News in Numbers

$742bn

The world’s banks channelled $742bn into fossil fuel expansion projects in 2021

50%

Ørsted to divest 50% stake in Hornsea II offshore wind farm for $3.9bn

600MW 

The Bosniak-Croat Federation plans to add 600MW of renewable power capacity in the next three years

356

The 356 turbines of the Traverse Wind Energy Centre has started providing clean energy to consumers

25%

The UK aims to source 25% of its power from nuclear plants by 2050

Project updates

German energy company Siemens Energy has agreed to provide a total of four H-class combined-cycle power units for power facilities in China’s Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

The company signed separate agreements with Guangdong Energy Group and Shenzhen Energy Group.

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Danish renewable investment firm Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners has partnered with the New Zealand Superannuation Fund to develop 1GW of offshore wind capacity on New Zealand’s west coast.

Located on the South Taranaki Bight, the planned capacity will be equivalent to more than 11% of New Zealand’s current electricity demand.

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US-based solar power technology firm Heliogen has signed a project agreement with Woodside Energy for trialling a concentrated solar energy project in the US.

Woodside has set a target to invest $5bn in new energy products and lower-carbon services by 2030.

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Further reading

Will renewables bring light to a particularly dark situation in Lebanon?

In October 2021, the power in Lebanon cut out completely for 24 hours. The country’s two main power plants had run out of fuel, leaving the entire country without electricity. The nation was plunged into darkness and hospitals were forced to halt vital procedures.

In August of the same year, the American University of Beirut Medical Centre had appealed to the international community for help when it had just 48 hours of fuel left for its generators; after that it would no longer have the power to run its respirators, which 15 children and more than 100 dialysis patients depended on for their lives.

The blackout was a symptom of a bigger problem: decades of mismanagement and extreme fuel shortages culminated in an energy crisis that started in 2020.

Read more: Power Technology