Iberdrola to acquire renewable project portfolio in Poland

Spanish energy company Iberdrola has concluded a preliminary agreement with Augusta Energy to acquire a 98MW wind and solar project portfolio in Poland.

The portfolio includes two wind farms with a combined capacity of 50MW, as well as six solar photovoltaic plants, whose combined capacity amounts to 48MW.

All the projects are currently in development and expected to come online next year.

The deal is intended to strengthen Iberdrola’s footprint in Poland and will increase the company’s installed capacity in the country to 261MW.

In May this year, Iberdrola began construction works at the 50.5MW Korytnica II wind farm in Poland, which is due to begin operations next year.

The company also operates the 30MW Zopowy wind farm in the country’s Opole region, as well as the Korytnica I wind farm, which has 82.5MW of capacity.

In a statement, Iberdrola said: “Iberdrola is also developing several offshore wind technology projects in Poland and is participating in the Polish Government’s call for tenders for different areas of the Baltic Sea."

Acciona Energía signs PPA with Fortia for renewable energy

Acciona subsidiary Acciona Energía has signed a framework agreement with energy management platform Fortia to deliver 1TWh of renewable power a year for a period of five to 10 years.

Fortia will supply clean energy to 20 Spanish companies under a corporate renewable power purchase agreement (PPA), which is claimed to be the largest corporate PPA with physical delivery for the industry in Spain.

The clean energy will be supplied from Acciona Energía’s power plants in Spain as part of the company’s strategy to increase the number of its supply contracts and medium and long-term PPAs for corporate customers.

Supply of the renewable energy will start within the next two years depending on the requirements of the electro-intensive companies that are involved in the agreement and part of Fortia.

Acciona Energía commercial director Javier Montes said: "We are accompanying our customers on their path to decarbonisation through a renewable and competitive energy supply that will help them to stabilise their energy supply costs in these times of enormous volatility.”

NeuConnect UK-Germany power link project reaches financial close

The NeuConnect project, which aims to create the first direct power link between Germany and the UK, has reached financial close.

The $2.85bn (€2.8bn) project will be one of the largest interconnector projects in the world, measuring 725km in length. It reached financial close with a consortium of more than 20 international banks and financial institutions.

NeuConnect now expects to begin early works for the project later this year. The project will link a substation in the Isle of Grain in Kent, England, with another at the Wilhelmshaven region in Lower Saxonia, northern Germany. These two substations will be connected by subsea cables travelling through British, Dutch and German waters.

The high-voltage direct current link will enable the transmission of up to 1.4GW of electricity, which is enough to power 1.5 million homes. An international consortium led by French company Meridiam, the Germany-based Allianz Capital Partners and Japanese energy firm Kansai Electric Power is developing the interconnector.

NeuConnect Board chair and Meridiam co-founder Julia Prescot said: “NeuConnect will create a vital new energy link at a time when sustainable, resilient connections across Europe have never been more important."

Nordex Group secures wind turbine supply order in Finland

The Nordex Group, a German wind turbine manufacturer, has secured a wind turbine supply contract from a consortium comprised of Finnish energy utility Helen and the Ålandsbanken Wind Power Fund.

Under the contract, Nordex will deliver and install 25 of its N163/5.X turbines for the 147.5MW Karahka wind farm. The Karahka wind facility will be developed in the north of Oulainen, a town in Finland’s North Ostrobothnia region.

The wind facility is being developed by VSB Uusiutuva Energia Suomi, the VSB Group’s Finnish affiliate. VSB obtained permission for the construction of the wind farm in January this year, after which it sold the wind facility to the consortium.

Despite this, the company is responsible for executing the wind farm infrastructure work.

Nordex plans to deliver and install the wind turbines in early 2024. It has also signed a premium service agreement for the turbines for a period of 35 years.

Nordex Group chief sales officer Patxi Landa said: “We are pleased that following the 165MW Kalistanneva wind farm we are now able to implement a further project for Helen and Ålandsbanken Wind Power Fund in Finland and support Helen in its target of becoming climate-neutral by 2030.”

Northvolt and Stora Enso partner to produce wood-based batteries

Swedish battery manufacturer Northvolt has signed a joint development agreement with Stora Enso to develop wood-based batteries.

According to a company statement, the batteries will feature an anode created using renewable raw materials procured from Nordic forests. The partners plan to use lignin-based hard carbon from the forests to make the sustainable batteries; lignin is a polymer derived from the cell walls of dry-land plants that can act as a natural and strong binder.

As part of the collaboration, Stora Enso will supply its lignin-based anode material Lignode, while Northvolt will be responsible for the cell design, technology and production processes.

Stora Enso’s Sunila production site in Finland has been producing lignin since 2015. The company’s annual lignin production capacity currently stands at 50,000 tonnes.

Stora Enso Biomaterials executive vice-president Johanna Hagelberg said: “The joint battery development with Northvolt marks a step on our journey to serve the fast-growing battery market with renewable anode materials made from trees.

“Our lignin-based hard carbon, Lignode by Stora Enso, will secure the strategic European supply of anode raw material, serving the sustainable battery needs for applications from mobility to stationary energy storage.”

Siemens Gamesa secures offshore wind turbine order in Japan

Germany-based renewable energy firm Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) has secured an offshore wind power order for the Ishikari offshore wind power project in Japan from Green Power Investment.

The 112MW wind power project is located nearly 5km from the shore of Ishikari Bay in Hokkaido, Japan.  

Under the contract, SGRE will supply 14 of its SG 8.0-167 DD offshore wind turbines, each with 8MW of capacity and a 167m rotor.

The turbine is the first to receive classNK certification, as it was deemed to meet all the technical standards required for the Ishikari project.

The Ishikari project as a whole is the second commercial-scale wind farm to receive classNK certification, which is required for the Japanese Government to give approval for construction.

Siemens Gamesa offshore business unit CEO Marc Becker said: “Green Power Investment’s confidence in Siemens Gamesa is invigorating, and we’re eager to deliver the Ishikari project. We’ll build on our established onshore business in Japan, with close to 1GW already installed or under service."

Cypress Creek acquires 400MW energy storage portfolio in Texas

US-based solar energy company Cypress Creek Renewables has acquired 400MW/600MWh worth of standalone energy storage projects in Texas from Black Mountain Energy Storage.

The company acquired four standalone energy storage projects, each with 100MW of capacity, located across the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).

All the energy storage projects are currently in their development phases and are expected to come online in 2024. The financial details of the deal have not been disclosed.

Cypress Creek said that it will continue the project development, entitlement, engineering, procurement, financing and construction of the energy storage portfolio.

Cypress Creek mergers and acquisitions director Jack Murray said: “ERCOT is an incredibly dynamic power market, and standalone storage assets will continue to provide opportunities to increase grid reliability through flexible and dispatchable resources."