Africa's Hydropower Plants Could Receive $1 Billion for Upgrades

By Charles Kennedy - Dec 04, 2023

A dozen hydropower plants across Africa could receive $1 billion from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to upgrade equipment and boost power generation and potentially speed up the transition from fossil fuels, an official AfDB told Reuters on Monday.

Twelve projects in South Africa, Nigeria, Sudan, Zambia, Angola, and the Democratic Republic of Congo are expected to benefit from the funding.

The upgrades to the hydropower plants are set to “accelerate the energy transition” away from fossil fuels, according to João Cunha, head of the renewable energy division at AfDB.

This summer, the AfDB-managed Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa (SEFA) said at the Africa Energy Forum that hydropower could be a key element in meeting the accelerating demand for renewable energy.

A report from the bank in collaboration with the International Hydropower Association (IHA) found in July that out of the 87 hydropower stations in Africa screened, 21 are in high need, and 36 are in medium need of refurbishment. This represents an installed capacity of 4.6 GW and 10 GW, respectively, for modernization.

“To address these modernisation needs, SEFA prioritises providing technical and financial support to these projects while coordinating closely with partner institutions for additional support,” AfDB said earlier this year.

“Modernising existing hydropower assets are accelerator for Africa’s energy transition and it increases the availability of dispatchable renewable energy in a relatively short period of time while providing opportunities for integrating variable renewable energy sources, such as floating solar,” said Daniel Schroth, African Development Bank Director for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency.

“Hydropower modernisation is not just about upgrading infrastructure — it's about decarbonising and enhancing the flexibility and resilience of power systems, critical ingredients for a successful energy transition,” Cunha said in July

At the COP28 climate summit on Sunday, multilateral development banks attending the conference affirmed their commitment to a concerted, global action, including increasing co-financing and private sector engagement to address climate change, felt acutely in Africa.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

Rockefeller Foundation Backs Coal Phase-Out via Carbon Credits

By Tsvetana Paraskova - Dec 04, 2023

The Rockefeller Foundation is backing the world’s first coal-to-clean pilot project in the Philippines that will use carbon credits to enable early decommissioning of a coal-fired power plant.  

The Coal to Clean Credit Initiative (CCCI), which has support from The Rockefeller Foundation, announced on Monday at the COP28 climate summit a new collaboration with ACEN Corporation to explore a pilot project in the Philippines that would use carbon finance to phase out a coal-fired power plant and replace it with renewable energy.  

“This first-of-its-kind project will seek to inform plans for the CCCI to help phase out coal plants around the globe in line with the Paris Agreement,” The Rockefeller Foundation said in a statement.

The Rockefeller Foundation, set up by John D. Rockefeller in 1913, said back in 2020 that it had decided to divest from fossil fuels and not make any new investment in the industry. 

The Rockefeller Foundation has already launched programs aimed at lowering the use of coal-fired power in Asia and speeding up the deployment of battery storage for renewable energy. 

Commenting on the pilot project for an early retirement of a coal plant in the Philippines, Rajiv J. Shah, President of the Rockefeller Foundation, said “To retire coal plants, avoid those emissions, and create jobs, we need to create the right incentives for asset owners and communities and mobilize additional finance.”

“This innovative CCCI agreement will pilot a coal-to-clean credit methodology in the Philippines, one critical step toward breaking that overreliance and building a better future,” Shah added.

Developing countries in Asia and Africa say they would be eager to phase down – and ultimately phase out – coal if they had the necessary climate funding from the wealthy nations. But the climate funds pledged so far have been in the form of loans, which further burdens developing nations.

Indonesia and South Africa have recently backtracked on some of their coal reduction commitments, The Wall Street Journal reports.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

WORKERS CAPITAL

Dutch Fund Keeps Shell, BP in Portfolio as it Dumps 40 Other Oil Firms

By Tom Kool - Dec 01, 2023

Dutch pension fund Pensioenfonds Metaal & Techniek (PMT) is divesting from 40 oil and gas companies, but will keep its investments in Shell and BP and seven other energy firms as it sees the nine companies as “the most promising” for PMT in the sector.

PMT will continue to invest in Aker BP, BP, Enbridge, Eni, Equinor, Galp Energia, Neste Oyj, OMV, and Shell as it “bid goodbye” to 40 other oil and gas firms, the pension fund said on Friday.

Those nine companies meet PMT’s requirements—to have publicly stated an ambition to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 and unveil substantiated action plans to cut emissions, the fund said.

“PMT is confident in continuing constructive engagement with these companies towards a 1.5 degree world,” it said.

“We think it is important that multinationals like Shell, despite moving slowly through the energy transition for now, are part of the solution,” Hartwig Liersch, PMT’s director of investments, said in a statement. 

Climate change is the single largest motivation of investment institutions to decide to exclude companies from their portfolios, a newly launched ‘exclusion tracker’ showed earlier this year.

Investors have become increasingly wary of investing in ‘sin industries’, which for many now include fossil fuel companies alongside the weapons and tobacco sectors.

Pension funds and other institutional investors in Europe have excluded some major oil and gas companies from their portfolios, while some European banks have scaled back financing for fossil fuel projects.

Not all investors are dumping fossil fuels—some believe that owning stocks could help them influence decisions at oil and gas firms regarding emissions reductions. Not all banks are ditching financing for oil and gas, either.

Yet, many investors have excluded stocks of oil and gas companies in recent years due to concerns about the impact the business of fossil fuels has on climate.

Oil Revenues Send Alberta’s Budget Surplus Soaring

By Charles Kennedy - Dec 01, 2023

Revenues from the oil industry have pushed Alberta’s projected budget surplus for this year to twice as high as initially expected, at $4.1 billion, or C$5.5 billion.

In addition to revenue from oil royalties, the budget surplus for fiscal 2023/24 was pushed up by higher personal and corporate taxes.

“Alberta's economy is resilient, and our finances are on track,” Finance Minister Nate Horner told media, as quoted by the Canadian Press.

“Our energy sector continues to be a driver of jobs and activity, and at the same time we're seeing growth and diversification in emerging sectors like tech and aviation,” Horner also said.

The economy of the oil province is seen growing 2.8% this fiscal year, in line with original projections, but slower than growth over the last two years when Alberta was in recovery mode after the pandemic lockdowns.

Executives from the Canadian oil and gas industry, most of it concentrated in Alberta, this week traveled to the COP28 summit in Dubai in a bid to “contribute to the dialogue” on decarbonization, according to the president of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, Lisa Baiton.

“We’re going there in a very constructive way to say, `We’re here, we’re a big source of emissions and we’re going to be a big part of the solution,”’ said the president of the Pathways Alliance, a grouping of oil sands producers, Kendall Dilling, as quoted by Global News.

While the industry executives discuss their efforts to reduce emissions, officials from the Canadian federal government are expected to announce a cap on emissions from the oil and gas industry at the same event.

The Trudeau government has been mulling such a cap over for at least two years but has so far stopped short of taking action on the idea. “If we don’t put in place the cap on oil and gas emissions, we can’t achieve our 2030 targets,” Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault told media this week.

By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com

 

Death toll jumps to 22 following eruption of Marapi volcano in Indonesia

By 

Social Links forSteven Yablonski, FOX Weather

Published Dec. 6, 2023,

Rescue officials said the death toll has climbed to 22 climbers nearly two days after Indonesia’s Marapi volcano erupted on Sunday, sending toxic smoke thousands of feet into the air and blanketing surrounding communities in a coating of ash.

According to Reuters, three survivors were found on Monday along with the bodies of 11 climbers, who were among dozens that were in the area when the mountain exploded.

Early Tuesday, West Sumatra rescue agency officials told Reuters that the bodies of an additional 11 climbers were found near the crater, bringing the death toll to 22.

Search and rescue teams continue to evacuate dead bodies from the peak of the volcano.

Several other climbers were located safely, and others were taken to local hospitals to be treated for injuries.

Indonesia’s National Agency for Disaster Countermeasure (BNPB) said the nearly 9,500-foot volcano in West Sumatra began erupting just before 3 p.m. local time on Sunday, with officials saying the volcanic ash raining down on local communities “made the atmosphere in Nagari Lasi very thick and dark.”

The BNPB said there had been 75 climbers in the area at the time of the eruption.

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Rescuers carry the body of a victim from the eruption of Mount Marapi into an ambulance in Batu Palano, West Sumatra, Indonesia, on Dec. 5, 2023.AP

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Rescuers prepare to evacuate the body of a climber killed in Mount Marapi’s eruption in Agam, West Sumatra, Indonesia on Dec. 5, 2023.AP

Of those, 40 were able to descend the volcano safely. 

But conditions in the area remain dangerous.

“The eruption is still occurring, and we are carrying out search efforts with a joint team,” said Ade Setiawan Putra, of the Agam Regency BPBD Pusdalops team.

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Mount Marapi spews volcanic ash during an eruption as seen from Sungai Pua in Agam, West Sumatra, on Dec. 6, 2023.AFP via Getty Images

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Mount Marapi spews volcanic ash from its crater in Agam, West Sumatra, Indonesia, on Dec. 5, 2023.AP

Disaster response teams were sent to the area after the eruption and immediately began to distribute masks to the community.

In addition, officials warned residents not to leave their homes, considering the large amount of volcanic ash that could have an impact on health.

The BNPB said Mount Marapi remains on an Alert Level II, which had been the alert level before Sunday’s eruption because symptoms of volcanic activity had been observed since January.

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Rescuers evacuate the body of a climber killed in Mount Marapi’s eruption in Agam, West Sumatra, Indonesia, on Dec. 5, 2023.AP

Officials are recommending residents, tourists and visitors not to carry out activities within a two-mile radius of the volcano’s crater.

More than two days after the eruption, volcanic ash continues to rain down in Agam Regency, West Sumatra Province.

Anyone who does go outside is also advised to wear a mask, hat and glasses and to clear ash from the roofs of buildings so that they don’t collapse.