Renewable Energy Archives - SolarBuzz Jamaica

Climate Focus: Energy shock from Iran war sparks solar scramble

April 25, 2026 jrobinson

I’ve been ruminating on a comment by the European Union energy commissioner Dan Jorgensen about the Iran war and its impact on energy prices.

“We really do need to get rid of our dependency on gas as fast as possible. So for us, this means speeding up more clean energy,” he told Reuters.

Are countries really ramping up their renewable energy implementation?

India and China have doubled down on green hydrogen at the same time that the West has quietly backed away from its ambitious green hydrogen goals from the start of this decade after cost constraints proved stickier than anticipated.

Plus, investors are betting on renewable energy stocks in China, the dominant maker of solar gear, on expectations that the war will boost global demand for ‌renewables.

Countries in Southeast Asia and Africa rushed to import solar panels from China ahead of expected price increases due to an end to China’s export tax refunds on April 1, with the surge amplified by disruption to energy supplies due to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, analysts said.

The same rush for solar panels can be seen in Europe as demand for rooftop solar systems across the region has surged since the start of the Iran war, as households rush to shield themselves from soaring power prices triggered by the worst global energy disruption in history.

Over in the United States, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump’s administration from enforcing a series of permitting policies that wind and solar energy industry groups say have stymied the development of new energy generation projects.

But one avid reader pointed out that these are short-term movements following the ‘renewables paradox’ newsletter on March 27, which explored how higher prices help revenue, but higher rates pressure renewables projects.

“The real constraint now is delivery, not viability. Permitting, grid capacity and skills shortages are slowing deployment, even as ⁠the economic case for renewables strengthens,” said Harry Benham, senior adviser at independent financial think tank Carbon Tracker.

So, what now? Governments and climate leaders are gathering in Santa Marta, Colombia, for the first Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels

Delegates will be gathering to discuss the follow-up to the United Nations General Assembly resolution led by Vanuatu on state obligations regarding climate change, turning the International Court of Justice’s July 2025 opinion into actionable, mandatory climate measures.

“Phasing out our fossil fuels, delivering climate justice, and addressing climate harms are legal obligations, not political choices,” said Rebecca Brown, CEO and President of The Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL).

“Pushback from some countries – especially on fossil fuel language – only underscores the stakes. States that continue expanding fossil fuels, or ignoring climate harms, are acting unlawfully and risk real legal and political consequences,” said Brown.

“The science is clear. The law is clear. What’s missing is political will. This resolution is the bridge from principle to practice. Governments now face a choice: act in line with the law or be held accountable for failing both people and the planet.”

Reuters

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UK must double down on renewables as wars drive up energy costs, experts say

March 15, 2026 jrobinson

Fossil fuel price surge after US-Israeli attacks on Iran prompts calls to end dependence on ‘volatile’ energy source.

The UK government must double down on its clean energy drive to protect bill payers from increasingly volatile fossil fuel markets in the wake of the US-Israel war on Iran, climate groups, academics and energy experts have warned.

Research published on Thursday shows that the last fossil fuel energy crisis, caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, cost the EU and the UK $1.8tn between 2022 and 2025, driving up bills and fuelling a devastating cost of living crisis.

The US-Israeli attacks on Iran, which started at the weekend, have resulted in fossil fuel prices surging again. Experts say it underscores the need for the UK to end its dependance on such an unstable energy source.

Bob Ward, from the Grantham Research Institute at the London School of Economics, warned the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and subsequent surge in oil and gas prices “could translate into significantly higher energy bills for British households and consumers”.

“The UK is vulnerable to the volatility of international fossil fuel markets, and the only way to protect ourselves from these price increases is by speeding up the transition to domestic supplies of clean energy, namely renewables and nuclear power.”

The UN’s climate chief, Simon Stiell, said the latest upheaval in the Middle East “shows yet again that fossil fuel dependence leaves economies, businesses, markets and people at the mercy of each new conflict or trade policy lurch.”.

He added: “There is a clear solution to this fossil fuel cost chaos – renewables are now cheaper, safer and faster-to-market, making them the obvious pathway to energy security and sovereignty.”

Research published on Thursday by the Transition Security Project showed that the 2022 energy shock had cost the UK and the EU $1.8tn and left governments increasingly dependent on imports of liquid natural gas from the US, giving Donald Trump a stranglehold over EU and UK energy supplies.

The study found the rising costs came through higher household and business energy bills and from the cost of government policies such as price caps, rebates and tax cuts, which aimed to softened the direct impact on consumers of the fossil fuel crisis.

Kevin Cashman, author of the report, said the 2022 energy crisis “presented a fork in the road for Europe – double down on volatile fossil fuel markets, or pivot to homegrown clean energy and greater security”.

“The failure to do the latter has left people on ordinary incomes paying the price for an irresponsible and shortsighted energy policy,” he said.

Khem Rogaly, co-director at the Transition Security Project, said European leaders had prioritised their relationship with the US over the needs of their citizens after the 2022 energy crisis. “Instead of clinging on to a broken transatlantic partnership, Europe needs to develop an independent foreign policy based on international solidarity, restraint and climate collaboration.”

Earlier this week, eight former energy ministers wrote an open letter to the UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, urging the government to reverse its ban on new oil and gas licences in the North Sea and give the green light to two new fields, Rosebank and Jackdaw.

But experts say such a move would do nothing to reduce energy bills, improve energy security, protect fossil fuel jobs in the long term or reduce the UK’s reliance on fossil fuel imports. It would also be a significant blow to efforts to fight the climate crisis and reduce emissions.

The energy secretary, Ed Miliband, said on Wednesday that the latest conflict in the Middle East was “yet another reminder that the only route to energy security and sovereignty for the UK is to get off our dependence on fossil fuel markets, whose prices we do not control, and onto clean homegrown power we do”.

He added: “The Tories and Reform have opposed our clean energy mission at every turn. They have learned nothing from their own failures during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which landed us with the biggest cost of living crisis in generations due to our exposure to fossil fuels. The North Sea will continue to play an important role in our energy mix for decades to come, but new exploration licences won’t take a penny off bills.”

Tessa Khan, the executive director of Uplift, said the “oil and gas industry, and its political cheerleaders, were peddling a fantasy”. She said new fields such as Rosebank would do nothing to protect UK households from the inevitable price shocks caused by war in the Middle East.

“Rosebank is an oilfield whose reserves, if developed, would be exported – like 80% of all UK oil. It contains minimal gas. In the best case, it would provide just one per cent of UK gas demand. Like all North Sea production, it would do nothing to lower our energy bills.”

Khan pointed out that even if the UK continued to develop new fields, it would still become almost entirely dependent on gas imports by 2050, due to the declining oil and gas reserves in the North Sea basin, leaving bill payers and businesses “hugely exposed to price shocks for decades to come. All this while the nation sits on some of the best wind resources in the world”.

She added: “This is not the first time we have seen the gas price soar off the back of conflict and it will not be the last. We need this government to urgently learn the lessons of the past five years – that the UK’s dependence on oil and gas is making us all poorer – and instead free us from fossil fuels by doubling down on renewables and upgrading homes.”

The Guardian

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Australia’s grid now relies on renewable energy as much as coal. Those who doubted it look foolish

February 1, 2026 jrobinson

Solar met the majority of electricity demand between 9am and 6pm in the past week as much of the country cranked air conditioners

Australia’s power grid is changing rapidly – so rapidly that it can feel difficult to keep up.

This week, as an oppressive heatwave in the country’s south-east rewrote temperature records, there was also plenty of evidence demonstrating just how fast long-held assumptions about the electricity system are being overturned.

A significant part of the change is due to the astonishing rise of solar power, and the extent to which it is squashing coal generation. The grid is now operating in a way that many people considered unimaginable, and maybe impossible, not that long ago.

Back then, some commentators claimed the grid would not be able to function with more than 10% – and definitely not more than 20% – electricity coming from solar and wind.

Those predictions look foolish now.

Over the past seven days, solar provided 30% of all electricity in the country’s main grid, which supplies the five eastern states and the ACT. That’s across day and night.

If you narrow the calculation to consider just when the sun is out, the numbers are even more striking. Solar met 59% of electricity demand between 9am and 6pm. More than half of this – 37.6% of the total – was from small-scale systems spread across about 4m roofs. The rest was from large-scale solar farms.

Dylan McConnell, a senior research associate at the University of New South Wales, says between 12pm and 1pm solar output peaked at 67% of consumption. It was more than 70% in New South Wales and South Australia.

Coal-fired power, the historic backbone of the grid that once supplied nearly 90% of power, could not compete. Solar energy is incredibly cheap. It costs much more to burn coal. It meant the country’s ageing coal fleet was reduced to filling in gaps, kicking in barely a quarter of the electricity used over lunchtime.

That changed as the sun set, when the grid leant much more heavily on coal, with notable support from wind, hydro and batteries and gas.

The system still needs the existing dirty and often inefficient power plants that burn black and brown coal and emit significant amounts of climate pollution to function. There are significant challenges that need to be overcome before all coal plants can be shut, including building a fleet of synchronous condensers and other spinning devices needed to maintain grid security.

But an often overlooked point is that the grid is now just as reliant on renewable energy as it is coal. Each provides nearly half of the electricity that keeps our homes, businesses and, increasingly, cars running across the year.

In parts of the year, renewables are now ahead. The Australian Energy Market Operator this week described the last three months of 2025 as a “landmark moment”, with renewables’ share in the quarter rising beyond 50% for the first time.

It coincided with a 44% fall in wholesale electricity prices compared with the same period in 2024. Just as notably, output from batteries – which will be needed on a far greater scale as coal shuts – tripled in just a year.

It’s worth remembering how quickly this has changed. Five years ago renewables provided about 26% of generation. A decade ago it was less than 15%, with solar on less than 2%.

McConnell says one of the most remarkable things this week was how well the system coped as temperatures in parts of Melbourne pushed north of 45C and demand for electricity skyrocketed as people ran air conditioners at full bore. These sorts of conditions are often a cue for warnings of blackouts or load shedding.

Not this time.

“We had a little bit of volatility in the evening, but not much. That’s quite extraordinary for a system during peak demand,” McConnell says. “They are the days when the system is under stress. Things could have gone wrong, but they didn’t. There were really very few issues.”

Australia is in a slightly strange moment on renewable energy. From one perspective, it is embracing renewables, and solar in particular, what by any measure is a historic pace. From another, investment in new developments may not be happening fast enough to meet climate targets, or to ensure there is enough replacement capacity in place as old and failing coal plants close.

The reality is that both are true.

The transition being attempted is huge, more needs to be done, and there may be difficult moments ahead during a rapid shift to a near 100% renewable grid. Some actors – the Queensland LNP government, for example – are doing their best to prevent it.

But change is happening, and working. That’s no small thing.

The Guardian

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The Push for US Balcony Solar Comes to California

February 1, 2026 jrobinson

Nearly two dozen states are weighing plug-in solar systems.

For years, many Europeans have enjoyed what Americans can’t have. Balcony solar has taken off there, while American homes and apartments have been left in the dark.

But that may be changing: California recently introduced legislation that would legalize installing cheap DIY solar systems to protect against blackouts and help with affordability. It’s not the only state, either.

As electricity prices soar and rooftop solar subsidies vanish, some US renters and homeowners are surreptitiously installing solar panels on balconies and backyards without their utility’s permission. Legislation recently introduced in nearly two dozen states would legalize “plug-in solar” systems, jumpstarting a nascent market for an affordable source of renewable energy.

Also called balcony solar, such systems usually comprise two to four solar panels that are plugged into wall outlets. They typically cost about $2,000 or more and generate enough electricity to power a refrigerator, electronics and lights, potentially shaving several hundred dollars a year from utility bills. Some plug-in solar systems come with batteries to store power for use during peak demand when electricity rates spike and when storms or heat waves knock out the grid.

Millions of balcony solar systems have been deployed in countries like Germany, which regulates the technology. But only about 5,000 have been installed in the US, according to advocates, most without utility authorization. That’s because plug-in solar has remained in the shadows due to a lack of safety standards and often costly requirements imposed by utilities, but that’s changing. Utah in 2025 enacted a law allowing plug-in solar without utility approval and other states are considering similar legislation, including New York and California, the nation’s largest solar market.

“The impact of California passing legislation would be huge and will get manufacturers to come into the market,” said Kevin Chou, cofounder and executive director of Bright Saver, a Bay Area nonprofit that sells do-it-yourself plug-in solar systems and has pushed to legalize the technology.

Under the legislation introduced in January in California, residents could install plug-in solar systems without utility authorization. But those systems couldn’t generate more than 1.2 kilowatts of electricity and must be certified by a nationally recognized testing lab. Legislation in other states contains siBmilar requirements.

Utah’s Republican-dominated legislature unanimously approved a plug-in solar bill in 2025, and the state’s Republican governor signed it into law. Although pro-renewable energy Democrats hold a supermajority in the California legislature, the bill introduced by state Senator Scott Wiener, who is running to replace US Representative Nancy Pelosi, is likely to face opposition from some landlords, homeowners associations and utilities, according to Chou.

Utilities have expressed concern about plug-in solar’s impact on the ability to balance the grid if the systems feed excess electricity to the network without their knowledge. Landlords may worry about solar panels falling off balconies or how they change the look of a building, he said. Homeowners associations, which regulate everything from house colors to landscaping, may object to the aesthetics of backyard solar.

California’s three big investor-owned utilities currently require plug-in solar owners to apply and secure approval to interconnect to the grid, just as owners of rooftop solar must do.

Chou estimates that more than a thousand plug-in solar systems have been installed in California. But PG&E and San Diego Gas & Electric have yet to receive any interconnection applications for the equipment, according to spokespeople.

Bloomberg

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Ja’s energy outlook 2026

January 18, 2026 jrobinson

As Jamaica enters 2026 our energy sector stands at a defining crossroads. Rising electricity demand, climate imperatives, and shifting global energy markets are converging at a moment when decisions taken today will shape our economic resilience, competitiveness, and energy security for decades to come.

For a country that depends on imported fuels for close to 90 per cent of its energy needs, the global energy landscape is not an abstract concern — it is felt directly in electricity bills, transportation costs, food prices, and the overall cost of living. The challenge therefore is clear: How do we secure reliable, affordable energy today while building a cleaner more sustainable system for tomorrow?

Emerging from a year marked by price volatility, geopolitical shocks, and seismic swings in global market sentiment, Jamaica’s oil and gas sector enters 2026 with cautious optimism, aided by growing confidence in emerging energy-source options and the continued rise in electricity demand.

Internationally, the oil and gas market remains volatile. Geopolitical tensions, supply disruptions, and shifting trade policies continue to inject uncertainty into price forecasts. While analysts expect only modest demand growth in 2026, supply dynamics and geopolitical risks mean that price stability is far from guaranteed.

For Jamaica, this volatility matters. Our energy security is tightly linked to global markets, and we are therefore exposed to shocks beyond our control. As the country’s primary petroleum supplier, Petrojam carries a national responsibility to ensure reliable fuel supply, even in turbulent global conditions. At the same time, we are accelerating efforts to reduce carbon intensity and support the country’s long-term transition to cleaner energy.

ENERGY SOLUTIONS TO WATCH IN 2026

Renewable energy is poised to continue its growth as one of the world’s fast-growing energy sources, and Jamaica is firmly aligned with this trend. Solar and wind already play an important role in our electricity mix and further expansion is expected.

Petrojam is pursuing multiple initiatives to increase the share of renewables in the energy mix aligned to the country’s move towards cleaner, more sustainable energy. Petrojam is also playing an enabling role in facilitating the adoption and blending of low-carbon fuels, and helping to create the necessary infrastructure and regulatory alignment to accelerate this transition to cleaner energy.

While not a renewable, liquefied natural gas (LNG) is emerging as a critical transition fuel for Jamaica. It offers lower emissions than heavy fuel oil and diesel, greater price stability, and strong potential for use across electricity generation, manufacturing, and public transportation.

Petrojam is positioning itself to play a key role in LNG supply and distribution, supporting the shift of power generation and industrial users to cleaner fuels. LNG will be a key bridge between today’s petroleum-based system and tomorrow’s low-carbon energy future.

Advanced biofuels derived from sustainable biomass, agricultural residues, and solid waste are also gaining traction globally. These fuels offer real potential to reduce emissions in hard-to-abate sectors.

Of note is sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), which can significantly lower the carbon footprint of air travel. As a major tourism destination and aviation hub, Jamaica stands to benefit strategically from early engagement in SAF development. Renewable diesel and green methanol for marine transport are also emerging opportunities as the shipping sector moves toward decarbonisation.

EMERGING FRONTIERS: NUCLEAR AND HYDROGEN

Globally, there is renewed interest in nuclear energy, particularly as a reliable, carbon-free base load power source for energy-intensive activities such as data centres supporting artificial intelligence and cloud computing. Advances in small modular reactors (SMRs) are making nuclear more accessible to smaller economies.

In Jamaica, nuclear energy remains at the exploratory stage. Petrojam has been invited to be a part of the International Centre for Environmental and Nuclear Sciences (ICENS) Working Group, which is examining the potential role of nuclear in a low-carbon energy future, including its application in electricity generation and pink hydrogen production (hydrogen generated from the electrolysis of water using nuclear energy).

Nuclear energy offers low operating costs and high reliability once online, delivering large volumes of carbon-free electricity at stable and predictable prices. By reducing exposure to fuel price volatility it has the potential to support economic development and help level the playing field between high- and low-income countries.

Meaningful consideration of nuclear must be balanced and aligned with safety standards, regulatory readiness, waste management, and public acceptance. The objective at this stage is knowledge preparedness and informed national dialogue.

ENERGY SUBSTITUTION: A GRADUAL REALITY

While the global conversation often suggests rapid substitution away from fossil fuels, the reality for small, developing economies is more complex. Infrastructure constraints, financing requirements, and the need for system reliability mean that energy transition must be carefully managed.

For Jamaica, the path forward is not abrupt replacement but strategic diversification — layering renewables, LNG, and emerging fuels alongside existing petroleum supply to ensure reliability, affordability, and resilience.

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance is no longer optional; it is increasingly a prerequisite for attracting capital, maintaining regulatory credibility, and building public trust.

In 2026 Petrojam will be further strengthening its ESG framework, with particular focus on reducing our carbon footprint, enhancing transparency, and improving governance systems. As Jamaica explores offshore oil potential, a strong ESG foundation will be essential to guide responsible development, environmental protection, and stakeholder confidence.

JAMAICA’S REGIONAL ROLE

Beyond domestic supply, Petrojam continues to support regional energy resilience through trade. By refining and supplying high-quality fuels to Caricom member states, we contribute to economic stability and regional integration. 2026 presents an opportunity to further define Jamaica’s role as a regional energy hub- leveraging our infrastructure, logistics capability, and strategic location to support neighbouring economies.

Jamaica’s energy future will be determined not only by technology choices, but by the value we deliver, the depth of our sustainability efforts, and the speed at which we adapt. The energy transition is not just an environmental imperative — it is an economic strategy, a competitiveness issue, and a national resilience priority.

Petrojam stands at the centre of this transition, repositioning to become Jamaica’s multi-energy innovator supporting renewables, advancing LNG, enabling biofuels and SAF, and preparing for emerging technologies. By acting early, building digital and operational resilience, forging strategic alliances, and staying ahead of global energy trends, Jamaica can secure a future that is cleaner, more affordable, and more resilient.

The decisions we take in 2026 will shape our energy security for a generation. If we get them right, Jamaica will not only meet its energy needs but will lead in building a modern, sustainable energy system for the Caribbean.

Jamaica Observer

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Renewable energy project approvals hit record high in GB in 2025, data shows

December 30, 2025 jrobinson

Applications to build battery storage drive boom as offshore wind projects given go-ahead jump sevenfold year on year

A record number of renewable energy projects were given the go-ahead in Great Britain in 2025, after planning approvals almost doubled year on year, according to an analysis.

The energy capacity of new battery, wind, and solar projects that received approval climbed to 45GW this year, 96% higher than in 2024, according to data from Cornwall Insight.

The boom was driven by applications to build new battery storage, which almost doubled to 28.6GW this year from 14.9GW in 2024. Planning approvals for offshore wind developments jumped more than sevenfold to 9.9GW from 1.3GW last year.

Planning approvals for battery, wind and solar power have risen by more than 400% over the past five years.

The energy secretary, Ed Miliband, said: “After years of delay and underinvestment, this government is keeping its promise to take back control of Britain’s energy with clean homegrown power.

“Every project we approve, every investment we make is about getting the country off the rollercoaster of fossil fuel markets, protecting households and lowering bills for good.”

The record-breaking surge in planning approvals signals real momentum in the UK’s energy transition, according to Robin Clarke, a senior analyst at Cornwall Insight, but many could still face delays starting up.

“On paper, the UK’s renewables pipeline has never looked stronger,” he said. “But approvals don’t generate electricity, and we urgently need to move from ambition to actual delivery of these projects. Too much capacity is still stuck in queues or waiting on grid upgrades. Grid bottlenecks remain one of the biggest risks to turning today’s approvals into tomorrow’s power.”

Although approvals have accelerated, the pace of projects starting up has lagged behind, largely as a result of long construction timelines and grid connection delays, according to Cornwall.

Many projects have been stuck in a “first come, first served” connections queue, but recent reforms to remove “zombie projects” from the queue and shift to a “first ready, first needed, first connected” approach is expected to clear some of the bottlenecks and quicken the pace of Britain’s renewable energy buildout.

Britain’s energy system operator pulled the plug on hundreds of electricity generation projects earlier this month to clear a huge backlog that had stopped many “shovel-ready” schemes from connecting to the power grid.

More than half of the energy projects in the queue will be removed to make way for about £40bn-worth of schemes considered the most likely to help meet the government’s goal to build a virtually zero-carbon power system by 2030.

Britain’s growing renewables industry may also have accelerated in 2025 as developers rush to get their projects over the line before tougher rules over which projects can connect to the grid, and upcoming local elections that could create uncertainty over future renewable energy planning policies.

Clarke said: “The recent grid connection reforms are a significant step forward, and should help clear some of the backlog, but they won’t solve everything. We need faster decisions, more investment in the grid, and real collaboration between government, regulators and industry. Without that, these record numbers risk becoming just another statistic.”

Cornwall added that the rapid expansion of renewable projects would also mean the UK must reinforce and build out its electricity grid at scale.

“The current infrastructure was never designed for such high volumes of intermittent generation and storage, so investment in grid flexibility, transmission upgrades, and smart technologies will be critical to ensure these projects can deliver power where and when it’s needed,” it said.

The Guardian

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Spain’s commitment to renewable energy may be in doubt

December 23, 2025 jrobinson

On the edge of the sleepy town of Figueruelas, a single, vast wind turbine spins around, casting its shadow over the buildings nearby.

It’s a reminder of the importance of renewable electricity in this windswept area of Aragón, in north-eastern Spain, whose plains are host to many of the country’s wind and solar energy farms.

Figueruela’s status as a symbol of Spain’s green transition has been further boosted recently, as work starts nearby on the construction of a vast factory that will produce batteries for electric vehicles.

Chinese firm CATL and the Netherlands-based Stellantis are investing a combined €4bn ($4.7bn; £3.5bn) in the facility. Yao Jing, China’s ambassador in Spain, described it as “one of the biggest Chinese investments Europe has ever seen”.

Luis Bertol Moreno, mayor of the town, says the area was a logical choice for the project.

“We’re in Aragón, where there’s wind all year round, there are lots of hours of sunshine, and we are surrounded by wind turbines and solar panels,” he says.

“Those [energy sources] will be crucial in generating electricity for the new factory, and I understand that was the key reason for building it here in Figueruelas.”

The factory can be seen as vindication of Spain’s energy model, which prioritises renewable sources. In 2017, renewables contributed just a third of Spain’s electricity production, but last year they represented 57%.

By 2030, the government wants them to contribute 81% of electricity output.

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez summarised his government’s approach as he delivered a riposte to US President Donald Trump’s pro-fossil fuel “Dig, baby, dig” slogan. “Green, baby, green,” said the Socialist, as he pointed to the benefits of renewable energy.

However, in recent months, Spain’s all-in commitment to renewables has come under scrutiny. This was in great part due to an 28 April blackout that left homes, businesses, government buildings, public transport, schools and universities in the dark across Spain and neighbouring Portugal for several hours.

With the government unable to offer a full explanation for the outage, the country’s energy mix became a fiercely-debated political issue. Alberto Núñez Feijóo, leader of the conservative opposition, accused the government of “fanaticism” in pursuing its green agenda, suggesting that an over-reliance on renewables might have caused the incident.

Feijóo and others on the right advocated a rethink of the national energy model.

The fact that, a week before the blackout, solar generation in mainland Spain registered a record 61.5% of the electricity mix has fuelled such claims.

Yet the government and national grid operator Red Eléctrica have both denied that the outage was linked to the preponderance of renewable energy sources in Spain.

“We have operated the system with higher renewable rates [previously] with no effect on the security of the system,” says Concha Sánchez, head of operations for Red Eléctrica. “Definitely it’s not a question of the rate of renewables at that moment.”

Ms Sánchez said the blackout was caused by a combination of issues, including an “unknown event” in the system moments before, which saw anomalous voltage oscillations.

However, Red Eléctrica and the government are still awaiting reports on the incident that they hope will determine the exact cause. A cyber-attack has repeatedly been ruled out.

Meanwhile, since April, Spain’s electricity mix has been modified somewhat, with greater reliance on natural gas, reinforcing the notion that the country is at an energy crossroads.

Spain’s nuclear industry, which currently contributes around 20% of national electricity, has been particularly vocal since the blackout, pushing back against government plans to close the country’s five nuclear plants between 2027 and 2035.

With many European countries undergoing a nuclear renaissance, the planned closures make Spain something of an outlier. The companies that own the Almaraz plant in south-western Spain, due to be the first to shut down, have requested a three-year extension to its life until 2030. That request is currently under consideration.

Ignacio Araluce, president of Foro Nuclear, an association that represents the industry, says Spain is the only country in the world that is scheduling the closure of nuclear plants that are in operation. He believes nuclear energy provides stability while being compatible with the green energy transition.

“It’s prudent to have a mix of renewables and nuclear energy,” he says.

Mr Araluce praises renewable sources because they only require natural elements to generate electricity, but points out that they are not able to operate around the clock or when weather is unfavourable.

“How can you produce energy in those hours when the renewables are not producing?” he asks. The answer, he added, is “with a source like nuclear, that is not producing CO2, that is producing all hours of the year”.

The political opposition is staunchly opposed to the nuclear shut-down. The far-right Vox, criticising what it saw as a lack of explanation by the government for the April blackout, recently described nuclear power as “a crucial source of stability”.

Ms Sánchez acknowledges that there is room for improvement for Spain’s electricity model, pointing to the Iberian peninsula’s relative isolation from the European grid compared to most of its EU neighbours. She also sees storage as an issue.

“While we have taken a good path when it comes to renewable installation, we cannot say the same regarding storage,” she says. “We need to foster storage installation.”

Spain’s political panorama adds an element of uncertainty to its energy future. The Socialist-led coalition has been mired in corruption scandals and its parliamentary majority appears to have collapsed in recent weeks, raising the possibility of a snap election in the coming months.

A right-wing government, which polls suggest would be the likely outcome, would almost certainly place less emphasis on renewables and advocate a partial return to more traditional energy sources.

But in the meantime, Spain’s renewable transition continues.

And for Figueruelas, in Aragón, that means not just cheap, clean energy, but investment. The town’s population, of just 1,000, is due to increase dramatically, with 2,000 Chinese workers scheduled to arrive to help build the new battery plant, which is expected to create up to 35,000 indirect jobs once it starts operating.

“These kinds of investments revitalise the area, they revitalise the construction sector, hostelry,” says local man Manuel Martín. “And the energy is free – it just depends on the sun and the wind.”

BBC

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Japan to back clean-energy users with $1.3 billion in investment subsidies

December 23, 2025 jrobinson

TOKYO, Dec 23 (Reuters) – Japan plans to provide 210 billion yen ($1.34 billion) to help companies that are using clean power to fund investments, in a push to boost demand for renewable energy and spur growth in regional areas, a government official said late on Monday.

The subsidies are designed to help the country, the world’s fifth-largest emitter of carbon dioxide, reach its clean energy targets and reduce its reliance on imported fossil fuels after facing setbacks on wind and solar projects.

The scheme will provide funds over five years starting in fiscal 2026, said Juntaro Shimizu, director of the Green Transformation (GX) policy group at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

Companies that rely entirely on decarbonised electricity and contribute to regions where the power is generated will be eligible for subsidies covering up to half of their capital expenditure, he said. Data centre operators meeting the same criteria will also qualify.

The government plans to begin soliciting applications from eligible businesses next fiscal year.

Japan wants renewables to account for up to 50% of its electricity mix by fiscal 2040, with nuclear power supplying another 20%, up from 22.9% renewables and 8.5% nuclear in fiscal 2023.

Progress toward the renewable energy goal has slowed as offshore wind projects, seen as crucial to achieving the target, have faced surging costs, while large-scale solar farms have stalled due to local opposition.

The new support measures form part of Japan’s “GX 2040 vision,” a national strategy integrating decarbonisation and industrial policy approved by the Cabinet earlier this year, seeking to promote the energy transition and economic growth.

As part of the framework, the government will establish a “GX Strategy Region” system to create new industrial clusters in areas with decarbonised power sources.

Local governments and companies will jointly draw up plans, with the national government selecting regions and providing support through subsidies and regulatory reforms. Applications from local governments are expected to open later this fiscal year, Shimizu said.

Reuters

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Keir Starmer prepares to miss key green target in effort to keep energy bills down

October 23, 2025 jrobinson

Keir Starmer prepares to miss key green target in effort to keep energy bills down

Ministers are considering dropping one of their central green pledges in an effort to keep energy bills down, sources have told the Guardian.

Government insiders say Keir Starmer is prepared to miss his own target of removing almost all fossil fuels from the UK’s electricity supply by 2030 if doing so proves much more expensive than building gas power instead.

The issue will come to a head within weeks as Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, decides how much renewable energy to commission for the next few years. Allies say Miliband is willing to buy less than experts say is needed to hit the 2030 target, if paying for them would push energy bills much higher than their current levels.

Concern is growing in Downing Street that the cost of living is fuelling the rise of Reform UK, which leads national polls and is predicted to take the Welsh Senedd seat of Caerphilly in a byelection this week.

One government insider said: “There is a choice about what price you’re willing to pay for the next [renewables] auction round, which is key to hitting 2030. If it comes to a choice between hitting the target and overpaying, or missing it and keeping costs down, we will miss it.”

Officials pointed to comments Miliband made last week, when he told an energy industry conference: “We won’t buy at any price. And if specific technologies aren’t competitive, we will look elsewhere. We will take the long-term decisions to secure the right amount of capacity at the right price for the country.”

Starmer committed to hitting the clean power target last year in his “plan for change”. The prime minister said at the time the plan would “make Britain a clean energy superpower and accelerate to net zero”.

Experts say that hitting the target would require Miliband to commission a record 8 gigawatts of new electricity generation at the current auction round. The government sets subsidy levels by asking renewable companies to bid and then commissioning whichever projects promise the cheapest clean energy.

The energy secretary is in talks with Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, about how much to spend on the commissioning round.

But energy industry insiders say high interest rates and the sheer amount of electricity that needs to be commissioned is likely to push prices beyond what it would cost to build the equivalent amount of gas power.

Dieter Helm, professor of economic policy at the University of Oxford, said Miliband was “deluded” if he thought he could bring down energy bills by pushing for clean power by 2030. “The reality is that net zero by 2030 is expensive and that by dashing flat-out towards it, the result will be even higher costs. The price is not coming down; it is going up.”

The state-owned energy system operator, NESO, which runs the electricity grid, recently warned: “With a short and shrinking window of time, pace must be the primary goal. However, this cannot come at the expense of public consent or excessive cost as that would mean the clean power objective would be self-defeating.”

report published on Thursday by the Tony Blair Institute argues the government should drop the 2030 target altogether while sticking to the longer-term net zero commitment.

Tone Langengen, the report’s author, said: “Launched in the middle of the gas crisis and in a low-interest environment, Clean Power 2030 was right for its time, but circumstances have changed.”

The institute has been criticised for its founder’s links to the fossil fuel industry, but its reports are taken seriously in Downing Street, which is staffed by several of its former employees.

Some officials in Downing Street and the Treasury want the prime minister to publicly drop the 2030 target in a sign to both voters and the energy industry that he is not willing to let bills rise, having previously promised to bring them down by £300.

Starmer is resisting this, and is instead understood to be willing to simply miss the target rather than openly disown it. One government aide said: “The prime minister made this the centrepiece of one of his missions. He is not going to drop it now.”

Another insider said: “It would be really silly to amend the target publicly – even if we accept the higher risk it won’t be met.”

Green experts also warn that ditching the target – either quietly or publicly – would reduce business confidence.

Jess Ralston, an energy analyst at the Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit, said: “Renewables provided around half of our electricity last year, and we have the world’s second largest market for offshore wind. Drastic policy changes could jeopardise that investment and those jobs, like we have seen in the US.”

Allies of Miliband insist that even if he does not commission the full 8GW of power in January, there will be other ways to make sure the electricity grid is almost entirely carbon free by 2030. They include building more batteries and encouraging people to use less electricity at peak times in order to reduce the amount of new capacity that needs to be built.

However, industry insiders say the 2030 target would be almost unachievable without the extra renewable power they say needs to be commissioned in January. One said: “There are other ways to make the sums add up, but unless you get close to 8GW of new power in this round, you’re very unlikely to hit the 2030 target.”

A government spokesperson said: “The government is fully committed to delivering clean power by 2030 because it is how we deliver a system that can bring down bills for consumers.”

The Guardian

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Hopes rise for green economy boom at Africa Climate Summit

September 24, 2025 jrobinson

Renewables are thriving, with Africa breaking solar energy records – but action is needed to plug financing gap

The first signs of a takeoff of Africa’s green economy are raising hopes that a transformation of the continent’s fortunes may be under way, driven by solar power and an increase in low-carbon investment.

African leaders are meeting this week in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for the Africa Climate Summit, a precursor to the global UN Cop30 in November. They will call for an increase in support from rich countries for Africa’s green resurgence, without which they will warn it could be fragile and spread unevenly.

Richard Muyungi, the climate envoy and adviser to the president of Tanzania, said: “Africa is ready to be part of [the global fight to stave off climate breakdown] provided we are supported with finance, technology and capacity-building.

“There has been an increase of investments in some areas but Africa still needs a lot of financing to be able to be part of the global solution, and to address the challenges we are facing.”

Green energy is booming in Africa, with 20 countries breaking records for imports of solar panels in the 12 months to June. According to the thinktank Ember, imports of photovoltaic equipment from China rose by 60% over the past year, from 9GW in 2024 to 15GW of capacity, with a tripling of imports to countries outside South Africa.

Though the increase is impressive, it is from a low base. Africa, which boasts the greatest potential for solar power, has lagged far behind other countries in installations. Only 4% of global solar generation last year was in Africa, and in 2023, the International Energy Agency reported that Belgium had as many solar panels as the entire continent.

“There is a glimmer of light [in the increased investment] but this is still quite meagre compared to other continents in the global south,” Muyungi said.

Last year’s imported panels would add about 5% to current electricity generation capacity in 16 countries, according to Ember, but the need remains vast. About 600 million people in Africa lack access to electricity, and about a billion have only firewood or dirty fuels for cooking. Women and girls are worst affected.

Melaku Yirga, the regional director for Africa at Mercy Corps, a humanitarian organisation, said: “Renewable energy is not only Africa’s greatest opportunity, it is also an urgent necessity. Renewable power enables everything from irrigation and food storage to early-warning systems, healthcare and livelihoods.”

While recent increases in renewable energy investment were welcome, Yirga said the public sector and overseas aid were still vital.

“Africa has no shortage of ambition in renewable energy, but without stronger international finance and the right incentives, the private sector will remain on the sidelines and adaptation goals will go unmet,” he said.

“Private sector financing must be met with public commitments, and funding must also be long-term and reliable – short grants rarely achieve full impact, as meaningful engagement with governments and communities takes time and requires significant upfront investment.”

Reductions in overseas aid from rich countries are causing consternation among African governments, many of which are blighted by record debt burdens, exacerbated by the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic and recent interest rate rises.

Macky Sall, the former president of Senegal, said: “The drop in official development assistance fundamentally changes the climate calculus. Where does that leave Africa, if we can no longer count on our partners’ promises?

“The costs of the climate crisis have fallen most heavily on Africa. We are not the cause. We are not only footing the largest bill – we are also seeing the cheques to stem the damage cancelled.”

Private sector companies will put cash into renewable energy, but few will help Africa adapt to the impacts of the climate crisis, which are already being felt in the form of droughts, floods and crop failures. Investment to build resilience – such as water storage systems, better infrastructure and new farming techniques – is lacking.

A report published at the summit on Monday showed that while Africa needed at least $70bn a year to adapt to the effects of the climate crisis, and possibly much more, only $15bn was provided in adaptation finance to the continent in 2023.

Without urgent action to address that vast financing gap, Africa’s future costs from climate impacts will balloon, wiping out a fifth of GDP by 2050.

Patrick Verkooijen, the chief executive of the Global Center on Adaptation thinktank, says rich countries must increase their finance for adaptation in Africa, which is responsible for only 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions while bearing the brunt of climate breakdown.

“Europe [and other countries] will shoot themselves in the foot if they defund ODA [official development assistance],” he said. “African leaders will see it as a stab in the back.”

While Africa is behind in climate adaptation, its riches are increasingly sought after by China and the rest of the rich world.

Africa has some of the biggest deposits of “critical minerals” – elements vital to building renewable energy components. Cobalt, lithium, copper, nickel, rare earths and other minerals are abundant in parts of Africa, which has spurred a global scramble for the resources.

Human rights abuses have soared in some mining areas, with child labour and the exploitation of adult workers, particularly women, in places such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Africa’s under-resourced public sector is struggling to contain the damage and ensure resource extraction is done responsibly, without causing environmental devastation and in a way that benefits local people.

Africa also abounds in gas, with reserves of the fossil fuel that have scarcely been tapped in some countries. Muyungi insisted they must be allowed to exploit those resources, despite the impact on the climate crisis. “We do not envisage anything to stop us using gas – we need it for our development,” he said.

For rich countries to tackle the climate crisis, Africa’s assistance will be essential. If global north governments fail to address the continent’s needs, they will feel the impact. Roughly 60% of Africa’s population is under 25, a “youthquake” that could spur development or, if poorly handled, will be felt around the world.

Abay Yimere, a scholar at the Climate Policy Lab at Tufts University in the US, said: “If the climate crisis is not tackled in Africa, that will be a problem for migration. If we do not provide them with jobs, and adapt to climate change, the impact will be huge and not controllable. The global north should look at this from their own national perspectives and see where their interest lies.”

This article was amended on 9 September 2025. An earlier version measured imports of solar panels from China in megawatts; this should have said gigawatts.

The Guardian

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