Over 50,000 Turkish households availed of $350 million in funding energy efficiency in buildings and equipment through a lending program jointly developed by several clean finance institutions, the European Bank for Reconstruction (EBRD) announced Tuesday during a meeting.
The EBRD, the European Union (EU), and the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) under Climate Investment Funds (CIF) developed the Turkish Residential Energy Efficiency Financing Facility (TuREEFF).
The EBRD-led TuREEFF program provided up to $350 million to four local
banks: Garanti BBVA, Sekerbank, Turkiye Is Bank and Yapi Kredi Bank. The funds were then on-lent to households, construction companies and vendors of energy-savings household equipment.
Speaking at the forum marking TuREEFF’s achievements, EBRD Managing Director in Turkey, Arvid Tuerkner, said there is no better place to start to become eco-friendly than at home.
"TuREEFF, developed by the EBRD with funding from the EU and the CTF, has made money available for Turkish families to make that change. I am proud of the role the EBRD has played in pioneering this lending program and congratulate all involved on the results we have delivered together," he said.
The EBRD has invested over €11.5 billion in almost 300 projects in Turkey to date, and the overwhelming majority of these are in the private sector. More than half of the Bank’s projects promote the sustainable use of energy.
According to TuREEFF’s data, 2,800 people took out TuREEFF mortgages and loans to either buy eco-friendly homes or equip households with energy-saving technologies.
Over 50,000 other households have benefited directly and indirectly by equipping their homes with efficient heating or cooling systems, windows or white goods acquired from specialized vendors financed by TuREEFF.
The program has financed 430 projects since 2015, which range from new environmentally-friendly property developments to making older buildings greener.
Since the program was rolled out in 2015, these investments resulted in energy savings of above 29.3 gigawatt-hours annually and a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions of 7,390 tonnes of CO2 equivalent, or the amount of carbon 330,000 trees absorb in a year, the results of the program showed.
The energy consumption of Turkey’s buildings, which account for 50% of the electricity consumption of all buildings, exceeds that of the industrial sector.
Turkey currently has 9.2 million buildings, out of which 6 million need energy-efficient investments, Yuksel Malkoc, advisor to the head of Energy Efficiency and Environment Department of Turkey's Energy and Natural Resources Ministry said.
Thanks to energy efficiency investments in buildings, Malkoc advised that up to 40% of energy savings could be achieved.
The event ended with an awards ceremony that recognized seven projects for their contribution to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the transition to a green economy.
The award winners are Istanbul-based construction companies Zafer Hakan Yapi Insaat and Hun Perakende Insaat, environmentally-friendly residential complex Tema Istanbul, Eskisehir-based white goods vendor Eldem AS, Antalya-based cooling system provider Modern Klima, Istanbul-based heating system distributor Elvan Insaat and windows vendor Neyka Nakliyat from Ankara.
TuREEFF follows the model of the EBRD’s Green Economy Financing Facility (GEFF), the bank said in a statement on TuREEFF.
GEFF operates through a network of more than 140 local financial institutions across 26 countries supported by almost €4.2 billion of EBRD finance for 130,000 clients. These projects have led to annual CO2 emission reductions of over almost 7 million tonnes, according to the statement.
"The EBRD and CIF have worked together for a decade on investments in climate change mitigation, adaptation, renewable energy and energy efficiency. From 2009-19, the CIF has supported more than 90 EBRD endeavors, providing nearly $450 million in concessional loans or grants for technical cooperation. Established in 2008, the CIFs comprise both the CTF and the Strategic Climate Funds (SCF)," the bank said.
Source: AA
Renewable energy has been one of the primary pillars through which Turkish and German economic ties have developed. Recently, the two countries have demonstrated strong intentions to further their cooperation, particularly in the field of energy. As concrete action in broader cooperation plans, more German companies operating in the renewable energy sector will assume more important roles in Turkey, according to Germany-Turkey Commerce and Industry Chamber General-Secretary Thilo Pahl.
Germany has been one of the top economic and commercial partners of Turkey. The bilateral trade volume between the two countries stands at $24.5 billion in the period of January to September, according to Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) data. The trade volume between the two countries was recorded at $36.5 billion last year. Data from Turkey's central bank also revealed that Turkey attracted nearly $10 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) from Germany from 2002 to September 2019.
In a statement to Anadolu Agency (AA) published Wednesday, Pahl stressed that cooperation between Turkish and German energy and natural resources ministries is navigating the future of energy partnership.
While he remarked that the Turkish economy will register a growth performance in 2020, he underscored the fall in the German manufacturing sector.
"This year, the global automobile sales have contracted. This shrinkage offers great opportunities for mutual investments and commercial transactions, which at the same time creates optimum conditions for foreign investments that could flow into Turkey from other countries," Pahl explained.
The general-secretary also drew attention to the continuous growth of the Turkish renewable energy sector.
"German companies operate as investors and suppliers in the Turkish renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors," he said and underlined the huge contribution to the know-how in the sector, which is essential for the sustainability of the renewable investments.
"We believe that Turkey and Germany will form better and longer-term relations in the field of renewable energy," Pahl said and continued, "German firms will take on a bigger role in the field."
German firms have been actively involved in Turkish wind and solar power projects.
Siemens, together with its Turkish partners Kalyon and Turkerler, was contracted in August 2017 for the establishment of a 1,000-megawatt (MW) wind power plant as part of Renewable Energy Resource Areas (YEKA) program.
The total installed capacity of Turkey's 262 wind farms, both licensed and unlicensed, has surpassed 7,600 MW and represents an 8% share of total installed capacity. The country ranks sixth in Europe and 12th in the world in wind installed capacity. The country's installed capacity in wind energy was 19 MW in 2002, it was increased to 364 MW in 2008. Furthermore, in an effort to expand existing capacity, Turkey's energy watchdog, the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EMRA), will collect bids for a 2,000 MW wind power plant project in April 2020.
Also in 2017, Turkish energy firm Prime Enerji A.S signed an agreement with Germany-based InTEC Energy Solutions to establish a 14-megawatt solar power plant in southwestern Turkey's Denizli.
In May, Turkish energy firm Enerjisa and Germany's Enercon were contracted for the construction of four onshore wind power farms in Turkish cities, each with a capacity of 250 MW.
German-based wind power equipment manufacturer Nordex CEO Jose Luis Blanco Dieguez also recently stressed that the company is looking for more opportunities to invest in the Turkish wind power sector.
Source: Daily Sabah
New investment in wind, solar, and other clean energy projects in developing nations dropped sharply in 2018, largely due to a slowdown in China. While the number of new clean power-generating plants completed stayed flat year-to-year, the volume of power derived from coal surged to a new high, according to Climatescope, an annual survey of 104 emerging markets conducted by research firm BloombergNEF (BNEF).
The findings suggest that developing nations are moving toward cleaner power but not nearly fast enough to limit global CO2 emissions or the consequences of climate change. The majority of new power-generating capacity added in developing nations in 2018 came from wind and solar, for instance. But the majority of power to be produced from the overall fleet of power plants added in 2018 will come from fossil sources and emit CO2. This is due to wind and solar projects generating only when natural resources are available while oil, coal, and gas plants can potentially produce around the clock.
Mean while, the volume of actual coal-fired power generated and consumed in developing countries jumped to 6.9 thousand terawatt-hours in 2018, up from 6.4 thousand in 2017. The approximately 500 terawatt hours in new coal consumption is roughly equivalent to all the power consumed in Texas in a normal year. Across the 104 emerging markets surveyed in Climatescope, coal accounted for 47% of all generation.
China, both the world’s largest CO2 emitter and largest market for clean energy production and consumption, played a crucial role in the story. Investment in new wind, solar, and other non-large hydro renewables projects in the country fell to $86 billion in 2018 from $122 billion in 2017. That net decline mirrored a $36 billion drop in emerging markets’ clean energy investment figures, the largest ever tracked by Climatescope.
The decline was not confined to China, however. Inflows to clean energy projects in India and Brazil slipped $2.4 billion and $2.7 billion, respectively from the year prior. Across all emerging markets surveyed, 2018 investment fell to $133 billion, lower than not just the 2017 total but the 2015 figure as well. Overall, declining costs for solar and wind played a considerable factor in the fall in absolute dollar investment in emerging economies.
“This year’s Climatescope headline results are undeniably disappointing,” said Luiza Demôro, who manages the project for BloombergNEF. “However, apart from the very largest nations, we did see some important and positive developments, in terms of new policies, investment, and deployment.”
Excluding China, India and Brazil, clean energy investment jumped to $34 billion in 2018 from $30 billion in 2017. Most notably, Vietnam, South Africa, Mexico and Morocco led the rankings with a combined investment of $16 billion in 2018. Excluding China alone, new clean energy installations in emerging markets grew 21% to achieve a new record, with 36GW commissioned in 2018, up from 30GW in 2017. This is twice the clean energy capacity added in 2015 and three times the capacity installed in 2013.
Despite the spike in coal-fired generation, the pace of new coal capacity added to grids in developing nations is slowing, according to Climatescope. New construction of coal-fired power plants fell to the lowest level in a decade in 2018. After peaking at 84GW of new capacity added in 2015, coal project completions plummeted to 39GW in 2018. China accounted for approximately two thirds of this decline.
“The transition from coal toward cleaner sources in developing nations is underway,” said Ethan Zindler, head of Americas at BNEF. “But like trying to turn a massive oil tanker, it takes time.”
Source: Bloomberg NEF
Volkswagen Group said Thursday that, together with its Chinese partners, it will invest around 4 billion euros ($4.43 billion) in China next year, with almost half of the cash to be spent on developing e-mobility.
VW claims that the German firm now accounts for almost every fifth car sold in China. The automaker was a pioneer of manufacturing in China, first establishing contact in the late 1970s. VW now has large joint venture partnerships with Chinese firms SAIC Motor and FAW Group.
The announcement detailed that around 40% of the 4 billion euro investment is going towards e-mobility. The firm’s electrification strategy in China is being concentrated on manufacturing all-electric cars in two factories in Foshun and Shanghai. The manufacturer says by October 2020, the two factories combined will reach a capacity of 600,000 e-cars per year.
The firm wants to produce 30 different types of electric car in China within the next six years.
The CEO of Volkswagen Group China, Stephan Wollenstein, said in a statement Thursday that success in e-mobility “will be a key driver for reaching our sustainability target, becoming net carbon neutral by 2050.”
Volkswagen Group China claims it has delivered 3.34 million vehicles to be sold in China so far this year. The division added that it had increased its market share to 19.5% from 18.5% in 2018.
The share price of the wider Volkswagen Group was around 0.4% higher by mid-afternoon on Thursday. The automaker’s stock is almost 30% higher across 2019, but just 4.9% higher than September 18, 2015 — the day that the Volkswagen emissions scandal, also known as Dieselgate, began.
Source: CNBC
According to the latest research from Navigant Research, the global market for annual solar PV installations has crossed the 100 GW milestone, and the global market for solar PV (SPV) will see more than $2,000 billion in investments over the next decade.
As the market for SPV has grown in the past decade, the need for transparency and grid stability has forced state and regional governments to adopt new processes and regulations. These changes, coupled with an accelerating decline in technology CAPEX, are expected to drive the market substantially.
“Regulatory and legislative structures are evolving away from structures that incentivize widespread solar deployment to more nuanced mechanisms and business models that enable solar growth to be controlled and directed,” says Pritil Gunjan, senior research analyst with Navigant Research.
“These mechanisms aim to avoid negative outcomes at the system level as renewable penetration increases. They also aim to ensure that resources are allocated to new generation projects as efficiently as possible in a competitive, technology-agnostic manner,” added Gunjan.
China and the US continue to shape the global SPV market, though the overall market is expanding as smaller, emerging countries with high irradiance develop new capacity and low prices attract new countries.
According to the report, Asia Pasific is projected to continue to grow at an accelerating pace, with 63 per cent of total annual SPV installations of 79.4 GW in 2019.
The new report, Market Data: Solar PV Country Forecasts, presents a forecast of installed capacity, system prices, application segments, and revenue for the global solar SPV market through 2028.
Source: Power Engineering
The European Commission (EC) has approved around €94m to support the construction and operation of a waste-to-energy cogeneration plant in Bulgaria.
Bulgaria informed the EC in October 2019 that it intends to build a high-efficient cogeneration plant in Sofia that will have the capacity to generate electricity as well as heat.
For producing electricity and heat, the plant will make use of fuel derived from unrecyclable municipal waste in line with EU State aid rules.
The European Commission Commissioner in charge of competition policy Margrethe Vestager said: “The support measure will help Bulgaria achieving its energy-efficiency targets and will contribute to the reduction of CO2 emissions in line with the EU environmental objectives, without unduly distorting competition.”
Annually, 180,000 tonnes of unrecyclable municipal waste will be used to fuel the plant which will have the capacity to generate nearly 55MW of heat and 19MW of electricity.
The finalisation of the construction is expected to take place by the end of 2023. Once completed, the heat generated by the plant will be connected to the Sofia district heating network.
Of the total financial aid, a grant of approximately €90.8m will be financed by EU Structural Funds managed by Bulgaria.
The remaining aid of about €3m will be provided by the Sofia municipality to its fully-owned company Toplofikacia EAD, which will install and connect the plant to the Sofia district heating network. The construction and operation of the plant is the third phase of a long-standing environmental project and is aimed at improving waste treatment in the Sofia Region.
In 2014, the initial phase of the plant was completed and involved the construction of a new landfill, a new anaerobic digestion and other minor project components.
As part of the second phase, which was concluded in 2015, recycling was improved and a mechanical biological treatment facility producing unrecyclable municipal waste was established.
Source: Power Technology
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