SUSTAINABILITY
Octopus Energy | March 17, 2023
Octopus Energy, the UK’s third largest energy retailer, has announced plans to invest €1 billion in the French green energy market over the next two years.
The investment will be used to accelerate the energy transition in France and generate enough local green power to supply 300,000 households.
Building on its investments already made in France, the company is launching a new European tech hub in Paris through its subsidiary Kraken. The new hub will create hundreds of clean energy jobs and support millions of customers across the continent.
Octopus Energy first entered the French market in January 2022 with its acquisition of French energy supplier Plüm énergie. The company is now targeting 1 million customers by 2026 in France.
While offering better customer service and bringing down prices, Octopus Energy France is also helping and rewarding French households to lower their energy consumption through innovative products. The company's customers already use 10% less energy than the average French household, and Octopus is committed to continue innovating to help French consumers use less, but stay warm.
Announcing the plans at the 36th Franco-British Summit, chaired by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris today, Octopus Energy CEO and Founder, Greg Jackson, commented: “Octopus operates across 10 European countries, and today we’re delighted to announce a huge increase in our cooperation with France.
We’re planning to invest an extra billion Euros in French generation - but we’re also going to make Paris our EU technology hub. This is testament to the mutual commitment to investing in a clean energy system, and pioneering the digitisation which will drive costs down alongside carbon.”
Vincent Maillard, CEO of Octopus Energy France, commented: “We are very proud to see Octopus Energy's role in France's energy transition recognized at the highest level of the French government.
In doing so, the group combines retail energy expertise, major investments in renewable generation and cutting-edge technology to unlock innovative tariffs and deliver an outstanding customer experience to French households."
About Octopus Energy Group
Octopus Energy Group is a global energy tech pioneer, launched in 2016 to use technology to unlock a customer focused and affordable green energy revolution. It is part of Octopus Group, which is a certified BCorp. With operations in 14 countries, Octopus Energy Group's mission is going global.
Octopus’s domestic energy arm already serves 3.4 million customers with cheaper greener power, through Octopus Energy, Affect Energy, Ebico, London Power and Co-op Energy. In December 2022, it was announced that Octopus would also take on the 1.5 million customers of failed supplier Bulb Energy. Octopus Electric Vehicles is helping make clean transport cheaper and easier, and Octopus Energy Services is bringing smart products to thousands of homes. Octopus Energy Generation is one of Europe’s largest investors in renewable energy, managing a £4bn portfolio of renewable energy assets throughout the continent.
All of these are made possible by Octopus’s tech arm, Kraken Technologies, which offers a proprietary, in-house platform based on advanced data and machine learning capabilities, Kraken automates much of the energy supply chain to allow outstanding service and efficiency as the world transitions to a decentralized, decarbonized energy system. This technology has been licensed to support over 20 million customer accounts worldwide, through deals with EDF Energy, Good Energy, E.ON energy and Origin Energy.
In December 2021, Octopus Energy Group was valued at approximately $5 billion following a $600 million investment from Generation Investment Management and a $300 million investment from Canada Pensions Plan Investments Board. Both investors back businesses that drive sustainability, promote green energy and tackle climate change. It was the company’s third major investment round since launching to the market.
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STRATEGY AND BEST PRACTICES, ENERGY
FlexGen | January 19, 2023
On January 17, 2023, FlexGen Power Systems, Inc., a top battery energy storage solution and software technology provider, announced its selection for providing energy storage software and technology for 420MW of energy storage across four locations in California to Middle River Power. The energy storage projects are located along the current simple cycle natural gas peaking plants and will have interconnected facilities.
Collocation of the natural gas peaking facilities with battery storage will significantly decrease greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining reliable and flexible reserve capacity. The battery facilities will be utilized to store excess carbon-free power during the day and discharge it in the evening when it is most needed, improving the use of these valuable renewable resources and providing critical ancillary services to the market. Additionally, the gas turbines will dispatch significantly less frequently than they do currently, which will result in reduced emissions, and it will continue to be available even in challenging circumstances.
FlexGen is committed to providing its customers with best-in-class service and performance to its customers who are seeking to ensure safety, resilience, and reliability in any setting where it operates. FlexGen's top HybridOS energy management system platform provides the full stack of energy storage value, which includes capacity, ancillary services, and energy market trading. The Middle River Power projects add to Flexgen's fast-growing fleet of energy storage assets, which are in use throughout the US with Investor-Owned Utilities, Independent Power Producers, and Municipal and Cooperative Utilities.
Mark Kubow, President of Middle River Power, said, "We're thrilled to work with FlexGen to bring these innovative projects to fruition, integrating additional renewable energy while enhancing a resilient grid. The energy storage assets store abundant solar energy in the middle of the day then deploy that energy to the grid during evening peak hours, while maintaining our natural gas facilities as a flexible, reliable backstop." He added, "We are excited to introduce our first tranche of projects that takes such a meaningful step in helping California in the transition to more renewable resources."
(Source: PR Newswire)
About FlexGen Systems Inc.
Founded in 2009, FlexGen Systems Inc. is one of the best-integrated energy storage solutions providers in the United States and globally, based in Durham, North Carolina. FlexGen integrates and designs software platforms and storage solutions, facilitating the current energy transition. The company integrates utility-scale storage projects with conventional and renewable forms of power generation worldwide using its cutting-edge energy management software and power electronics. The world's most technically and commercially demanding developers, government agencies, utilities, and industrial giants are among its clients and partners.
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ENERGY
Canadian Solar Inc. | March 16, 2023
Canadian Solar Inc., a solar technology and renewable energy company, has recently announced that its three solar power projects in Japan, particularly in Gunma Takasaki, Oita Kitsuki, and Yamaguchi Hofu, have reached their commercial operation in early 2023, totaling about 42 MWp.
Canadian Solar's bifacial BiHiKu modules powered these projects. The grid operators from the respective areas purchased the energy generated from the projects through Japan's feed-in-tariff program. This purchase would continue for about 19 years at the rates of JPY32 (US$0.24), JPY14.49 (US$0.11), and JPY14.25 (US$0.10) per kWh in approximation. The projects would produce about 53,000 MWh of renewable energy. This energy will power over 15,000 households and avoid approximately 24,000 tons of carbon emissions per year. It is delivering more clean, safe and affordable solar energy to the world. Of the total project pipeline, 2.9 GWp of projects are in late-stage development and have secured energy offtake agreements. In addition, it has a geographically diversified utility-scale solar power project pipeline of around 10 GWp.
Chairman and CEO of Canadian Solar Inc., Dr. Shawn Qu said, "We are delighted to be part of the green transformation that Japan is going through with these additions to our portfolio. Our teams worked closely with the local communities and governments to bring these projects to fruition. Working closely with the local community to cultivate a sustainable long-term relationship is one of our ESG sustainable development goals. Canadian Solar's Sustainability Report provides a detailed discussion on our ESG goals, targets and approaches."
(Source – Cision PR Newswire)
About Canadian Solar Inc.
Headquartered in Guelph, Ontario, Canadian Solar Inc., a renewable energy semiconductor manufacturing company, offers solutions for solar projects, solar panels, PV applications, bankability, solar modules, solar farms, renewable energy, and sustainability. It has been working as a global energy and solar energy solutions provider and solar PV modules manufacturer since 2001. It has conducted successful business subsidiaries in different countries and delivered about 55 GW of solar modules worldwide. It runs solar power projects and plants with the commercial operation, with a resale value of approximately US$1.2 billion. It was listed as Bloomberg New Energy Finance's Tier 1 Module Manufacturer in bankability for Q4 2018. GTM Research named it the Top 3 Global Utility-scale Solar PV Project Developer for 2017.
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