Brazil, which has updated its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), aims to reach carbon neutrality by 2060. The new target could be brought forward if developed countries transfer US$10bn/year to Brazilian projects starting in 2021, through the mechanisms of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement and the federal government’s payment for environmental services program, Floresta +. To achieve carbon neutrality, the country has committed to zero illegal deforestation by 2030 and to reforesting 12 million ha.
Solarpark has won a long-term concession contract for the construction, operation, maintenance, and reversion to the Ecuadorian State of the 258 MW El Aromo solar PV project located in the province of Manabí (Ecuador). In November 2019, the Ministry of Energy and Non-Renewable Natural Resources (MERNNR) of Ecuador had prequalified 9 international companies or consortia that were allowed to take part to the public selection process for building, operating and maintaining the 200 MW El Aromo solar PV project and the Villonaco II and III wind power projects (total capacity of 110 MW).
The Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate has a presented new package of measures to further reduce the country’s CO2 emissions in the short run, in order to comply with a December 2019 Supreme Court ruling mandating the government to cut CO2 emissions by at least 25% between 1990 and 2020.
The European Commission has unveiled its Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy, which targets at least 30 million zero-emission cars and 80,000 zero-emission lorries in operation by 2030. In addition, 100 European cities and scheduled collective travel for journeys under 500 km should be carbon neutral and the high-speed train traffic is to double by 2030. By 2035, emission-free large aircraft should be ready for the market. Nearly all cars, vans, buses as well as new heavy-duty vehicles should be zero-emission by 2050.
According to the Climate Change Committee (CCC), an independent advisory committee, the United Kingdom should cut its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 78% in 2035 compared to 1990 levels to reach net zero emissions by 2050. In June 2019, the United Kingdom adopted a law with an objective to reach net-zero emission by 2050 and the country recently announced its target to reduce its GHG emissions by 68% by 2030, compared to 1990 levels, up from a previous NDC target of 53%.
The UK energy regulator has approved a £40bn (€44.3bn) investment plan for 2021-2026, which seeks to improve the country’s gas and electricity transmission and distribution infrastructure and to deliver emissions-free green energy. Compared to a July 2020 proposal, the parastatal increased upfront spending on infrastructure by £5bn (€5.5bn) to £30bn (€33.2bn) and granted additional funding of £10bn (€11.1bn) for future green energy projects.
The Russian oil group Rosneft has discovered a new Arctic gas field in the Kara Sea (Russia) with reserves estimated at 800 bcm. The field was discovered through prospecting and appraisal drilling at the Vikulovskaya structure (Vostochno-Prinovozemelsky-1 license area). The project was launched in 2014 and drilling of the first well led to the discovery of the Pobeda oil and gas field, with total recoverable reserves of about 130 Mt of oil and 422 bcm of gas.
Scatec Solar has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Equinor and Hydro to jointly develop a 480 MW solar power plant in Brazil. The three companies, which aims to reach an investment decision in 2021, would realise the project on a site already secured in Rio Grande do Norte (north-eastern Brazil) by Scatec and Equinor.
The 474 MW Nysäter onshore wind project in Viksjö, in the county of Västernorrland (central Sweden), has started to produce power. The €500m project is owned by the Swiss investment manager Credit Suisse Energy Infrastructure Partners (80%) and RWE Renewables (20%). The Nordex Group installed the first turbine in September 2020 under a turnkey agreement signed in December 2018. The project is slated for completion by the end of 2021.
Wind power accounts for 22% of Sweden’s installed capacity, with 9 GW (end of 2019). More than 12 GW are under various phases of development.
Solar Philippines plans to launch the construction of more than 1 GW of solar projects in at least four provinces within the Luzon grid in the Philippines. The company, which plans an initial public offering (IPO) at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), intends to commission the solar power plants in 2022.
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