The power industry briefing
The latest news, trends, and data you need to know about this month
News in Numbers
$2.75bn
Swedish battery manufacturer Northvolt has raised $2.75bn to increase the annual production capacity of its gigafactory from 40GWh to 60GWh.
£2bn
UK-based energy company SSE is planning to invest almost £2bn ($2.8bn) in low-carbon power projects this year.
623km
Germany and Norway have officially commissioned NordLink, a 623km long high-voltage direct-current transmission system that will provide clean energy to Europe’s largest economy.
$57bn
Danish energy company Ørsted has announced plans to increase its investment in renewables to DKK350bn ($57bn) by 2027 to realise its full potential as a global green energy major.
2.8GW
The state government of North Carolina has set a target of 2.8GW offshore wind capacity by 2030 and 8GW by 2040 by issuing a new executive order.
Project updates
The Wudongde hydropower plant in China has begun complete operations, with electricity being generated from the last of its series of 12 generators.
Norwegian state-owned company Statkraft, in partnership with solar power company Ocean Sun, has begun commercial operations at the first unit of its floating solar project at the Banja reservoir in Albania.
The Government of Mozambique has reportedly started the construction of the $1bn Temane Thermal Power Plant and Temane Transmission line projects.
UK-based solar energy company Lightsource BP has announced a €900m ($1.09bn) investment in Indonesian solar company Insun.
The Australian Energy Regulator has approved the expenditure required for the Project EnergyConnect interconnector, which will be built by ElectraNet and TransGrid.
Further reading
G7 pledges to accelerate progress on nuclear for decarbonisation
Leaders of the G7 countries have committed to “an overwhelmingly decarbonised power system in the 2030s and to actions to accelerate this". To achieve this, they have pledged to accelerate deployment of ‘zero emissions energy’, which includes nuclear energy.
While full decarbonisation means phasing out all unabated fossil fuel generation, the G7 declaration made specific commitments to end investment in coal power generation, which it described as the single biggest cause of greenhouse gas emissions.
The G7 agreement also pledged to accelerate progress on nuclear power in those countries opting to use it, alongside action on electrification and batteries, hydrogen, carbon capture, usage and storage, zero emission aviation and shipping, as part of a ‘technology-driven transition’ to net-zero.
As part of the G7 agenda, environment and climate ministers had previously reaffirmed that those countries with nuclear in their energy mix recognised its ‘potential to provide affordable low carbon energy and contribute to the security of energy supply as a baseload energy source'.
Read more: Power Technology
