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Climate and clean energy advocates in New Hampshire say a pending proposal to define nuclear power as clean energy could undercut solar and wind power in the state. 

Though the details are still in the works, state Rep. Michael Vose, chair of the legislature’s science, technology, and energy committee, is drafting a bill that would allow nuclear power generators, such as New Hampshire’s Seabrook Station, to receive payments for contributing clean energy to the grid. 

“The broad idea is that, long-term, we can hope and expect that that reliable source of baseload power will always be there,” Vose said. “It won’t be driven out of business by subsidized renewable power.” 

Some environmental advocates, however, worry that the proposal would provide unnecessary subsidies to nuclear power while making it harder for solar projects to attract investors. 

“It’s just another way to reduce support for solar,” said Meredith Hatfield, associate director for policy and government relations at the Nature Conservancy in New Hampshire. 

New Hampshire’s renewable portfolio standard — a binding requirement that specifies how much renewable power utilities must purchase — went into effect in 2008. To satisfy the requirement in that first year, utilities had to buy renewable energy certificates representing 4% of the total megawatt-hours they supplied that year. The number has steadily climbed, hitting 23.4% this year. 

New Hampshire was the second-to-last state in the region to create a binding standard — Vermont switched from a voluntary standard to a mandated one until 2015. New Hampshire’s standard tops out at 25.2% renewable energy in 2025, but the other New England states range from 35% to 100% and look further into the future. 

Vose, however, worries that even New Hampshire’s comparatively modest targets could put the reliability of the power supply at risk. 

“Until we can have affordable, scalable battery storage, the intermittency of renewables is going to guarantee that renewables are unreliable,” Vose said. “And if we add too many renewables to our grid, it makes the whole grid unreliable.”

That idea has been widely debunked. Grid experts say variable renewables may require different planning and system design but are not inherently less reliable than fossil fuel generation.

The details of Vose’s clean energy standard bill have not yet been finalized. A clean energy standard is broadly different from a renewable energy standard in that it includes nuclear power, which does not emit carbon dioxide, but which uses a nonrenewable fuel source. Those writing the legislation, however, will have to decide whether it will propose incorporating the new standard into the existing renewable portfolio standard or operating the two systems alongside each other.

Clean energy advocates say they are not necessarily opposed to a clean energy standard, but argue it is crucial that such a program not pit nuclear power and renewable energy against each other for the same pool of money. And they are concerned that that’s just what Vose’s bill will do. 

“While we would welcome a robust conversation about how to design a clean energy standard, I fear that’s not what this bill is,” said Sam Evans-Brown, executive director of nonprofit Clean Energy New Hampshire. 

If a clean energy standard is structured so both nuclear and renewables qualify to meet the requirements, clean energy certificates from nuclear power generators would flood the market, causing the price to plummet. Seabrook alone has a capacity of more than 1,250 megawatts, while the largest solar development in the state has a capacity of 3.3 megawatts. Revenue from renewable energy certificates is an important part of the financial model for many renewable energy projects, so falling prices would likely mean fewer solar developments could attract investors or turn a profit. 

At the same time, nuclear generators could sell certificates for low prices, as they already have functioning financial models that do not include this added revenue. Nuclear could, in effect, drive solar and other renewables out of the market almost entirely, clean energy advocates worry.

“The intention of the [renewable portfolio standard] has always been about creating fuel diversity by getting new generation built, and a proposal like that would do the opposite,” Evans-Brown said.

A single standard that combines nuclear and renewables could also hurt development of solar projects in another way, Hatfield said. When New Hampshire utilities do not purchase enough renewable energy credits to cover the requirements, they must make an alternative compliance payment. These payments are the only source of money for the state Renewable Energy Fund, which provides grants and rebates for residential solar installations and energy efficiency projects. 

“If you add in nukes and therefore there’s plentiful inexpensive certificates, then you basically have no alternative compliance payments,” Hatfield says. “It could potentially dry up the only real source we have in the state for clean energy rebates.”

Though Vose and the bill’s other authors have not yet released the details of the proposal, he has indicated that he would not like the new clean energy standard to significantly increase costs for New Hampshire’s ratepayers. The existing standard cost ratepayers $58 million in 2022, when utilities were required to buy certificates covering 15% of the power they supplied, according to a state report issued last month. 

The legislation may meet the same fate as last year’s effort, Vose acknowledged, but he is still eager to get people talking about the issue. 

“Even if we can’t get such a standard passed in this session,” he said, “we can at least begin a serious discussion about what a clean energy standard might look like.” 

 

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Lawmakers have advanced six draft bills intended to ensure Wyoming electricity customers pay only what’s necessary for utilities to provide reliable energy without lining executives’ pockets or footing the bill for other states’ demands for renewable energy.

The legislative efforts attempt to fill perceived regulatory gaps in a rapidly changing utility landscape, according to Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivision committee members who debated the bills Friday in Cheyenne. Though some measures were criticized as redundant of existing utility practices and Wyoming Public Service Commission authority, and for adding to the under-staffed commission’s workload, they’re also intended to send a message.

“A big part of what we’re doing is perception,” Rep. Jeremy Haroldson (R-Wheatland) said. “We’re having this conversation and [residents] want to know without a shadow of a doubt that when they pay their utility bill next month they’re not paying for another state’s decisions.”

All six bills will be sponsored by the committee. Bills sponsored by legislative panels are historically more likely to succeed than measures backed by individual lawmakers.

Despite the two-thirds vote threshold required to introduce non-budget bills in February’s budget session, committee members are hopeful the high-profile issue of soaring electric rates will win consideration for the slate of utility measures before the Legislature.

Lawmakers said they’re responding to rising utility costs, in general, and worry the industry’s ongoing shift from fossil fuels to renewable sources of electric generation will result in continually rising rates and less reliable power. 

Panel members repeatedly pointed to Rocky Mountain Power’s request to hike electric rates by nearly 30% — the largest hike Wyoming has seen in more than 10 years and a move lawmakers believe is, in large part, the result of anti-coal and natural gas policies in several West Coast states where the utility’s parent company, PacifiCorp, also operates.

PacifiCorp’s Gateway West transmission project will help boost new renewable energy projects in Wyoming. (PacifiCorp)

The company’s ongoing investments in new Wyoming wind farms and high-voltage transmission lines to send the power to customers in other western states is a primary example, Corporations Committee Co-Chairman Sen. Cale Case (R-Lander) said. Though it’s not a major factor in Rocky Mountain Power’s current rate hike requests, its parent company is investing $8 billion in interstate electric transmission lines, adding more future costs and risks for Wyoming customers without a proportional benefit, according to Case.

“Those lines, the commission is going to find that they’re [a just and reasonable expense],” Case said. “Do you think they’re useful for Wyoming? I don’t. I think we’re getting screwed.”

The committee, over the course of about eight hours, heard testimony from the Wyoming Public Service Commission, Rocky Mountain Power, Montana-Dakota Utilities Co., Black Hills Power, Wyoming Rural Electric Association, Wyoming Industrial Energy Consumers and several members of the public. The discussion often invoked the Rocky Mountain Power rate hike hearing taking place before the Public Service Commission just a couple blocks away from the Capitol, with some of the same parties in that case taking time to hash out their arguments in the legislative setting.

Sen. Case, for example, is participating in the rate case hearing as a citizen. Holland and Hart attorney Thor Nelson represents the Wyoming Industrial Energy Consumers coalition — also an intervening party in the rate case — and testified before the legislative committee in support of several bills the coalition offered and that the committee accepted.

Meantime, the Public Service Commission and Rocky Mountain Power sent staff members and representatives not directly participating in the rate hearing to testify before lawmakers.

The Public Service Commission is expected to rule on Rocky Mountain Power’s rate request before January, long before any potential new legislation might take effect — or even be debated by the full Legislature.

Wyoming Public Service Commission Chief Counsel John Burbridge and Chair Mary Throne testify before the Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions committee Sept. 20, 2023 in Cheyenne. (Dustin Bleizeffer/WyoFile)

Nearly all aspects of the draft measures exempt rural electric co-ops because the state has limited authority over their rates or facility investments. Rocky Mountain Power is the primary target for much of the draft legislation affecting all regulated electric utilities in the state because it is the largest in Wyoming, serving some 144,000 customers, according to statements by lawmakers.

Here is a summary of the six draft bills advanced by the committee. 

Public service commission – electricity reliability would direct the commission to establish standards for “adequate, dispatchable and reliable” electric generation and to impose penalties for outages and for not meeting the standards. The committee considered, but backed off from, increasing penalties to a potential maximum of $1 million per day for a major outage.

The new reliability standards would be applied only to electric generation facilities and not distribution systems, such as power lines. 

Utilities are already held to such standards and potential monetary penalties by both state and federal authorities, utility representatives testified. However, the new standards should compel utilities to be careful not to become over-reliant on renewable sources of electric generation, and should give the commission “more teeth” to disallow passing the cost of renewables to Wyoming ratepayers, Sen. Charles Scott (R-Casper) said.

Reclamation and decommissioning costs would direct the commission to hire a third party to study the cost of closing and remediating power plants. The bill includes an appropriation of $500,000, which would be recouped from power plant owners — an expense that committee members said should not be passed on to ratepayers.

However, both the commission and utilities already account for reclamation and decommission costs in rates, according to testimony from their representatives. The money is collected in pace with scheduled closures. Further, the measure would add to the workload of an already understaffed commission and potentially require another $1 million in staff support, according to an estimate by the agency’s Chief Counsel John Burbridge.

Despite existing laws and rules, several lawmakers still worry that divvying up power plant closing costs among ratepayers in multiple states might become more complicated than usual. For example, Wyoming might choose to support a coal-fired power plant long after states like Washington and Oregon have opted out. That scenario, too, according to critics of the draft bill, is already taken into account within the existing regulatory system. 

“Perhaps it’s a solution looking for a problem,” Burbridge told the committee.

Electricity rates for costs that do not benefit Wyoming would direct the commission to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of multi-state, systemwide facilities and disallow any costs that do not benefit Wyoming ratepayers. It attempts to address concerns such as the example that Case mentioned regarding PacifiCorp’s $8 billion investment in new interstate transmission expansions necessary to deliver power from expanding wind and solar energy facilities to out-of-state customers.

“We are not benefiting from that in any proportion to the cost that our ratepayers are being asked to [pay],” Case said.

PacifiCorp’s Seven Mile Hill wind farm in Carbon County generates 111 megawatts of electrical power. (Dustin Bleizeffer/WyoFile)

PacifiCorp’s $8 billion investment accounts for only a fraction of Rocky Mountain Power’s currently proposed rate hike, according to the utility. Just how much Wyoming ratepayers are being asked to cover, and how much is legally justified, is now being contested before the Public Service Commission.

The bill does appear duplicative of the commission’s core mandate to scrutinize the costs of multi-state, systemwide facilities and to only allow utilities to recover the portion that’s proven to serve Wyoming customers, Case acknowledged. But he and most of his colleagues on the committee are convinced the current level of regulatory scrutiny still leaves Wyoming customers vulnerable to paying more than their fair share. 

Also, Case said, the regulatory calculations don’t take into account the environmental, cultural and natural resource losses imposed on Wyoming by industrializing landscapes with wind farms and transmission lines.

“Those lines are being built for the major purpose of taking renewable energy out of the state of Wyoming,” Case said. “We don’t need that power. Our customers don’t need that power. Our growth doesn’t justify that power, and on and on and on.”

Only a small portion of a multi-state utility’s wind farms and interstate transmission lines might serve Wyoming customers. But they more broadly benefit them via economies of scale when it comes to geographically large, systemwide savings, according testimony from utility representatives. Though utilities didn’t oppose the measure, the bill merely adds another layer of work and expense for something the utilities and the commission already do, they said.

“It really doesn’t advance the ball very much because this is essentially what is done anyway,” said Bruce Asay, who represents Montana-Dakota Utilities Co.

Public service commission-integrated resource plans was brought to the committee by the Wyoming Industrial Energy Consumers coalition, and it has tentative support from the Sheridan-based landowner advocacy group Powder River Basin Resource Council.

The bill would direct state regulators to more closely review a utility’s long-range planning and provide guidance for how the utility can better meet Wyoming’s needs and policies.

Utilities routinely update what’s referred to as their integrated resource plan — a roadmap of sorts for how they will provide electrical service well into the future. Rocky Mountain Power, for example, filed its most recent 20-year integrated resource plan update in April, setting tentative retirement dates for several coal-fired power units in Wyoming and neighboring states as well as plans for major investments in new transmission lines, renewable energy and battery storage.

The internal utility-by-utility planning process tends to set an agenda and investment plan in motion ahead of deeper scrutiny by state-level authorities such as the Wyoming Public Service Commission and the broader public, proponents of the bill say.

“So it ends up having an elevated presence and less scrutiny, I argue, than if we had scrutinized it at the very front end,” Case said.

Utility representatives said the bill would result in additional layers of work for both them and the commission, but they did not oppose the measure.

“We do this in Utah. We do it in Oregon. We’re happy to do it in Wyoming,” Rocky Mountain Power Vice President and General Counsel of Government Affairs Richard Garlish said.

One particularly unpopular aspect of Rocky Mountain Power’s contested 21.6% (or $140.2 million) “general rate” increase proposal is another request couched within it. 

Currently, the utility operates under a “cost sharing band” — a regulatory mechanism that splits fuel cost overruns between the utility and its Wyoming customers. Ratepayers are tapped for 80% and the utility is responsible for 20%. The same 80/20 ratio applies when fuel costs come in lower than the amount fixed into rates, sometimes resulting in a rebate to customers.

That type of shared risk and benefit is a good “insurance” policy for ratepayers, and incentivizes the utility to do its best in forecasting prices for wholesale coal and natural gas to fuel power plants, as well as electrical power it sometimes purchases on the open market, according to the Wyoming Office of Consumer Advocate. 

Richard Garlish, foreground, who represents Rocky Mountain Power, and the utility’s President and CEO Gary Hoogeveen, attend a hearing of the Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions committee Sept. 20, 2023 in Cheyenne. (Dustin Bleizeffer/WyoFile)

But Rocky Mountain Power wants Wyoming authorities to shift that cost sharing band to 100/0 — requiring Wyoming ratepayers to accept all the risk and reward, depending on how well the utility has estimated future fuel costs. 

The Public utilities-net power cost sharing ratio draft bill would disallow a 100/0 ratio and mandate that the risk and reward be shared to some degree. Though many proponents of the measure support a permanent 70/30 split, the committee declined to establish a specific ratio — only that it could not be 100/0.

Rocky Mountain Power representatives strongly opposed the measure.

Lawmakers and large Rocky Mountain Power customers, particularly the Wyoming Industrial Energy Consumers coalition, worry that the utility’s process for inviting bids from contractors puts potential fossil fuel developers at a disadvantage.

Public utilities-energy resource procurement mimics existing laws in Utah and Oregon that call for an independent evaluator to judge whether a utility’s “requests for proposal” faithfully solicit a full range of technology options for new power generation facilities regardless of their primary energy resource.

Though the commission considers it redundant of current practices and authority, utilities did not oppose the measure. A Rocky Mountain Power representative noted the company already undergoes similar scrutiny in Utah and Oregon.

One measure, Third party electrical generation, which would have allowed groups of customers to generate and potentially sell their own electricity, failed to move forward. 

It’s a form of deregulation, according to critics, and an ongoing legislative effort that’s been defeated in the past. But it’s likely to reappear before the Legislature given strong support among Wyoming’s trona, natural gas and manufacturing industries, as well as bitcoin miners.

WyoFile is an independent nonprofit news organization focused on Wyoming people, places and policy.

 

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Oil and Gas 360

November 2, 2023 —Tailwater Capital LLC (“Tailwater”), an energy and growth infrastructure private equity firm, and a fund managed by the Private Equity Group of Ares Management (“Ares”), a leading global alternative investment manager, today announced that they have signed definitive agreements to sell Cureton Front Range LLC (“Cureton” or the “Company”) to Williams Field Services Group, LLC (“Williams”), a subsidiary of The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE: WMB), with an expected close in December 2023, subject to regulatory approvals.

“This transaction represents yet another step forward for our team and positions Cureton for its next chapter of growth while holding true to our commitment to deliver the highest quality of service to our customers and communities in which we operate,” said Charlie Beecherl, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cureton. “I want to express profound gratitude to our exceptional team, whose remarkable work ethic, shared values, and commitment to our company’s culture were pivotal in driving the successful sale of our business. We are also thankful for Tailwater’s and Ares’ steadfast support as we navigated a constantly evolving market landscape. As we look to the future, we are confident our assets remain in capable hands with Williams and are poised for an exciting trajectory of growth in combination with Williams’ existing asset base. Finally, I want to thank our customers who have been incredible partners these past six years, we appreciate your support.”

Tailwater and Ares initially invested in Cureton in 2017 to pursue an anchored greenfield midstream strategy in the DJ Basin in Colorado. Cureton’s initial project started with an acreage dedication from a single private producer and culminated in the successful development of a premier multi-customer midstream gathering and processing platform. Cureton’s asset base now consists of over 260 miles of low and high pressure pipelines, 109 MMcf/d of natural gas processing capacity, 64,000 horsepower of compression, and is underpinned by long-term contracts from blue-chip operators covering more than 200,000 dedicated acres and over two million acres of AMIs.

“We commend the Cureton team for the success they have demonstrated over the course of our partnership,” said Edward Herring, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Tailwater Capital. “Cureton has effectively expanded its presence in the oil-abundant rural landscape of the DJ Basin, emerging as a market leader thanks to its team’s substantial experience and strategic partnerships with oil and gas producers.”

“Cureton has continued to strategically enhance its operations, create a capital-efficient business, and demonstrate unwavering dedication to its customers, communities, and people,” said David Cecere, Partner of Tailwater Capital. “Given the continued need for scale in the midstream sector, we believe it is an optimal time to monetize the business and are excited to provide another strong return for our investors.”

“We are very proud of the many accomplishments that the Cureton team has achieved throughout our partnership,” said Robert Kimmel, Partner in the Ares Private Equity Group. “We believe that the company remains well positioned and we wish Williams every success in shepherding this next phase of Cureton’s growth.”

Evercore served as the exclusive financial advisor to Cureton in connection with the transaction. Kirkland & Ellis served as legal counsel. RBC Capital Markets served as financial advisor and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP served as legal advisor to Williams in connection with the transaction.

 

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The actor-turned-politician feels let down by the same Western powers that have been inflating his ego for close to two years

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.

 

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Germany has announced a complete ban on the activities of the Palestinian group Hamas and ordered the disbanding of a pro-Palestine group accused of spreading anti-Israel and anti-Semitic ideas.

In a statement on Thursday, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said she implemented a formal ban on activity by or in support of Hamas, which is already designated as a “terrorist” organisation in the country.

“With Hamas, I have today completely banned the activities of a terrorist organisation whose aim is to destroy the state of Israel,” Faeser said.

A Hamas official in Lebanon said the move showed that the country was in partnership with Israel on crimes against Palestinian people.

“This prompts us to question whether the German political mentality is a Holocaust mentality that affects all peoples and is not limited to one party or another,” Osama Hamdan, the Hamas representative in Lebanon, said in a news conference on Thursday.

Faeser said she also is banning and dissolving the German branch of the Samidoun network, which she said “supports and glorifies” groups including Hamas.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had announced that the government would take action against both groups on October 12.

Samidoun was behind an October 7 action in which a group of people handed out pastries in a Berlin street in celebration of Hamas’s attack on Israel. At least 1,400 people were killed in the attack, most of whom were civilians, according to Israeli officials.

“Holding spontaneous ‘jubilant celebrations’ here in Germany in response to Hamas’s terrible terrorist attacks against Israel demonstrates Samidoun’s antisemitic, inhuman worldview in a particularly sickening way,” Faeser said, as cited by Deutsche Welle.

Since the attack, Israel has bombarded Gaza relentlessly and tightened its blockade on the territory, cutting off supplies of  fuel and severely restricting water, food and electricity access.

More than 9,000 Palestinians have been killed in the bombardment, including 3,760 children, according to authorities in Gaza.

Pro-Palestinian protests in many parts of Germany have been banned in recent weeks, and schools in Berlin have been given permission to ban the traditional Palestinian headdress, the keffiyeh.

Pro-Palestinian activists in Germany say it amounts to a crackdown on Palestinians and a curtailment of free speech.

“All instruments of assembly law must be used to prevent solidarity demonstrations with the terror of Hamas as early as possible,” a spokesperson with the German Interior Ministry previously told Al Jazeera.

Amir Ali, a Palestinian who has been involved in organising protests in Munich, told Al Jazeera that a demonstration was cancelled after years of “holding them peacefully with police cooperation”.

“I was even forbidden to walk inside the city for 24 hours because I was wearing a keffiyeh,” he said.

 Hamas criticises announcement, says it shows Berlin in partnership with Israel on crimes against Palestinian people. 

     

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Berlin is expected to spend $5.73 billion on military aid to Kiev this year, officials report

 

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The end of COVID-19 lockdowns in China has boosted the nation’s overall gas demand by 6% this year, according to a new report by UK consultancy firm Cornwall Insight.

This demand isn’t currently mirrored by an increased Chinese appetite for liquified gas (LNG), but experts note this could change during the colder months ahead.

“As China’s economic recovery drives up gas demand and worldwide events send prices skyrocketing, Europe can no longer cling to the illusion of on-demand LNG,” said Dr Matthew Chadwick, lead research analyst at Cornwall Insight.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the EU has relied more heavily on LNG, a move that has allowed the bloc to reduce its dependence on Russian pipeline gas.

In 2022 and 2023, an average of 11.2 billion cubic metres (bcm) of LNG were imported into the EU per month, compared with 6.6bcm per month in 2021.

Imports to member states are predominantly sourced from the US (44%), although the EU is also dependent on Russia (17%) and Qatar (13%) for LNG.

Last year, Europe managed to weather the cold months better than expected, and general gas storage inventories were 55.7% full at the end of the winter period.

The record figure was achieved thanks to mild temperatures and higher energy prices, which in turn led to reduced demand, but consultants from Cornwall Insight have advised Europeans against complacency.

“A multitude of factors, from weather patterns to surging demand in Asia, leave Europe open to potential gas shortages if it places its faith in another high-temperature, low-competition winter,” said Dr Chadwick.

Balancing LNG with going green

The European winter is once again set to be warmer than usual this year, but experts have raised concerns about the effects of global events on LNG supply.

The Israel Hamas war, gas worker strikes in Australia, or damage to the Balticconnector pipeline, are all examples of how wider instability can push up wholesale energy prices.

As China and other Asian nations are able to pay higher prices for gas than the EU, this leaves the bloc in a vulnerable position.

One solution here is to secure more long-term LNG supply deals instead of relying on so-called ‘spot market purchases’, which are essentially immediate but volatile transactions.

In pursuit of future energy stability, the EU has also been improving its infrastructure to combat trade bottlenecks.

The bloc’s import capacity can meet around 40% of its total gas demand, but access to LNG infrastructure is still uneven throughout member states.

Yet when considering long-term energy plans, Cornwall Insight has nonetheless advised the EU to stay focused on its climate targets.

Analysts say that whilst LNG emits 40% less CO2 than coal and 30% less than oil, it remains a significant source of carbon emissions, meaning it should only be viewed as a transitional solution.

Source: Msn.com

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Today I had the opportunity to visit with Tim Kaelin, CEO of Renewable Energy Management about his energy storage company that does not need tax incentives, or subsidies to bring to market. This is a huge win for the grid stabilization that needs to happen for our increased energy demands.

Sustainable to many people does not include fiscal or ecologically responsible in their definition. Our conversation went over their energy storage solution and it hit all of my top requirements. Ecologically sound, not require the massive critical minerals from foreign countries, and fiscally sound. The other key point of our discussion was the battery technology. It could spill out on the ground, and could even be considered fertilizer.

There is a massive need for ending energy poverty, and I am thrilled to have had the opportunity fo visit with Tim, and am looking forward to visiting with his executive team of world experts. George McMilan is one of his team members with whom I have been communicating and planning some fantastic geopolitical discussions around energy.

00:00 – Introduction

02:00 – Tim Kaelin founded a company to create affordable utility-scale batteries for renewable energy, aiming for profitability without subsidies.

04:27 – Explaining their technology’s operation.

06:45 – The significance of kilowatts per megawatt-hour in the discussion.

08:15 – Their batteries for large solar farms in shipping containers, addressing reclamation and recyclability concerns.

11:14 – Upcoming November 9th event with George McMillan, covering energy, geopolitics, market dynamics, and renewable energy challenges.

16:46 – Importance of battery storage in renewable energy, regulatory hurdles, fiscal sustainability, and global energy dynamics, including skepticism around net-zero goals in developing countries and coal demand.

21:31 – Highlighting energy storage as a currency for economic growth and societal advancement.

23:23 – Preview of the November 9th event in New York and the possibility of a live podcast before the event.

24:57 – Outro.

Full Transcript and Show notes will be added shortly.

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The malaise spreading through the renewable energy industry hasn’t come to an end just yet.
wind energy giants Ørsted A/S and Siemens Energy are facing billions of euros in losses and writedowns as their wind energy businesses continue to deteriorate.
Siemens Energy is currently in talks with the German government looking to secure as much as €16B worth of guarantees for long-term projects after the company warned that losses at its troubled wind turbine business are likely to be higher than earlier forecast.

The malaise spreading through the renewable energy industry that started in late October when we reported that shares of Israel-based SolarEdge Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:SEDG) suffered their biggest crash in the company’s public history has now spread to the European wind energy sector, too.

It’s all about soaring costs and supply chain woes–all of which prompted SolarEdge to warn that Q3 revenues, gross margin and operating income would all come in below the low end of the company’s prior guidance.

Now, wind energy giants Ørsted A/S (OTCPK:DNNGY) and Siemens Energy (OTCPK:SMEGF) are facing billions of euros in losses and writedowns as their wind energy businesses continue to deteriorate.

Ørsted, the world’s biggest builder of offshore wind parks, has raised the alarm on possible impairments of as much as 28.4B Danish kroner (US$4B) to its U.S. portfolio thanks to supply chain snarls as well as an unsuccessful bid to seek more profitable contracts with New York regulators.

The company has also scrapped two New Jersey wind projects; 2,248 MW Ocean Wind 1 and 2 projects, but says it will move forward with its Revolution Wind project offshore Connecticut and Rhode Island, a 50-50 joint venture partner with Eversource.  Ørsted has forecast a third-quarter loss of 12 billion kroner, the worst quarterly loss since 2015 when the company was more focused on fossil fuels and conventional electricity.

Two weeks ago, Ørsted announced that it has agreed to sell 50% of the Gode Wind 3 offshore wind farm in Germany for €473M (nearly $500M).

‘‘Ocean Wind 1 and 2 have experienced significant impacts from macroeconomic factors, including high inflation, rising interest rates and supply chain constraints, particularly a vessel delay on Ocean Wind 1 that considerably impacted project timing,” Ørsted has said.

“Orsted is a big player in the renewables world and was one of the frontrunners, so there is a conception in the market that what the company is facing today are actually issues that could be seen across other developers,” ABN Amro Bank NV strategist Larissa Fritz has told Bloomberg.

Ørsted is hardly the only wind energy developer in serious peril.  Norwegian energy giant Equinor ASA (NYSE:EQNR) took a $300 million impairment on U.S. offshore wind projects while  China’s top turbine maker Xinjiang Goldwind Science & Technology Co. reported on Friday that third-quarter profit tumbled 98%.

Ørsted shares have crashed 61.3% in the year-to-date to a five-year low.

“There are too many known unknowns around Orsted, which could lead to near-term headwinds for its shares. Visibility around the US, including balance sheet funding, and the fate of Hornsea 3 is required before any meaningful re-rating,’’ Citigroup Inc. analysts have said.

Meanwhile, shares of Ørsted’s German peer Siemens Energy have jumped nearly 13% in Wednesday’s intraday trading after supervisory board chairman Joe Kaeser said the company does not need a taxpayer-funded bailout from the German government, and that it seeks guarantees rather than a cash injection.

“The company obviously doesn’t need money from the state,” Kaeser reportedly told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper, adding that “all segments apart from the wind business are doing well, partly better than at the competition. If you read ‘state aid’ as an investor, then panic is pre-programmed”

Siemens Energy is currently in talks with the German government looking to secure as much as €16B worth of guarantees for long-term projects after the company warned that losses at its troubled wind turbine business are likely to be higher than earlier forecast. Siemens says it needs the backstops for projects because the financial outlook for its wind turbine business has continued to deteriorate. Back in June, the company announced that it was overhauling the division at a cost of up to €1bn.

Cost Increases

According to Kerstin Ahlfont, chief financial officer at Vattenfall AB, these companies have been contending with cost increases of up to 40% over the past 18 months, rendering many projects unprofitable. The Swedish utility itself has been forced to shelve a giant project in the UK after deeming it not profitable enough even with the guarantees available in an auction it won last year.

Last month, no energy companies submitted bids in the UK’s 5GW offshore wind auction, with the government coming under fire for ignoring warnings that the offer on the table was too low to reflect soaring costs. This comes as a significant blow to Rishi Sunak’s plans to meet climate targets and lower energy bills and also makes it harder for the government to achieve its goal of reaching 50 GW of offshore wind by 2030. The price of the UK’s offshore wind power has fallen steeply in recent decades. The government set a maximum price of £44 a MW hour for the latest auction, which developers deemed too low due to soaring construction costs, owing to rising inflation and higher borrowing costs.

Things could not be more different in Germany where European oil and gas supermajors BP Plc (NYSE:BP) and TotalEnergies (NYSE:TTE) won all of the capacity on offer in the country’s 7GW offshore wind auction, its biggest in history. BP secured leases at two North Sea sites off the coast of Helgoland with total generating potential of about four gigawatts, paying a total of $7.5 billion. The new sites–BP’s first offshore wind projects in Germany–will nearly double the company’s global offshore wind pipeline. Meanwhile, TotalEnergies–through local subsidiaries–secured the other two sites for a total of  $6.5 billion. Germany currently has 8.4GW of operational offshore wind capacity.

Source: Oilprice.com

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The post Europe’s Wind Energy Giants Brace For Massive Losses And Writedowns appeared first on Energy News Beat.