Energiser Investments Share Discussion Threads

[the grumpy old men] 17/4/2022 22:03

RIGZONE


Le Pen Energy Plan Promises Fuel-Tax Cut, Ban On Wind Farms
by Bloomberg
|
Francois de Beaupuy
|
Sunday, April 17, 2022



As Europe suffers its worst energy crisis in a generation, French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen is proposing to subsidize consumption while further curtailing supply.

The 53-year-old nationalist is narrowly trailing President Emmanuel Macron in polls ahead of the April 24 runoff election.

She has campaigned for months on a promise to boost voters’ purchasing power by cutting taxes on gasoline, heating oil, natural gas, and electricity.

This help for consumers sits alongside a crackdown on wind turbines, a windfall tax on some of the country’s largest energy companies and an exit from Europe’s electricity market.

While energy costs began rising last year, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has pushed them to the top of the political agenda as prices broke records.

Those increases represent more than half of Europe’s inflation, costing households across the continent some 230 billion euros ($251 billion) this year.

Le Pen has cast herself as the protector of the poor, and her policies may prove to be effective at harnessing the pain of rising prices felt by households and motorists.

Their concerns have been a powerful force in French politics, notably the “Yellow Vest” movement that disrupted the early years of Macron’s presidency.

Yet her plans would leave the country increasingly exposed to energy shortages over time, according to Marc-Antoine Eyl-Mazzega, the head of the Center for Energy & Climate at Institut Francais des Relations Internationales.

“It may please those who don’t like the sight of wind turbines,” Eyl-Mazzega said.

“The power supply situation will deteriorate, and investors will shy away from France.”

The core of Le Pen’s pitch to voters is a 12-billion-euro reduction in the value added tax on energy.

She also promised to roll back 9 billion euros in levies on diesel and gasoline when she takes office if the price of oil is above $100 a barrel.

Those giveaways would come on top of the 25 billion euros of aid to contain energy bills already being phased in by Macron.

The tax cuts would be partly financed by ending subsidies for wind and solar power, Le Pen said.

Regardless of legal issues, she also promised to halt onshore and offshore wind farms under construction, putting at risk projects currently in development by companies including Electricite de France SA, Engie SA, Iberdrola SA, Neoen SA and Voltalia SA.

Wind turbines would be progressively taken down when they reach “the end of their life,” according to her manifesto.

Wind and solar together represented 10% of France’s electricity output last year, and this proportion will probably rise further this year as EDF’s nuclear output is set to drop to the lowest level since 1990 because of maintenance and technical issues at its aging fleet of nuclear reactors.

Yet wind turbines are unpopular in some parts of France, where homeowners argue that they are unsightly and reduce the value of their properties.

Macron has taken some steps to address opposition to wind power, pushing back a target to double onshore capacity by 20 years to 2050.

But the idea of completely blocking the development of domestic sources of renewable power, which have become increasingly price-competitive as the cost of imported fossil fuels and other sources of electricity has surged, has been fiercely criticized.

“The economic and energy policy proposals are out of touch with reality,” Michel Gioria, the general delegate of France Energie Eolienne, the country’s wind power federation. “She’ll plunge France into a difficult situation in terms of energy supply, which will keep prices high.”

Le Pen plans to solve the supply side of the energy equation by launching the construction of 20 large nuclear power plants, which would come progressively online from 2031. She would also seek to re-open the two Fessenheim reactors that Macron shut two years ago, prolong the lifetime of EDF’s 56 operational atomic plants to 60 years, and build some small modular nuclear generators.

That’s a challenging timetable given the recent record of France’s nuclear industry.

EDF still hasn’t commissioned the sole new reactor under construction in the country, at Flamanville, after 15 years of works. The project has been dogged by technical issues and has quadrupled its initial budget to 12.7 billion euros.

Macron’s nuclear plan is to build as many as 14 new large nuclear reactors, with the first pair coming online from 2035. Given supply-chain constraints and modern safety standards, even that more modest proposal brings considerable challenges, France’s power-grid operator said last year.

[waldron] 12/4/2022 12:15

IRJ

InternationaRailJournal


Freight
April 12, 2022
Written by David Carmona


Alstom and Engie collaborate to develop hydrogen supply chain

Engie plans to develop 4 gigawatt of renewable hydrogen production capacity by 2030.

ALSTOM has signed a partnership agreement with Engie to develop a hydrogen logistics and refuelling chain for freight locomotives operating on non-electrified lines.

The partners believe they can work together to accelerate the development of hydrogen as a viable, clean alternative to diesel. Under the partnership, Alstom will design a high-power hydrogen fuel cell and Engie will develop a supply chain to provide the hydrogen.

Engie plans to develop 4 gigawatt of renewable hydrogen production capacity by 2030, with a 700km dedicated hydrogen supply network and 1 terawatt-hour of storage capacity serving 100 refuelling stations.

The announcement follows a successful live test conducted by Alstom and Engie in March 2020 in the Dutch Province of Groningen, where renewable hydrogen was used to refuel a Coradia iLint passenger train.

[adrian j boris] 11/4/2022 09:41

ENGIE is focused on delivering a progressively growing and sustainable dividend for shareholders.

With the publication of 2021 Financial Results, the Board has reaffirmed the Group’s dividend policy with a payout ratio of 65-75% of net recurring income Group share, and a floor of €0.65 per share for the 2021 to 2023 period.

For 2021, the Board has proposed a payout ratio of 66%.

This translates to a dividend of €0.85 per share, which will be proposed for shareholder approval at the Annual General Meeting on the 21 April 2022.


Dividend calendar for fiscal year 2021:

April 22, 2022: last day to acquire shares and benefit from the dividend

April 25, 2022: ex-dividend date

April 27, 2022: dividend payment date

[ariane] 06/4/2022 08:15

PARIS (Agefi-Dow Jones)--Gas and electricity supplier Engie and rail equipment manufacturer Alstom announced Wednesday that they have signed a partnership to develop a solution to decarbonize freight locomotives from renewable hydrogen.

The financial elements of this partnership have not been disclosed.

Under the terms of the agreement, Alstom will offer a "hydrogen solution from a high-power fuel cell system that can power electric locomotives in non-electrified sectors" while Engie will supply this solution with renewable hydrogen "through the deployment of an innovative supply chain," the two groups said in a joint statement.

The target market for this zero-emission solution is "that of the major European rail freight countries", Engie and Alstom added.

[waldron] 04/4/2022 20:27

Engie closes on financing for 665 megawatts of U.S. renewable projects


IEEFA April 4, 2022


Engie North America has successfully completed tax-equity financing and equity financing for renewables projects totalling 665MW.

The finance covers the Iron Star and Priddy wind farms plus the Hawtree solar park, which recently declared commercial operations.

The two wind projects located in Ford County, Kansas and Mills County, Texas, respectively, are owned by affiliates of Engie.

Iron Star comprises 62 4.8MW turbines and Priddy 63 4.8MW machines.

The 65MW Hawtree is located in Warren County, North Carolina.

The three projects were constructed during 2021 and early 2022.

[Staff Report]

[maywillow] 04/4/2022 08:01

* ENGIE - The French services group
Altrad industry announced on Monday that it had acquired from Engie
the company Endel, specialized in industrial maintenance
and services to the nuclear sector.

[waldron] 31/3/2022 13:02

BusinessLatest

ENGIE Energy Rollouts Plan to Connect Electricity to 2,700 Centres
March 31, 2022 12:07 am
0
Share

Raheeem Akingbolu

ENGIE Energy Access Nigeria has announced a new plan to connect about 2,700 un-electrified health centres in Nigerian communities. The project will stabilized electricity supply using renewable energy for four years, from August this year.

Managing Director, ENGIE Energy Access, Bankole Cardoso, said that through its Solar Home Systems brand, MySol, and its mini-grid business, it is equipped to meet the power needs of rural health centres.

The company said MySol’s range of small Solar Home Systems can power and improve service delivery significantly at primary health posts because of their low energy needs. For services at secondary hospitals, which are likely to own sophisticated diagnostic medical equipment, the much larger MySol Solar Business Solutions are available to cater to this range.

According to data from Sustainable Energy For All, Nigeria currently has 36,000 health centres of which 13,000 are without electricity. This health centre electrification project is closely aligned with ENGIE Energy Access’ mission to improve the livelihoods of people in rural Africa through renewable energy solutions.

Powering Africa Summit 2022 is a gathering of global energy industry leaders; key players from North America with Ministerial and Governmental participants from across Africa to drive energy developments on the African continent

ENGIE Energy Access will implement the electric power supply intervention program in four identified levels of healthcare provisioning. These include: Primary Health Centres with beds for emergencies and maternity; First Hospitals with 30-60 beds capacity; Secondary Hospitals with 60-120 beds capacity; and Tertiary Referral Hospitals with above 120 beds and capacity to undertake surgeries.

Cardoso stated that ENGIE Energy Access through its Solar Home Systems brand, MySol, and its mini grid business, is equipped to meet the power needs of rural health centres.

Whether it’s MySol’s range of small Solar Home Systems which can power and improve service delivery significantly at primary health posts because of their low energy needs; or MySol’s range of large Solar Home Systems which will increase efficiency at first hospitals, all levels of healthcare provisioning can and will be fully catered to.

[waldron] 31/3/2022 13:01

France’s Engie seeks renewable-energy project finance for South Africa and Egypt

By David Whitehouse
Posted on Wednesday, 30 March 2022 16:12


French energy company Engie is seeking to raise around $350m in project finance for renewables projects in South Africa, Mohamed Hoosen, managing director for renewables in Asia, the Middle East and Africa, tells The Africa Report.

The project finance will be a combination of debt and equity, and Engie is now in talks with South African lenders over the debt, Hoosen says from Johannesburg. The funding will be divided between solar and wind capacity, and the Oya hybrid project, which will combine solar, wind and lithium batteries. The Oya project may account for roughly $150m of the funding, Hoosen adds.

[waldron] 31/3/2022 07:44

Nord Stream 2 cost $11 billion to build. Now, the Russia-Europe gas pipeline is unused and abandoned


Published Thu, Mar 31 20221:06 AM EDT

Updated 12 Min Ago


Holly Ellyatt
@HollyEllyatt
cnbc

Key Points

One of the early casualties of Russia’s territorial ambitions in Ukraine was the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, a massive energy project that cost $11 billion.

The 1,234 km offshore pipeline was designed to double the flow of gas between Russia and Germany.

The pipeline was completed last September but the German energy regulator temporarily halted the certification process last November, and froze it altogether in February.

The U.S. has long been an opponent of the pipeline, fearful of European energy insecurity.

[waldron] 26/3/2022 09:22

flandersnews.be


Denny Baert / VRT NWS

“You can only count on nuclear from 2027”

Thierry Saegeman, CEO of Belgian electricity generator Engie Electrabel, has indicated that keeping the country’s two youngest nuclear reactors running will be “difficultR21; and that work to achieve this will only be complete in 2027.

Colin Clapson
Thu 24 Mar
10:13

This means that Belgium will only be able to count on the two youngest reactors, Doel 4 and Tihange 3, running after 2027.

Belgium was supposed to phase out nuclear power in 2025 but given increased energy uncertainty as a result of Russia’s war on Ukraine the federal government decided last week to keep the two youngest reactors open.

The matter still needs to be talked through with electricity generator Engie Electrabel that earlier said it was too late for a reprieve.

Mr Saegeman still says the government’s decision has come too late. He believes it won’t be possible to carry out the necessary work to keep the two reactors open by the winter of 2026.

“There is a 5-year calendar ahead of us. You can’t compress it. You can see the life of nuclear reactors extended but only from June 2027”.

The CEO believes the reactors will probably have to be taken out of service to allow modernisation work to proceed. He adds that the situation is being complicated by the fact that the oldest reactors will need to be dismantled as the youngest are updated.

“I’m seriously worried about how we will accomplish this. Do we possess the competent people? The right number? Enough contractors? It all looks very problematic”.

The Belgian government can look forward to difficult discussions with the generator.

[grupo guitarlumber] 24/3/2022 10:20

Engie Sells 9% Stake in Gaztransport & Technigaz for $329 Million
03/24/2022 | 09:17am GMT


(MT Newswires) -- Engie (ENGI.PA) raised 299.7 million euros ($329.2 million) by selling 3,330,000 shares of Gaztransport & Technigaz.

The French energy company said Thursday the shares sold at a price of 90 euros apiece represent about 9% of the French engineering group's share capital. Its stake was reduced to about 11% after the sale.

The company will use the proceeds for general corporate purposes and to fund future growth.

Engie's stock declined slightly on Thursday morning.

[grupo guitarlumber] 24/3/2022 10:19

ENGIE : No. 2 in the world in clean energy
03/24/2022 | 09:28am GMT

ENGIE, No. 2 in the world in clean energy

BloombergNEF, the strategic analyst for the energy transition, has published its ranking of clean energy developers for 2021 and ranks ENGIE number 2 in the sector in terms of volumes sold to businesses. This result commends our strategy to accelerate the energy transition and the efforts we have made to support our customers in greening their businesses.

Despite a challenging environment, we have achieved great commercial success on three continents (recently in Australia, North and South America, and Europe) by signing 2.1 GW of solar and wind power in corporate PPA in 2021 (vs 1,5 MW in 2020)!
This trust from both our customers and the markets is a guarantee of success for our roadmap and recognition of the commitment of our teams.

[sarkasm] 24/3/2022 08:25

Engie announces that it has completed the sale of 3.33 million GTT shares at a price of €90 per share and has thus raised €299.7 million, as part of a private placement by way of accelerated construction of an order book with institutional investors.

This sale of shares represents approximately 9% of GTT's share capital. In the event of an exchange of all the bonds exchangeable into GTT ordinary shares issued by Engie in June 2021, its stake in GTT's capital will be reduced to approximately 11%.

The proceeds of the transaction will be used for the general needs of Engie's business and to finance future growth. The energy group has agreed that the residual shares held in GTT will be subject to a 90-day retention commitment.

[grupo] 21/3/2022 22:17

Belgium to extend service of Doel 4 and Tihange 3 plants by 10 years

PowerNuclearReactor

By NS Energy Staff Writer 21 Mar 2022

Belgium seeks to strengthen the independence of fossil fuels in “turbulent geopolitical times” resulting from Russia’s war on Ukraine


The Belgian government has decided not to go ahead with a planned phaseout of nuclear power in the country by 2025 and will instead take the required measures to extend the life of two nuclear power plants by 10 years.

According to the government, the decision to extend the life of Doel 4 and Tihange 3 will strengthen the independence of fossil fuels during “turbulent geopolitical times”.

The move pertains to the extension of 2GW nuclear capacity. For this, the government will negotiate with French energy company Engie, which is the operator of the two plants.

Doel 4 has a capacity of 1.03GW and has been operating since 1985.

Like Doel 4, the Tihange 3 nuclear reactor has a capacity of 1.03GW and has been in service since 1985.

The government stated: “The Minister of Energy and the Prime Minister are asked to continue discussions with the European Commission on the impact of the extension on the capacity compensation mechanism (CRM). Discussions with operator Engie will also continue.”

A draft bill on the extension is planned to be submitted to the Council of Ministers by the end of this month.

It further stated: “The extension of the two nuclear power plants should not push the production of renewable electricity out of the market. That is why it will be examined, among other things, whether the nuclear power stations can also be used in the event of overproduction to kick-start the hydrogen market in Belgium.”

The government also revealed its intentions to inject €1.1bn for funding the country’s transition to climate neutrality and to expedite the reduction of its dependence on fossil fuels.

In December 2021, Belgium’s coalition government had revealed plans for the closure of the two nuclear power plants. As per the plan, plant closures were slated to begin this year with a final decision expected to be taken this month.

The government had been studying if the country’s energy security can be sustained without the nuclear plants.

To make up for the loss of power generation from nuclear, the government was planning to build two gas-fired power plants.

The change in decision by the Belgian government comes amid the ongoing war waged by Russia on Ukraine.

[the grumpy old men] 21/3/2022 10:53

50,000 households connected to solar power

By The Nation On Mar 20, 2022


ENGIE Energy Access, a leading provider of solar homes systems and mini-grid solutions in Nigeria announced the milestone of connecting 50,000 households to solar power and in turn impacting 250,000 lives across the country.

The company also recently extended its partnership with the Rural Electrification Agency of Nigeria (REA) via an addendum to the existing output-based fund (OBF) agreement, which provides grant subsidies to make electricity products more affordable for those who need it the most.




The grant was provided under REA’s Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP), a Federal Government initiative driven by the private sector and seeks to provide electricity access to households, micro, small and medium enterprises in off-grid communities, tertiary institutions and healthcare facilities across the country through renewable energy sources.

“Reaching this milestone is an incredible accomplishment for our team, and evidence of not just hard work, but our commitment to bringing clean, affordable energy to those without electricity access across Nigeria,” said Bankole Cardoso, Managing Director of ENGIE Energy Access Nigeria.

[grupo guitarlumber] 19/3/2022 07:52

ENGIE is focused on delivering a progressively growing and sustainable dividend for shareholders. With the publication of 2021 Financial Results, the Board has reaffirmed the Group’s dividend policy with a payout ratio of 65-75% of net recurring income Group share, and a floor of €0.65 per share for the 2021 to 2023 period.
For 2021, the Board has proposed a payout ratio of 66%. This translates to a dividend of €0.85 per share, which will be proposed for shareholder approval at the Annual General Meeting on the 21 April 2022.


Dividend calendar for fiscal year 2021:

April 22, 2022: last day to acquire shares and benefit from the dividend
April 25, 2022: ex-dividend date
April 27, 2022: dividend payment date