Energy Transition Update

Major global economies and international big business are collaborating to deliver a clean energy transition. Huge construction projects funded by extensive financial credit will assist in replacing fossil fuels with green renewables and alternative energies.

ThisWeekinFM Guest Editor, Daniel Lynn, has collected a variety of international news features that focus on the implementation of a global energy transition.       

UK

Spanish renewable organization Iberdrola has signed an agreement equating to £2.1bn (€2.5bn) to acquire 88% of Electricity Northwest. Iberdrola will now distribute electricity to around 12 million people in the UK. 

Newly released statistics by the UK government confirm that renewable energy accounted for 46.4% of electrical generation in 2023. Wind remains the UK’s biggest source of clean power, generating a record 28.1% of UK electricity in 2023.

The UK government will increase the Contracts for Difference budget by more than 50%. £500 million has been added to attract outside investment, bringing the final total to £1.56 billion. Due to a lack of financial incentive a UK CfD (Contracts for Difference) auction last year failed to attract any bids. 

Europe

Iberdrola have signed an agreement with banks: Sabadell and HSBC to borrow €500 million. This injection of capital will finance 897MW of renewables capacity in Italy, the US and Australia. 

Spanish based turbine manufacturing company Siemens Gamesa have been granted a credit facility of more than €1.2 billion as to assist in fulfilling their €40 billion order log.

Global solar energy company Recurrent Energy has announced they will receive a €50 million loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB). The finances will be used to further the development of solar facilities across Italy.

Asia-Pacific

Seatrium Financial Services - a subsidiary of Singapore State owned ship manufacturer Seatrium  - has secured a €756 million line of credit. The finances will be used to fund future projects such as a collaboration with Dutch electricity provider Tenne T that will upgrade the Dutch electrical grid.

Italian electrical cable manufacturers Prysmian will provide a new power interconnector between the Australian states of Victoria and Tasmania. The contract is worth around €600 million and will eventually enable renewable power to be transported across the two states. Work will begin in August 2025. 

Japanese power supplier Tokyo Gas has invested in a 25MW floating offshore wind farm off the Portuguese coast operated by Windplus, a majority owned subsidiary of Ocean Winds, itself a joint venture by Spanish renewable company EDP Renewables and multinational French power provision company Engie.

USA

South Korean owned solar technology manufacturing company Qcells has an agreement in place with the US Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office to accept a conditional loan of up to $1.5 billion. The finances will be used to construct a facility capable of manufacturing and supplying various technologies and components connected to solar power. The location of this facility will be in Cartersville, Georgia.  

American solar company Avantus has secured a $522 million loan to enable growth of their solar energy strategy across western USA. 

The US Department of Energy has commissioned a second round of GRIP funding (Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships). $2.2 billion will be shared by 8 innovative technology projects spanning 18 states. These projects will enable clean energy to be transported to American domiciles and commercial properties.