Energy Transition in Motion (Week of Feb. 28, 2025)

Colorado-based SMT Energy has secured funding for a 160-megawatt (MW)/320-megawatt hour battery energy storage facility in Houston, the company said Feb. 26.

Commercial operations for the SMT Houston IV project, which will be connected to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas power grid, is expected to begin in second-quarter 2026. The company said the project will be capable of storing and dispatching enough electricity to power the annual consumption of 8,800 homes in Texas.

The project is expected to help strengthen the power grid as electricity demand rises. Battery energy systems store excess electricity generated from intermittent renewable power sources like solar and power and dispatch electricity when needed.

“This was no small feat. SMT is grateful to the teams at Macquarie, KeyBanc and FlexGen for their expertise and deep industry knowledge to get this complex deal across the line,” said J.J. Switzer, co-founder and managing partner of SMT Energy.

Macquarie Group and KeyBanc Capital Markets were joint lead arrangers in a $100 million financing facility for the project, according to the release. Macquarie’s Commodities and Global Markets business also provided a preferred equity investment and are mandated to sell the project's investment tax credits of about $62 million.

Equipment for the project is being obtained by battery energy storage integrator FlexGen Power Systems, according to the release.

Here’s a roundup of some other renewable energy news.

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Biofuels

New Rise Commences Commercial SAF Production, Secures Order

New Rise Renewables has started commercial production of neat sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at its plant in Nevada, XCF Global Capital said Feb. 24 in a news release.

The facility, located in McCarran, is designed to produce 3,000 bbl/d of a synthetic blending component to make SAF, according to New Rise’s website.

XCF also said New Rise landed an order for more than 3 million gallons of neat SAF from an unaffiliated third-party buyer. The first shipments are expected to begin in February 2025 for delivery in early March.

“Reaching commercial production at New Rise is an exciting milestone, reflecting years of dedication, engineering excellence and our commitment to innovation,” said XCF CEO Mihir Dange. “We are proud to begin customer deliveries and provide high-quality SAF that supports the decarbonization of the aviation industry.”

The fuel is made from renewable triglyceride feedstocks such as corn oil, soybean oil and other oils that meet the Federal Renewable Fuels Standard, according to New Rise.

Opal Fuels to Develop Four New RNG Facilities

New York-based Opal Fuels plans to develop four new landfill renewable natural gas production projects as part of joint venture partnerships, the company said Feb. 27.

The company said the four projects represent 1.5 million MMBtu of design capacity.

“As we continue to scale our operations and expand our pipeline of landfill gas projects, we continue to make a real impact on decarbonizing heavy-duty trucking fleets, and providing clean energy for homes and businesses,” said Jonathan Maurer, co-CEO of OPAL Fuels.

Development and engineering work on the sites are underway, the company said, and construction is expected to begin throughout 2025. The output from the facilities, once fully operational, will be about 20 million gasoline gallon equivalents per year.

Opal Fuels said it will have a 50% share of each of the four projects.

AstraZeneca Opens Biomethane Plant in UK to Cut Emissions

(Reuters) AstraZeneca has opened a plant to produce biogas from organic waste that will ensure by the end of this year all of its research and development and drug manufacturing in Britain is powered by clean energy, it said Feb. 27.

The plant, operated through a 15-year agreement between AstraZeneca and U.K.-based biomethane producer Future Biogas, will supply 100 gigawatt hours (GWh) of renewable energy per year for AstraZeneca's three R&D and manufacturing sites in the country, equivalent to 20% of its total gas consumption globally.

The company says its switch to renewable energy in the U.K. is part of a broader commitment to use 100% renewable energy for all of its own operations globally by the end of this year. Its commitment to a goal of net zero emissions by 2045, which it set in 2020, also depends on its suppliers using green power.

AstraZeneca entered a similar long-term agreement in 2023 with a U.S. company, Vanguard Renewables, that enabled it to transition to biogas from natural gas and cut its emissions across its U.S. research and manufacturing sites.

The company aims to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions it directly produces by 98% by 2026, from a 2015 baseline.

TotalEnergies Starts Biomethane Unit in Normandy

TotalEnergies on Feb. 26 said the company has commissioned its biomethane production plant in Normandy, France, where it will inject 153 GWh of biomethane annually into the GRTgaz-operated natural gas network.

The project, called BioNorrois, utilizes beet pulp from French sugar group Cristal Union’s adjacent production site. The 150,000 tons of natural fertilizer produced annually by the anaerobic digester unit will be used by Cristal Union and the Norman cooperative NatUp with partner farms. Both are transitioning to more sustainable and locally produced fertilizers, according to TotalEnergies’ news release.

“With this new plant, which brings our biogas production capacity in the country to more than 800 GWh, TotalEnergies confirms its position as a major player in the market,” said Karine Boissy-Rousseau, vice president of green gases at TotalEnergies. “With Cristal Union, we are partnering long-term with a robust, internationally recognized partner committed to sustainable growth of its activities.”

The installation is expected to help avoid the emission of 30,000 tons of CO₂ annually, the release states.

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Energy storage

Energy Vault Begins Construction of Battery Storage Project in Australia

Energy Vault Holdings has commenced construction of a 200-MW/2-hour battery energy storage system for ACEN Australia’s New England Solar project.

The system is the first of two deployments planned for the 720-MW solar project in New South Wales (NSW), the grid-scale energy storage company said in a news release Feb. 24. The move is expected to help stabilize the grid while reducing reliance on coal-fired power generation.

“New England Solar will serve as a critical source of renewable energy for the NSW region, and Energy Vault’s involvement is reflective of the company’s truly global approach to meeting the growing demand for reliable and cost-effective energy storage solutions.”

For the project, Energy Vault said it will use a special inverter which enables advanced grid support functionalities such as voltage and frequency ride-through, grid support during disturbances and reactive power control.

ACEN’s New England Solar is being built in stages near Uralla in NSW.

Idemitsu to Build Large-scale Production Facility for Lithium Sulfide

(Reuters) Japanese refiner Idemitsu Kosan Co. said on Feb. 27 it will construct a large-scale production facility for lithium sulfide at its Chiba site.

Completion of the production facility is scheduled for June 2027 and the project cost is estimated to be about 21.3 billion yen (US$142.65 million), the company said. The new plant will have a production capacity of 1,000 metric tons per year, sufficient to produce solid electrolyte for manufacturing 50,000 to 60,000 electric vehicles annually.

Idemitsu aims to commercialize all-solid-state batteries with Toyota Motor and plans to supply its solid electrolyte to Toyota first.

The company intends to make a final investment decision in fiscal year 2025 to build a large-scale pilot plant for solid electrolyte and is seeking stable lithium procurement from Australia and other overseas sources.

Hydrogen

Everfuel Makes Its First HySynergy Green Hydrogen Delivery

Everfuel has delivered hydrogen from its 20-MW HySynergy project in Denmark to project partner and offtaker Crossbridge Energy, Everfuel said Feb. 28.

HySynergy is co-owned with hydrogen infrastructure fund Hy24. The hydrogen was delivered to Crossbridge’s refinery

“First production and delivery of hydrogen to the refinery is a major milestone for Everfuel and Crossbridge Energy, which brings us one step closer to realizing our vision of a sustainable hydrogen economy,” said Everfuel CEO Jacob Krogsgaard. “It has been a long and complex journey, but now we are in a position to steadily ramp-up production.”

The facility is being developed in phases based on Crossbridge’s need for green hydrogen. Phase II bumps capacity up to 300 MW, while Phase III increases capacity to 1 GW, according to Everfuel’s website.

“This milestone is not only a significant achievement for us but also an important step towards producing more green liquid fuels for planes, ships, and transportation that cannot be electrified. It is a beacon on the map,” said Crossbridge Energy CEO Finn Schousboe. “With hydrogen in the pipeline from HySynergy to Crossbridge Energy, we mark the beginning of what could become a new era. The new era, however, requires that legislation recognizes that the use of green hydrogen instead of traditional hydrogen contributes to meeting the current displacement requirements for Danish fuels.”

Solar

EIP Plans to Sell BayWa R.E.’s Solar Trade Unit

(Reuters) Switzerland’s Energy Infrastructure Partners (EIP) will sell off BayWa r.e.’s Solar Trade unit at some point because it does not consider it part of the company’s core business, EIP Managing Partner Roland Dörig said Feb. 24.

“That means we will sell it in due course,” Dörig told Reuters.

He declined to say what the unit is worth or when it would be sold, noting only that there was no pressure to do so.

Earlier, Germany’s BayWa AG and EIP said the Swiss company would raise its stake in BayWa r.e.—BayWa’s renewable energy unit—from 49% to 65% through a capital increase.

Wind

Colombia’s First Offshore Wind Energy Auction Lures Global Interest

(Reuters) Companies from around the world have proposed to develop 69 offshore areas in Colombia’s first offshore wind energy auction, the South American country’s National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH) said Feb. 27.

The auction is a significant step toward President Gustavo Petro’s goal of diversifying the energy sector and reducing dependency on oil and coal.

The preliminary list of companies showing interest in the wind energy auction includes groups from Belgium, Britain, China and Spain, as well as Colombian companies, such as Ecopetrol.

“Once the suitability of the proposals is verified, the approved companies will be able to make offers on areas of interest, with the option of being awarded a maximum of two (projects),” an ANH statement said.

The Colombian government aims to award projects that can lead to a minimum installed capacity of power generation of 1 GW from the auction, with each project requiring a minimum installed capacity of 200 MW.

The broader goal from Petro’s administration is to reach 7 GW of installed offshore wind power capacity by 2040.

While a deposit for offers can be submitted through the end of May, a date for when projects will be awarded has yet to be made public.

Acciona Energia Looking to Sell Assets Worth Up To $4.7B

(Reuters) Spanish power company Acciona Energia is working on potential sales of assets worth up to 4.5 billion euros (US$4.68 billion) in countries including Spain and the U.S., the top management said Feb. 28.

“We’re looking to sell one or more portfolios of a decent size of wind assets in Spain, potentially complemented with the rest of the hydro assets we own,” Chief Financial and Sustainability Officer Jose Entrecanales told analysts in a call on 2024 earnings.

The company is also considering unloading some assets in Mexico, Peru and Costa Rica, as well as the potential sale of its entire platform in Chile, which has 1 GW of installed capacity, he added.

“In the U.S., we’re working to monetize a significant part of our recently commissioned 1.3 gigawatts of solar PV assets,” Entrecanales said.

CIP Acquires Morecambe Wind Project Offshore UK

Fund manager Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) has agreed to buy the 480-MW Morecambe wind project offshore the U.K. from COBRA Group and Flotation Energy, CIP said Feb. 26.

The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Located off the Lancashire coast in the Eastern Irish Sea, the fixed-bottom offshore wind project was secured during a U.K. offshore wind leasing round in 2021 and consent applications have been submitted. The wind farm has enough capacity to power more than 500,000 households, Morecambe said on its website.

“CIP is very pleased to acquire Morecambe—a fixed bottom offshore wind project of excellent fundamental qualities, at an advanced stage of development, and well placed to contribute to the UK’s Clean Power 2030 Action Plan,” said Nischal Agarwal, partner at CIP. “Our acquisition of the Morecambe project demonstrates CIP’s confidence in the delivery of the U.K. Government’s ambitious 2030 offshore wind target.”

Closing of the transaction will follow customary approvals. Flotation Energy will remain involved after the transaction as a development partner to the project, according to the release.

Hart Energy Staff and Reuters contributed to this report.