Renewable Energy

Total is least-bad pick for confused oil investors

29 Apr 2021

First-quarter results show the French group and rivals BP and Royal Dutch Shell rebounding from last year’s woes. Yet BP’s turn to wind and solar may be too sharp and Shell’s too relaxed. For now, Total’s balanced green ambition and fat dividend look more appealing.

Capital Calls: Chubb and Hartford, Swimming pools

22 Apr 2021

Concise views on global finance: The company led by Evan Greenberg twice raised its bid for its Connecticut rival, but so far to no avail; a blowout quarter for private-pool maker Pool Corp points to buoyant wealth and spending trends, but only for some.

Negative UK power prices bolster hydrogen hype

22 Apr 2021

British electricity prices are falling into the red more often due to wind farms cranking up output on blustery days. As with crude oil’s shock slump last year, it’s a sign of power markets working, not breaking. It also helps justify lofty valuations for hydrogen-related firms.

Capital Calls: Trucking IPO

7 Apr 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: Startup TuSimple will be listing shares via a traditional initial public offering.

Mozambique’s gas loss could be green energy’s gain

6 Apr 2021

Islamic State attacks near future LNG sites have shattered the African state’s dreams of gas production. Plants planned by Total and Exxon Mobil constitute 8% of current world demand. If they are never built, a mid-decade price spike may hasten a global pivot to renewable power.

Capital Calls: Elon Musk, LeBron James

1 Apr 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: Endeavor, Ari Emanuel’s entertainment group, is hoping the Tesla boss’s stardust will help a second attempt at an IPO; the basketball star’s stake in the Red Sox is a foil to Steve Cohen’s Mets deal.

U.S. offshore wind set to hit gale force growth

31 Mar 2021

The first big project, worth $2.8 bln, is on track for a final green light. Europe already has 30 times as much capacity. Slow approvals have left U.S. wind power in the doldrums but with costs now lower than some fossil fuels and falling fast, opposition will be blown away.

Aussie power giant spins into climate quandary

30 Mar 2021

AGL Energy hopes running its generation and retail units as separate businesses will lift its slumping stock. But CEO Brett Redman’s pitch is short on financial detail, envisions himself as boss of both parts, and leaves the $5 bln company heavily reliant on fossil fuels.

National Grid’s $11 bln green switch looks smart

18 Mar 2021

The UK infrastructure operator is buying a big chunk of the local electricity distribution network, paid for by selling some of its U.S. arm and UK gas assets. CEO John Pettigrew is betting power assets will grow faster as the energy transition speeds up. It’s worth paying for.

Antipodean wind deal harnesses three power sources

15 Mar 2021

Two companies divvying up New Zealand’s Tilt Renewables for $2.1 bln are paying a 99% premium and 96 times earnings. The scarcity of green assets is one driver. A fragmented market is another. The buyers need their governments to fulfil clean energy pledges to justify the price.

South Africa enters greener bond-market crosshairs

11 Mar 2021

With 90% of its power coming from coal, the Rainbow Nation is one of the worst CO2 emitters. Mining’s political heft also means foot-dragging on climate policy. With big external funding needs, the kick from bond investors when they flick the green switch will hurt hardest.

Capital Calls: American Airlines, Crypto PayPal

8 Mar 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: The U.S. carrier is issuing new debt and hocking some airline miles to pay back the U.S. Treasury loan that carried restrictions on pay and dividends; PayPal investors give a shrug over another dive into bitcoin-land.

UK $3 bln power LBO relies on big green reboot

5 Mar 2021

Aggreko, which rents out generators, agreed a deal with private equity buyers TDR and I Squared Capital. The company suffered from virus-hit event cancellations, and needs investment to ditch dirty diesel units. A green makeover may deliver a higher valuation, and juicy returns.

Japan and Oz utility reflect on climate sins

5 Mar 2021

A fund is suing Tokyo for backtracking on promised renewable-energy incentives. Australian electricity provider AGL just took a $1.5 bln hit on pricey long-term wind contracts. Each would have been better off taking the other’s approach.

Capital Calls: OPEC+, Michaels

4 Mar 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: Recovery concerns keep a lid on the oil cartel’s supply taps; Apollo tries its hand at craft retailer Michaels.

Capital Calls: BoE, Soros, Infrastructure, Pay

3 Mar 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: The Bank of England starts to embrace the green transition; George Soros has some advice for France; Joe Biden gets a timely reminder of the importance of infrastructure; climate laggards risk getting hit in their wallets.

Xi’s green campaign will restructure state sector

3 Mar 2021

Shares in energy champions like Sinopec are rallying as they announce plans to serve Beijing’s carbon-neutral push. State firms generate 4.5% of global GDP; cleaning them would pay big dividends. But smaller players can’t pivot so easily. Green progress means dirty defaults.

Indian renewables SPAC sets temperate tone

24 Feb 2021

Goldman-backed ReNew Power is listing in New York via a blank-cheque firm. It’s a decent bet on India’s pivot to clean energy, with a structure and valuation that factor in the industry’s flaky customers. Future Asian SPAC deals in waiting may not be so well grounded.

Review: Bill Gates engineers climate risk clarity

19 Feb 2021

In “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster” the Microsoft founder argues states should throw money at climate change research. Technology will indeed be critical in figuring out how to eliminate carbon emissions. But his book’s main quality is to define the challenge in a graspable way.

Viewsroom: Tesla/bitcoin, Hydrogen, French finance

11 Feb 2021

Elon Musk has gone full cryptocurrency. Tesla’s $1.5 bln bitcoin buy is a wink to virtual-investment, anti-establishment fervor, if a challenge to accounting rules, Richard Beales argues. Meantime, Japanese carmakers are going gaga for hydrogen, and Parisian finance is in tumult.