News | Headlines


Clean energy growth ‘has limited the rise in emissions’


Worldwide Emissions abatement Global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions rose less strongly in 2023 than the year before even as total energy demand growth accelerated, as indicated by new analysis from the International Energy Agency. But the continued expansion of solar PV, wind, nuclear power and electric cars has helped the world avoid greater use of fossil fuels. Without clean energy technologies, the global increase in CO2


emissions in the last


five years would have been three times larger.


Emissions increased by 410 million tonnes, or 1.1%, in 2023 – compared with a rise of 490 million tonnes the year before – taking them to a record level of 37.4 billion tonnes.


An exceptional shortfall in hydropower owing to extreme droughts – in China, the United States and several other economies – resulted in over 40% of the rise in emissions in 2023 as countries turned largely to fossil fuel alternatives to plug the gap. Had it not been for the unusually low hydropower output, global CO2


emissions


from electricity generation would have declined last year, making the overall rise in energy-related emissions significantly smaller. These findings come from the IEA’s annual review of global energy-related CO2


– and the inaugural edition of a new series, the Clean Energy Market Monitor, which provides tracking of clean energy deployment for a select group of technologies and


UK budget backs nukes UK Nuclear power


Energy related measures in the UK spring budget (presented by the chancellor of the exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, on 6 March) reflected an emphasis on nuclear power. The chancellor reiterated the government’s ambitions to have nuclear energy supply a quarter of the UK’s electricity by 2050 with ‘nuclear’ being the most frequently cited technology in the budget, noted solicitors FREETHS in its commentary on key takeaways. The chancellor highlighted the next stage of Great British Nuclear’s small modular reactor competition and confirmed that the government has reached a £160 million agreement with Hitachi to buy its Wylfa and Oldbury sites.


The budget also included additional funding


outlines the implications for global energy markets more broadly.


emissions


From 2019 to 2023, growth in clean energy was twice the growth of fossil fuels, providing the opportunity to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels this decade. For example, the deployment of wind and solar PV in electricity systems worldwide since 2019 has been sufficient to avoid an amount of annual coal consumption equivalent to that of India and Indonesia’s electricity sectors combined – and to dent annual natural gas demand by an amount equivalent to Russia’s pre-war natural gas exports to the European Union. More complete information is available from IEA publications the ‘CO2 Emissions Report’ and the ‘Clean Energy Market Monitor’.


for the Green Industries Growth Accelerator (GIGA). GIGA is a fund announced in the 2023 autumn statement and is aimed at supporting the expansion of clean-energy supply chains. The chancellor announced a £120 million increase to the GIGA budget, FREETHS notes. Of the over £1 billion of total funding now available, the budget delineates sector funding splits with: up to £390 million of funding expected to go to supply chains for offshore wind and electricity networks; and up to £390 million expected to go to supply chains for carbon capture utilisation and storage (CCUS) and hydrogen. This sits alongside the £300 million already allocated to nuclear fuels for the high assay low enriched uranium (HALEU) programme, says FREETHS.


Previous announcements on planning and grid connection reform were also cited in the budget, with additional mentions of government working with ESO on ‘further interim reforms to the grid queue process by summer 2024’, potentially signalling “further measures if connection queue issues are not adequately resolved over the next few months”, suggests FREETHS.


Separately, FREETHS observes, DESNZ published its budget notice for Allocation Round 6 of the Contract for Difference scheme, announcing the largest ever budget for a single round at £1.025 billion, £800 million of which will be allocated to offshore wind. The starting date for AR6 is 27 March 2024, with a closing date for applications of 19 April 2024.


‘Largest renewable energy park’ starts operations India Renewables


Adani Green Energy Ltd, India’s largest renewable energy company and the second largest solar PV developer in the world, has put 551 MW of solar capacity into operation in Khavda, Gujarat, and is supplying power to the national grid.


AGEL achieved this milestone within 12 months of commencing work on the RE park, starting with the development of basic infrastructure, including roads and connectivity, and creating a self-sustaining social ecosystem. AGEL also transformed the challenging and barren terrain of the Rann of Kutch into a habitable environment for its 8000-strong workforce.


AGEL plans to develop 30 GW of renewable energy capacity at Khavda RE park. The planned capacity is expected to be in operation in the next five years, at which time it will be the largest renewable energy installation in the world.


With its proven expertise in developing largescale renewable projects, a robust supply chain network and technological prowess, AGEL believes it is best positioned to build this record-setting giga-scale plant with no parallel in the world’s clean energy sector. The region is endowed with one of the best wind and solar resources in the country. AGEL conducted extensive studies and deployed multiple innovative solutions to accelerate the


4 | March 2024 | www.modernpowersystems.com


development of the plant. In the process, it is supporting the development of an indigenous and sustainable supply chain.


Mr Gautam Adani, chairman of the Adani Group, commented: “Through bold and innovative projects like the Khavda RE plant, AGEL continues to set higher global benchmarks and rewrite the world’s planning and execution standards for giga-scale renewable energy projects. This milestone is a validation of the Adani Group’s commitment and leading role in accelerating India’s equitable clean energy transition journey towards its ambitious goals of 500 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030 and carbon neutrality.”


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47