be used to generate renewable ammonia, instead of natural gas. The research would deliver results to better understand the technological and financial consequences of a fully…

GlobalData analysis has reported that the Swiss solar photovoltaic market is on the verge of suffering a slump in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Switzerland has offered to increase financial support by another $47 million through rebates to offset this threat and support residential and commercial rooftop solar. This means that the solar PV rebate program would provide about $387.6 million. This attempt is in line with stopping any potential solar market collapse due to the pandemic. After hydropower and nuclear power, solar PV installations form the third major source of energy in Switzerland. “In 2018, the Swiss Photovoltaic Association,…

The European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) has appointed Matthew Finn as commercial director. Finn will focus on moving forward the organization’s long-term growth leading on the commercial activities of EMEC, bringing its unique sector expertise and knowledge to the position. For the past 14 years Finn has worked in the ocean energy sector, helping to raise more than £250 million in support for a number of low carbon projects. He successfully built up a long-term project portfolio for the company in his previous position as EMEC’s commercial manager including flagship projects such as FORESEA, OceanDEMO and the £28 million ReFLEX…

ORE Catapult, in collaboration with the KTN, G+, and Workboat Association, is seeking a rapid solution to increase the physical separation of offshore wind turbine technicians during small vessel transit. A new innovation call seeking a solution to increase the physical separation of technicians in the confined spaces of offshore crew transfer vessels (CTVs) during the Covid-19 pandemic was launched on 7 May, aimed at enhancing the safety of the staff needed to continue traveling to conduct wind farm inspection, maintenance, and repair. Due to Covid-19, social distancing steps force some operators to restrict CTV operations to a maximum of…

Watson Farley & Williams (WFW) has advised Tayan Energy Investment (Tayan) on the purchase of two Italian photovoltaic solar plants with a total installed capacity of 55 MW from developer Limes Renewable Energy (Limes). Tayan is a joint venture between Shanghai Electric and Eland. Limes is a leading developer of solar projects both in Italy and internationally. The WFW Italy Corporate team advising Tayan was led by partner and WFW Italy head Eugenio Tranchino, working closely with partner Tiziana Manenti, for due diligence activity, and counsel Luca Sfrecola, for assistance on corporate matters. They were assisted by associates Gianluca Di Stefano, Anthony Bellacci, Giovanni Benedetto, Antimo Nersita and Francesco Vanzaghi.

With its shallow, warm waters, smaller average wave heights, and close proximity to existing offshore oil and gas infrastructure, the Gulf of Mexico presents many advantages for offshore wind. However, unique conditions in the Gulf of Mexico introduce new technology challenges such as hurricane exposure, lower winds, and softer soils that will require offshore wind technology be adapted to not only survive these conditions, but also to demonstrate cost competitiveness in regional electric markets. Now, two recent studies conducted by NREL and funded by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) have yielded promising results for the future of offshore…

The board of directors of SeaTwirl has named Peter Laurits, the board’s vice chairman, as its new CEO, leaving his post and vice chairman position. Peter Laurits will immediately take over as CEO and will work in parallel with outgoing interim CEO Peter Schou during a transition period. “The board welcomes Peter Laurits as CEO and at the same time thanks Peter Schou’s for his efforts as interim CEO during the spring. We wish them both the best of luck during the handover period and look forward to Peter Laurits coming in operationally with his strong commercial drive and putting…

Major players in the wind sector have published a statement that highlights how wind energy is a key building block for economic recovery from the impact of COVID-19. Wind energy is one of the fastest-growing industries in the world and could create nearly 4 million direct and indirect jobs as well as between $207bn or over $2tn of additional annual investments if wind capacity rises above 2TW. Investments in wind and other renewable energy sources are vital to creating the infrastructure of the future to build more resilient and sustainable economies while providing countries and citizens with more affordable energy,…

Iberdrola Renovables France has entered into an agreement with Aiolos and Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations for the acquisition of shares comprising 100 percent of French company Aalto Power’s share capital and for the allocation of certain loans given to Aalto Power by the sellers. Aalto Power owns operating onshore wind farms in France with an aggregate capacity of 118 MW and a portfolio of 636 additional MW of onshore wind farm projects under different stages of development. The sum payable by Iberdrola Renovables France to the sellers for the acquisition of the shares comprising Aalto Power’s entire share capital…

Construction work on the tidal energy device destined for Orkney waters is continuing, despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. With so much of the world grinding to a halt during the COVID-19 pandemic and a focus, rightly, on the healthcare, social and economic response to the crisis, it’s perhaps easy to forget that the climate change issue isn’t going away any time soon. “On the other side of COVID-19 there’ll be the need for a massive economic recovery effort, which we believe can be fuelled in an environmentally sustainable way. By continuing to work towards our mission, we’re…