Energy Transition in Motion (Week of March 14, 2025)

The fast-growing U.S. solar and storage sector accounted for 84% of all new electric generating capacity added to the grid in 2024 as domestic solar module production tripled, according to a report released this week.

But the sector may face challenges ahead as the Trump administration prioritizes the ramp-up of fossil fuel production and reviews federal funding plans targeting clean energy. The moves are in contrast to the carbon energy push by his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, whose signature Inflation Reduction Act made billions of dollars available for renewable energy projects such as solar and energy storage.

New solar capacity jumped to a record-breaking 50 gigawatts (GW) in 2024, the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie said in their year-in-review report. The increase—supported by financial incentives, falling costs and interest in lower-carbon energy— marked the largest single year of new capacity added to the grid by any energy technology in over two decades, SEIA said.

Texas, Indiana and Florida were among the fastest-growing states for solar energy.

“Solar and storage can be built faster and more affordably than any other technology, ensuring the United States has the power needed to compete in the global economy and meet rising electricity demand,” said SEIA president and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper. “America’s solar and storage industry set historic deployment and manufacturing records in 2024, creating jobs and driving economic growth. It’s critical that lawmakers continue to support an ‘all of the above’ energy strategy that fosters the growth of American energy sources like solar and storage.”

The report forecast U.S. solar capacity could hit 739 GW by 2035 though “changes to federal tax credits, supply chain availability, and permitting policy will create uncertainty for investors, increase costs for developers and manufacturers” and could slow deployment.

The low case forecast showed a 130 GW drop in solar deployment over the next decade compared to the base case, representing nearly $250 billion of lost investment, according to the report.

“Last year’s record-level of installations was aided by several solar policies and credits within the Inflation Reduction Act that helped drive interest in the solar market,” said Sylvia Levya Martinez, principal analyst of North America utility-scale Solar, for Wood Mackenzie. “We still have many challenges ahead, including unprecedented load growth on the power grid. If many of these policies were eliminated or significantly altered, it would be very detrimental to the industry’s continued growth.” 

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

Biofuels

HIF Global Receives First Approval for E-Fuels Design Pathway

E-fuels producer HIF Global on March 11 said it has been awarded the first U.S. approval for an e-fuels pathway.

E-fuels, or electrofuels, are synthetic fuels made with renewable energy resources. The Houston-based company develops projects focused on producing fuels with renewable energy, including electrolytic hydrogen, and recycled CO₂.

Granted under the California Air Resource Board’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) Program, the Tier II Design Pathway Certification includes e-sustainable aviation fuel, e-naphtha and e-diesel as opt-in fuels that allow producers to apply for and generate credits for e-fuels, HIF Global said in a news release.

“E-Fuels are synthetic hydrocarbons that seamlessly integrate with today’s existing infrastructure and engines,” said Meg Gentle, executive director of the HIF Global Board. “This LCFS certification underscores the growing demand for e-Fuels in the U.S. and globally, which could reach more than 250 mtpa by 2035, providing opportunity for over $1 trillion in potential capital investment in new facilities to produce the fuels, including HIF Global’s 1.4 mtpa e-Fuels project in Matagorda County, Texas.”

Energy storage

E3 Lithium, Pure Lithium Make Lithium Metal Batteries Using Alberta Brines

E3 Lithium and partner Pure Lithium Corp. have produced lithium metal batteries from brines using direct lithium extraction (DLE) and battery technologies, according to a March 13 news release.

“The production of lithium metal batteries from E3’s Alberta brine marks a significant milestone and outlines our ability to produce multiple battery grade lithium products,” said E3 Lithium CEO Chris Doornbos. “The successful integration of E3’s lithium brine resource and DLE technology with Pure Lithium’s innovative technology demonstrates our commitment to developing a secure, reliable, and local lithium battery supply chain.”

E3 said they successfully manufactured more than 80 lithium metal battery cells using lithium concentrate produced by E3. The process included use of Pure Lithium’s proprietary Brine to Battery technology.

The batteries are being tested for cell performance using industry standard metrics. Results will be released once the battery testing and analysis is complete, E3 said in the release. The testing program is expected to be completed in second-quarter 2025.

Smackover Lithium Derisks Direct Lithium Extraction Technology

Smackover Lithium, the direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology joint venture between Equinor and Standard Lithium, has derisked its technology as part of a field pilot in Arkansas, according to a news release.

Working in partnership with Koch Technology Solutions (KTS) during a three-month period, the company operated a DLE field pilot plant where it recovered more than 99% of lithium from brine sourced from the South West Arkansas (SWA) project’s International Paper Co. well. The results, according to the release, exceeded the 95% recovery used in the current design.

KTS’ Li-Pro Lithium Selective Sorption technology was used.

“We’re now ready to commercialize this technology,” said Standard Lithium’s President and COO Andy Robinson. “For five years, Standard Lithium has been operating a large-scale demonstration plant in Arkansas, and we’ve processed over 28 million gallons of real, live Smackover brine. This large demonstration plant has been invaluable in developing, streamlining and optimizing the flowsheet. The field-pilot was the final step to demonstrate that we can reliably process brine from our SWA project, extract lithium in real-time, and convert to a battery-quality lithium carbonate product.”

Nearly 2,400 bbl of brine was processed from the well at the plant during the final field test. Standard Lithium said about 970 gallons of concentrated and purified lithium chloride solution was produced at the plant. The solution is being sent offsite to three vendors, who will produce about 27 kg of battery-quality lithium carbonate. The samples will be used in the qualification process with potential offtake partners, the release stated.

With the final field test complete, Robinson said Smackover Lithium can now complete the FEED work and feasibility study.

Hydrogen

ABB, Charbone Form Hydrogen Production Partnership

Hydrogen producer Charbone Hydrogen and ABB have agreed to collaborate on developing up to 15 modular and scalable green hydrogen production facilities across North America in the next five years, according to a news release March 13.

As part of a memorandum of understanding agreement, ABB will become the preferred supplier for the design, engineering, fabrication, testing and supply of modular and standard electrical substations for the interconnection between production facilities and local utilities, the release said.

“This strategic collaboration with ABB is a strong and significant signal about our proposition for the North American green hydrogen market,” said Charbone Hydrogen COO Daniel Charette. “With the Sorel-Tracy project moving quickly to on-site activities, and the capabilities of plug and play modular approach to get production starting in a minimal number of weeks, Charbone will support the decarbonization of industry.”

The agreement was signed amid ambitions to lower emissions. Québec aims to reduce consumption of petroleum products by 1 billion liters per year as part of its 2030 energy roadmap.

Charbone’s Sorel-Tracy facility near Montreal in Québec, Canada, is one of the sites covered by the agreement, according to the release. The facility will connect to the Hydro-Québec grid by the end of second-quarter 2025, using hydro electricity to power electrolyzers. The plant will serve as a blueprint for the design and engineering of modular and scalable equipment for other sites being developed by Charbone. A project in the greater Detroit area in the U.S. will follow, ABB said in the release.

In addition, Charbone will acquire ABB’s Extended Operator Workplace system for the planned facilities and a main operator workplace at Charbone’s headquarters to monitor the facilities, ABB said.

Plug Power Enters Industrial Supplier Market with Southwire Deal

Plug Power on March 13 said it has been selected by wire and cable manufacturer Southwire to incorporate hydrogen at its new distribution site in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in Texas.

The agreement marks Plug’s entry to the industrial supplier market.

Under the agreement, Plug said it will supply more than 50 hydrogen-powered forklifts equipped with GenDrive fuel and a fueling station with four GenFuel dispensers. The hydrogen will be sourced from one of its production facilities in Georgia, Tennessee or Louisiana. The company also will provide on-site service for the fuel cells for an initial five-year period and maintain the hydrogen infrastructure for 10 years.

RWE, TotalEnergies Agree to Long-term Green Hydrogen Supply Deal

(Reuters) Germany’s top utility RWE said on March 12 it has agreed to supply French oil major TotalEnergies with about 30,000 tonnes of green hydrogen a year from 2030, in one of the sector’s biggest deals.

The agreement runs until 2044, RWE said, adding it was the biggest amount of carbon-neutral hydrogen ever contracted from a German electrolysis facility.

The deal envisages RWE supplying TotalEnergies’ Leuna refinery near Leipzig in eastern Germany, via its 300-megawatt electrolysis plant in Lingen in the west, which is set to start operations in 2027.

No financial terms were disclosed.

Solar

BP Seeks to Sell 50% of Solar Unit to Strategic Partner

(Reuters) BP is seeking to sell 50% in its solar unit Lightsource BP to a strategic partner for cash and commitment of future investments, the energy major said in a sales document seen by Reuters.

BP is planning assets sales and partnerships as part of a broader plan to address investors’ concerns. The firm wants to cut costs and improve return on investments to boost its share price and profits.

Nigeria Launches $500 Million Fund for Solar Energy

(Reuters) Nigeria on March 13 launched a $500 million fund, designed to lure private investment as it seeks to boost solar energy to supplement the nation’s creaking power grid.

The DRE Nigeria Fund, which refers to Distributed Renewable Energy, or power generated from renewable sources, was announced at the Sustainable Energy for All Global Forum in Barbados.

The aim is that the seed capital provided by Nigeria’s Sovereign Investment Authority and its partners will attract local currency funding from Nigerian pension funds, insurance companies and other institutional investors.

The partners are UN-affiliated Sustainable Energy for All, the International Solar Alliance, a group promoting solar energy and Africa50, a pan-African infrastructure investor.

In a statement, the fund also said it would help investors overcome problems such as local currency fluctuations, although it did not provide details on how.

Africa’s most populous country is seeking to increase the share of renewable energy in its electricity mix to 50% by 2030 from 22% now to augment supply from the grid that only manages to reach around half of the population.

In a statement, the DRE Nigeria fund said the projects it planned to support would include mini-grids, solar home systems, commercial and industrial power solutions, and energy storage technologies.

Terabase Energy Secures $130 million to Expand Solar Technology Deployment

(Reuters) Solar technology company Terabase Energy announced on March 13 it has secured $130 million in funding, led by SoftBank, to scale its technology deployment for large solar projects.

The funding round, the largest in the company’s history, brings Terabase Energy’s total funding to $200 million. The company did not disclose the valuation at which the amount was raised.

The company works with solar-power plant developers, engineers and construction firms through its platform, which helps with workflow digitalization and automation.

Terabase will use the funding in part to further develop its robotics-assisted assembly line, Terafab, which according to the company removes “bottlenecks in construction speed and workforce limitations.”

The company also operates PlantPredict, a solar modeling software, and a construction management platform called Construct.

“The surge in energy demand, particularly from AI data centers, underscores the urgency of scalable, sustainable solutions,” said Kentaro Matsui, managing partner at SoftBank Global Advisers.

SoftBank, known for financing technology companies in a nascent stage, also funded Terabase through its Vision Fund 2. The company also counts Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Fifth Wall, SJF Ventures and EDP Ventures as existing investors.

Wind

Ørsted Brings German Wind Farm Online, Starts Another

Ørsted on March 13 said it has brought Germany’s largest onshore wind farm, Bahren West 1, online.

The wind farm, which has a 50.4 MW capacity, can supply the equivalent of 35,000 German households, the company said in a news release. The wind farm comprises nine Vestas V150 wind turbines.

Ørsted now moves into the project’s second phase as the 61.6-MW Bahren West II onshore wind preps for a May 2025 construction start. The project is expected to be complete in 2027.

In addition to the Bahren West wind farms, Ørsted said it also expects to commission its 16.8-MW St. Wendel onshore wind farm later this year.

Saipem Unveils STAR1 Semi-submersible Floating Wind Technology

Saipem on March 11 said it has launched Star 1, a steel semi-submersible floating wind foundation aiming to increase stability in water and minimize turbine stresses and movements.

Named based on its shape, the technology features three arms converging at the center, where the tower supporting next-generation turbines is installed. The foundation is designed to minimize the stresses and movements of the turbine and optimize the loads on the mooring lines that anchor it to the seabed, Saipem said in the news release.

The company said the technology is ready for FEED, which will be followed by detail design and industrial-scale deployment. Divento has agreed to use Star1 for two of its projects in Italy: 7 Seas Med in Sicily and the Ichnusa Wind Power project in Sardinia.

“Star1 represents a significant step forward in technological innovation applied to the energy transition,” said Guido D'Aloisio, chief commercial officer of Saipem. “This technology is the result of Saipem’s many years of experience in offshore engineering and further demonstrates our ability to work on innovative and sustainable solutions for the development of floating offshore wind, in Italy and abroad.”

Hart Energy Staff and Reuters contributed to this report.