Interviews Archives

Policy landscape presents challenges and opportunities: Invenergy’s Mick Baird

Oct 12, 2022 | Interviews

Invenergy was an early leader in the clean energy transition and has continually evolved to push the energy industry forward. What began as a largely thermal and wind business is now a full energy solutions provider with an array of new technologies, including solar, green hydrogen, desalination, and large-scale battery storage. While the technology has changed, our approach to responsibly siting clean energy projects that benefit a broad spectrum of stakeholders has remained the same.

Emerging technologies can unlock a swifter energy transition: EBRD’s Nandita Parshad

Sep 22, 2022 | Interviews

Renewable energy is at the heart of energy transition. Not just because it is low carbon – it is also becoming cheaper than traditional energy sources; on top of the climate benefits it brings. Renewables are quick to build and scale up, provide energy security, and create jobs. In real time and across the EBRD region, we are witnessing this trajectory becoming a staple, as countries evolve to become strong renewable players. We look forward to doing even more as these markets continue to develop.

Energy interdependence and independence are critical issues: Engie’s Amit Jain

Aug 26, 2022 | Interviews

There are numerous supply chain problems on a global level at present. These difficulties are especially apparent in the wind power segment. The number of players in this segment has declined, and they are more focused on their own geographies. These players have chosen the US as their primary focus, with other markets taking a back seat. Engie has a global target of commissioning 4 GW of renewable energy capacity every year and has recently decided to focus on about 35 countries out of the 70 countries that Engie used to operate in.

We need the industry to decarbonise: Singapore’s Minister of State Low Yen Ling

Aug 1, 2022 | Interviews

Today, the power sector contributes about 40% of Singapore’s carbon emissions. To reach our net-zero emission goal by 2050, we need the industry to decarbonise. Last year, the EMA announced the Singapore Energy Transition plan to decarbonise the power sector whilst ensuring that our energy system remains secure and reliable. Singapore will harness and tap on four switches to transform our energy supply – natural gas, solar, regional power grids and emerging low-carbon alternatives.

Energy produced in Britain is the safest option: UK Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng

Jul 12, 2022 | Interviews

Unlike many in Europe, our energy comes from a variety of highly diverse, reliable, and secure sources. On electricity, our diversity of supply is a great strength. We have the world’s second largest installed capacity of offshore wind – only just beaten by China in fact only a year ago. We have onshore wind, we have solar power, we have nuclear, we have hydroelectric power, and of course we’ve got interconnectors between us and countries in Europe.

Renewable gases have a critical role to play: Engie’s Catherine MacGregor

Jun 14, 2022 | Interviews

We are indeed among the world leaders in renewables, and that is a platform that we are continuously developing. The strength in renewables is complemented by a large portfolio of flexible generation assets, which are absolutely key to addressing intermittency. And we own and operate significant critical networks and distributed energy infrastructure. Our teams are more focused than ever in contributing to the transformation of the energy mix to the development of both renewable power and renewable gases.

We need to work together to widen these bottlenecks: Vattenfall’s Anna Borg

May 30, 2022 | Interviews

The fundamental problem of discrepancy in demand and supply remains. While the knowledge, capability and capital to provide that additional supply exists, the political will and regulatory frameworks need to widen the bottlenecks and enable all of these to come to market at the earliest. This includes secure supply chains, short permitting processes, provision of land and sea for deploying capacity, and also addressing of social concerns around building these new business opportunities. Thus, removing uncertainties in investment pre-requisites is critical.

The biggest challenge seems to be grid capacity: Mainstream Renewable Power’s Bernard Casey

Apr 24, 2022 | Interviews

We have a long history in the offshore wind space, and we have developed the world’s largest offshore wind farm in the UK, which is now owned and being built out by Orsted. In the APAC region, we are currently developing offshore wind projects in Vietnam and Japan as well as tracking various opportunities in the Philippines. The biggest challenge for offshore wind transmission often seems to be the onshore grid capacity. Meanwhile, the best locations for these projects are often remote from the load centers as is the case, for example, in Vietnam.

Various policies are promoting solar uptake in Nigeria: NEP’s Anita Otubu

Mar 31, 2022 | Interviews

The total energy access gap is pretty huge in Nigeria. Even for those who do have access to power, the power supply is unreliable and unstable. Thus, there is a lot that needs to be done. The federal government of Nigeria has taken huge steps towards bridging the existing energy access gap. A number of policies and regulations have been introduced to promote solar power in Nigeria to not take over but supplement the main grid.

The shift towards bilateral PPAs will continue: Econergy’s Wolf Dietrich

Feb 20, 2022 | Interviews

Part of Econergy’s forward-looking strategy will involve continuing to invest in clean energy projects in markets where changes to the regulations allow the industry to expand via PPAs, diversification of services to the grid and the introduction of other renewable energy technologies. As part of its continued development and growth, Econergy is looking to expand to two additional markets in the EU within the next six to nine months.

We have been stepping up our climate financing: ADB’s Masatsugu Asakawa

Jan 11, 2022 | Interviews

We must confront the uncomfortable truth that our region is a source of more than 50 per cent of annual global greenhouse gas emissions. It is clear that bold and urgent action is needed to combat the great challenges we face. For this, we must implement new and innovative policy solutions to ensure green, inclusive, and sustainable development. We have been stepping up our climate financing. We raised our ambition to provide 100 billion dollars in cumulative climate finance between 2019 and 2030.

The European Green Deal is going global: European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson

Dec 15, 2021 | Interviews

Our goal is to make sure the EU energy system can provide – whatever happens – reliable supply, as it integrates more renewable energy, and reduces the dependence to external fossil fuels suppliers. For these reasons, energy security as one of the five dimensions of the EU Energy Union is a key element of the European Green Deal but also the EU Security Union Strategy.

We aim to change the way we generate and use electricity: JinkoSolar’s Daniel Liu

Oct 22, 2021 | Interviews

Having started its business from the upstream side of the solar value chain, JinkoSolar now produces wafers and cells as well. We are committed to expanding the boundaries of our PV knowledge through research and development, and actively catalysing the commercialisation of cutting-edge solar technology. Our introduction of various solar technologies in the past financial year is evidence of our dedication to innovation.

Need to set up many large-scale hydrogen projects: ICE’s Alicia Eastman

Sep 8, 2021 | Interviews

When we started ICE, we were very focused on having inexpensive wind and solar power facilities mostly located in deserts next to the ocean. As a result, locations with high solar irradiation and wind speeds were chosen. These include regions in North Africa, South America, Australia, and the Middle East. This would ensure that the projects in these regions would have the highest capacity utilisation factors as well as the lowest cost of energy.

We are accelerating our transition: Equinor’s CEO Anders Opedal

Jul 8, 2021 | Interviews

We are in the biggest transition our energy systems have ever seen. Renewables are growing rapidly, and over time, oil and gas will play a smaller role. The plan we present today is a strategy to take advantage of the opportunities in the transition. This is not a new direction, but we are accelerating our transition, bringing forward our ambitions while growing cash flow and returns.

We were one of the first movers in the RE world: Iberdrola’s Ignacio Galán

Jun 30, 2021 | Interviews

Iberdrola is one of the first movers in the renewable energy world. We are already the world’s largest wind producer currently with an investment of over Euro 120 billion in the last 20 years. Further, more than 50 per cent of Iberdrola’s business is in grid development to transport electricity. We are planning to invest a further Euro 75 billion by 2025, Euro 150 billion by 2030, 50 per cent of which will be in grid networks.

“Renewable power and hydrogen will be future engines of growth”: ISA’s Dr Ajay Mathur

Jun 20, 2021 | Interviews

Round-the-clock (RTC) renewable electricity will soon become competitive with fossil fuel-based power. This is expected to happen across all geographies between 2022 and 2030. However, going forward, this must become the default strategy or priority as far as energy supply is concerned – whether for political decision-making or, more importantly, financial decision-making.

Hydrogen will play a key role in mobility & industry sectors: Commisioner McAllister

Jun 7, 2021 | Interviews

Hydrogen, and green hydrogen in particular, has become a topic for discussion and action across the United States, especially in the western state of California. It has also come up with initiatives to promote the uptake of hydrogen, which is a key piece of the puzzle for reaching net zero emissions. At the virtual conference on Green Hydrogen US hosted by Global Transmission Report with support from REGlobal, the Honorable J. Andrew McAllister, Commissioner, California Energy Commission, shared his insights on green hydrogen related developments in the state.

We plan to quadruple solar energy production by 2025: Lee Hsien Loong, Prime Minister, Singapore

May 10, 2021 | Interviews

As a financial hub, Singapore can help the global push for sustainability through green finance, fintech and capability building. We have launched a USD2 billion Green Investments Programme. This will support the development of carbon trading and services, sustainability consultancies and environmental risk management. One promising area is emissions verification, including using new technology to measure the carbon footprints and monitor abatement commitments of businesses.

Limited supply chain poses a key challenge for offshore wind in Asia: Swancor’s CEO Lucas Lin

May 6, 2021 | Interviews

With governments in Asia Pacific increasing their focus on developing low-carbon economies, offshore wind is being included as a key component of their energy transition strategies. Countries such as Taiwan have set ambitious targets. However, several challenges still need to be addressed – one of them relates to the development of the corresponding transmission infrastructure, both offshore and onshore.

Category: Interviews

Policy landscape presents challenges and opportunities: Invenergy’s Mick Baird

Emerging technologies can unlock a swifter energy transition: EBRD’s Nandita Parshad

Energy interdependence and independence are critical issues: Engie’s Amit Jain

We need the industry to decarbonise: Singapore’s Minister of State Low Yen Ling

Energy produced in Britain is the safest option: UK Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng

Renewable gases have a critical role to play: Engie’s Catherine MacGregor

We need to work together to widen these bottlenecks: Vattenfall’s Anna Borg

The biggest challenge seems to be grid capacity: Mainstream Renewable Power’s Bernard Casey

Various policies are promoting solar uptake in Nigeria: NEP’s Anita Otubu

The shift towards bilateral PPAs will continue: Econergy’s Wolf Dietrich

We have been stepping up our climate financing: ADB’s Masatsugu Asakawa

The European Green Deal is going global: European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson

We aim to change the way we generate and use electricity: JinkoSolar’s Daniel Liu

Need to set up many large-scale hydrogen projects: ICE’s Alicia Eastman

We are accelerating our transition: Equinor’s CEO Anders Opedal

We were one of the first movers in the RE world: Iberdrola’s Ignacio Galán

“Renewable power and hydrogen will be future engines of growth”: ISA’s Dr Ajay Mathur

Hydrogen will play a key role in mobility & industry sectors: Commisioner McAllister

We plan to quadruple solar energy production by 2025: Lee Hsien Loong, Prime Minister, Singapore

Limited supply chain poses a key challenge for offshore wind in Asia: Swancor’s CEO Lucas Lin

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