News | Headlines A mitigation deal is struck at COP27
Egypt Climate change Diplomats from nearly 200 countries concluded two weeks of climate talks in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt late on the last day of the COP27 conference, 20 November, by agreeing to establish a fund that would help the poorer, more vulnerable countries cope with climate disasters. A committee with representatives from 24 countries will work out the finer details of the fund over the next year.
The deal follows more than three decades of calls from developing nations for the richer nations to provide compensation for the costs
of destructive weather events linked to rising temperatures. The USA and other wealthy countries had long been against the idea for fear that they could face unlimited liability in the future, which the new agreement precludes.
However while the new climate agreement deals with the damage from global warming, the 45 000 participants at a conference dubbed ‘Implementation’ did little to tackle the level of greenhouse gas emissions that are the root cause of the climate crisis. To keep global warming at relatively safe levels, experts from
the UN’s climate Change committee and the International Agency are agreed that all nations must drastically cut their emissions much more rapidly.
“This [mitigation] outcome moves us forward,” said Simon Stiell, UN Climate Change executive secretary. “We have determined a way forward on a decades-long conversation on funding for loss and damage – deliberating over how we address the impacts on communities whose lives and livelihoods have been ruined by the very worst impacts of climate change.”
West Africa’s largest solar plant
Togo Solar power AMEA Power has announced the expansion of the Mohammed Bin Zayed Solar Power Plant in Togo from 50 MW to 70 MW, making it the largest solar PV plant in West Africa. The project is part of Togo’s National Development Plan, with the objective of providing universal access to electricity by 2030. At the present time nearly half of the population has no access to electricity. Located in the village of Blitta, the project will power more than 222,000 households and will include a 4 MWh battery energy storage system to extend the availability of its energy to the electricity network at night. Under the terms of the financing agreement that was signed this week, the Abu Dhabi Exports Office (ADEX), which was established by the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), will provide a loan of USD25 million to finance the complex’s expansion and battery storage addition. The project will be constructed by AMEA Technical Services, a subsidiary of AMEA Power. Hussain Al Nowais, chairman of AMEA Power, commented: “This project would not be possible without the support of the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, Abu Dhabi Exports Office, and the Togolese government. Through their support, AMEA Power is able to become a global champion for the UAE and further demonstrate the country’s commitment to the global energy transition. “As the host of the next Conference of Parties (COP28), the UAE is playing a critical role in supporting the world and in particular,
emerging countries with mitigating the impact of climate change and increasing the adoption of clean energy.” Phases 1 and 2 of the project were developed by AMEA Power during the Covid-19 pandemic, and took less than 18 months to complete.
Irish power grid will connect to continental Europe Ireland T & D
Siemens Energy has contracted to deliver the high-voltage direct current transmission technology for the Celtic Interconnector between France and Ireland. It will be the first connection between the Irish grid and Continental Europe. The order value for Siemens Energy is in the mid three-digit million-euro range. The interconnector is being developed jointly by EirGrid, the electricity transmission system operator in Ireland, and its French counterpart, RTE.
Celtic Interconnector has a total length of 575 km, with 500 km of cable running under the Celtic Sea. Siemens Energy is also building the two converter stations at the end points of
the interconnector – one near Knockraha, located in the County Cork region of Ireland, the other one near La Martyre in France. Both can convert AC to DC and vice versa, thus enabling the bidirectional exchange of up to 700 MW of power. In the future, Ireland will be able to import French electricity to secure base load in the grid or – after implementation of its ambitious wind energy plans - send excess renewable energy to Europe. Energisation of Celtic Interconnector is scheduled for 2026.
“The increasing interconnection of European electricity grids enables consumers to benefit from a more open electricity market, higher energy security and lower electricity costs. It
8 | November/December 2022 |
www.modernpowersystems.com
demonstrates that only together we can manage the energy triangle of affordability, reliability, and security,” commented Tim Holt, member of the Executive Board of Siemens Energy.
Because of the importance of interconnections between grid systems in realising Europe’s zero carbon ambitions, the EU has set a target that each country should aim for an electrical interconnection capacity of at least 15 % of its installed production by 2030, provided that the welfare cost-benefit analysis of each new investment remains profitable in the public interest. In 2021, 16 countries reported being on track to reach that target by 2030, or have already reached it.
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