Noticias
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04/01/2024Macroeconomic uncertainties will not halt progress on the energy transition in 2024 and beyond. COP28 will be remembered as the summit that snatched a remarkable victory from the jaws of defeat. For the first time, the world has new agreed language on transitioning away from all fossil fuels, and more than 110 countries have agreed to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030. The new commitments brokered by its president, Dr. Sultan al Jaber, were made possible by months of intense preparation and climate change diplomacy in the run-up to the summit, and constitute a pivotal moment in the fight against the climate crisis. An obvious question I was asked several times at COP, and one that is top of mind for many people, is whether these ambitious goals are feasible, especially against a backdrop of macroeconomic uncertainties. Given that delivering on the targets needs to start today, the question of feasibility is valid, bearing in mind the sheer scale of investment required to transition away from fossil fuels towards green energy. But I believe emphatically that in the next six years, the goals are achievable. Costs and benefits are shifting In 2023 global investment in clean energy reached a record $1.75 trillion, according to the IEA , and this trend is expected to continue to be driven by the need for additional energy sources to support economic growth. If you want to build new electricity capacity, renewables are better value than any other generation technology in terms of costs, security, risks, and environmental benefits. New versus new, it’s not even a close call. And by substituting aging and polluting fossil-based generation for renewables, many developed countries, such as those in the EU, are improving the balance of payments by reducing their vast energy imports. The industry has already shown it can meet ambitious targets. When the EU launched the 20/20/20 initiative in 2010, few believed we could disrupt the status quo in a meaningful way to cut emissions by 20% and increase the amount of green energy in the system to current levels. We have proved that change is possible. The challenge of high interest rates Cost inflation has affected renewables, as it has all other industrial sectors. Some recent auctions for renewable energy projects–such as the recent AR5 auction in the U.K. –did not recognize this fact. And in other instances, there were long lead times between auctions concluding and the time investments were made. This has created pain points, especially for companies that did not have the chance to hedge their costs. However, policymakers are already responding, recognizing that renewables remain the best way to secure new electricity capacity, and new auction designs and mechanisms are being put in place. The newly announced AR6 offshore wind turbine auction in the U.K. is a clear example. By setting a realistic maximum price, which allows for increases in supply chain costs and lending rates, companies will have the right incentive to bid and compete. This has been the basis for the massive cost reductions experienced in the renewables sector over decades. Of course, delivering on the goals set at COP28 will not be easy, nor will it happen by inertia. But rather than macroeconomic issues or lack of ambition, progress rests on urgent action to address the barriers that have held us back in the past. This includes ensuring stable, positive frameworks for investments, simplifying permitting processes, implementing a truly “green” tax system, bolstering global supply chains to ensure they are robust and secure, investing in green skills to drive the energy transition forward, and promoting the consumption of green products. The transformation may appear massive–but it is already under way. As we embark on a new year, fresh from a “COP for action” that has forged a global alliance for change, we are in the best position ever to deliver a real revolution in energy. * This article originally appeared on Fortune.com READ MORE
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04/01/2024Iberdrola starts commissioning Vineyard Wind I, the largest offshore wind farm in the U.S. Iberdrola has started to commission the Vineyard Wind I offshore wind farm – the first large-scale project of this technology in the United States. The facility, with 806 MW of capacity, has already begun to supply green energy to Massachusetts, a state that will be supplied with wind energy to more than 400,000 homes – that’s the equivalent of more than half the size of a city like Boston or the entire island of Palma de Mallorca. The Vineyard Wind I project –which is expected to have five turbines operating at full capacity by the beginning of the year– has had 3 billion dollars in investment (more than 2.7 billion euros at the current exchange rate) secured through contracts with the state's three main electric utilities. The wind farm began construction in 2021 and will be fully operational in 2024. By this time, it will prevent the emission of more than 1.6 million tonnes of CO2 per year, the equivalent of removing 325,000 vehicles from the road. Each of the turbines –whose transition pieces have been manufactured in Avilés by the Asturian company Windar Renovables– is capable of providing energy to more than 6,000 homes and businesses. Each of these turbines comprises a tower, three blades, and a nacelle, and they have a rated capacity of 13 megawatts (MW), making it the largest turbine in the Western world. A single rotation generates energy for a home in Massachusetts for an entire day. Pedro Azagra, the CEO of Avangrid, Iberdrola's subsidiary in the United States, stated: "We are finally supplying clean offshore wind energy to the Massachusetts grid. We are at a turning point for climate action in the United States, and we are witnessing a dawning for the nation's offshore wind industry. As the capacity of this historic project gets started, we will continue to support all of the partners who made this achievement possible". Last October, Avangrid and the Danish investment group Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), co-owner of the project, announced that Vineyard Wind I project closed $1.2 billion (approximately 1.135 billion euros) first-of-its-kind tax equity package for commercial-scale offshore wind with three US-based banks. A large chain of suppliers The Spanish company Windar Renovables has been in charge of manufacturing the 62 foundations for the wind turbines. The contract – worth nearly 100 million euros – has created around 400 jobs at its facilities in Asturias. The Italian Prysmian Group was responsible for the commissioning of the submarine cabling system that will connect the offshore wind farm with the Continental US power transmission grid. The project required more than 134 kilometres of high-voltage alternating current electric cable. The U.S. company Southwire was responsible for the design, manufacture and installation of more than 51 kilometres of high-voltage overland cable. In July 2023, the installation of the offshore substation, which will serve the entire Vineyard Wind I project, was completed. It is the first substation of its kind installed by Iberdrola in the United States and the sixth in the world, weighing more than 5,000 tonnes, making it the largest the company has ever installed. Leader in offshore wind energy Within Iberdrola's renewable portfolio, offshore wind energy is an important technology. The company has committed to new growth platforms with great potential, such as Poland, Sweden, Ireland, the United States, Brazil, the Philippines, and Japan – which has enabled our offshore wind portfolio to currently exceed 30 GW. In this way, the company ensures compliance with the plan to 2025, when it will reach 3,100 MW in operation. Besides Vineyard Wind I, among the company’s most important projects, the East Anglia Hub complex stands out in the United Kingdom, which contains three projects with a total installed capacity of 2,900 MW; as well as Saint-Brieuc in France, and its three wind farms in the Baltic Sea: Wikinger , Baltic Eagle , and Windanker . READ MORE
