Renewable Energy

Financial fallout is hardwired into new nuclear

26 Jan 2024

France’s EDF wants help with the costs of its Hinkley Point C plant, which now exceed 30 bln pounds. Britain can say no, but needs the power. Globally nuclear capacity is supposed to treble by 2050, but future investor, state and customer spats on overruns look inevitable.

Time for EU to assist its solar panel industry

17 Jan 2024

Meyer Burger’s stock tanked 35% after it threatened to shut Europe’s biggest photovoltaic plant unless it gets German incentives. Stuck between US subsidies and cheap Chinese products, continental players are weak. Turning support for fossil fuels into green aid would help.

Green backlash will spread to European Parliament

3 Jan 2024

Pro-environment parties risk losing clout in June’s pan-EU vote. That will reinforce a strengthening bond between conservatives and far-right forces wary of the industrial and social cost of the clean transition. The EU’s ambitious Green Deal will get a paler hue.

Capital Calls: Eni’s green sale

22 Dec 2023

Concise views on global finance: The Italian energy major’s 10 bln euro valuation for its retail-and-renewables arm Plenitude is more likely to be recreated or exceeded if it avoids a rushed listing.

Green investors will learn the art of stockpicking

21 Dec 2023

Wind and solar stocks had a torrid 2023, as stars like Orsted crashed. But renewables investment is strong, input cost inflation is abating and rates may have peaked. Investors able to pick developers in the right sector, or suppliers in the right regions, may find bargains.

BP and Equinor will find common ground

20 Dec 2023

The British oil major is undervalued against peers and is in a leadership vacuum. That makes it vulnerable to a takeover as US mega-mergers shake up the sector. Daring to tie up with Norwegian ally Equinor offers a powerful hedge and a springboard.

COP28 deal just about keeps net zero on the road

13 Dec 2023

Nations at the climate shindig agreed to start transitioning away from fossil fuels. The wording could have been tougher and clearer, and the world still faces harmful warming. But the Dubai meeting could have yielded a damaging standstill, rather than a baby step forward.

Global energy fissures are a risk for the West

12 Dec 2023

Falling oil prices despite recent cuts imply a weak OPEC+. Yet the producer group may increasingly align with other emerging market states on areas like Russia and climate change. In this Exchange podcast commodities expert Helima Croft says that’s an issue for Europe and the US.

Energy transition investing is caught in traps

8 Dec 2023

COP28 attendees pledged to triple renewables, but there’s still no plan to quit fossil fuel. Brookfield’s $13 bln joint bid for Aussie emitter Origin lined up a poster child deal for how companies can make the leap. Its failure has lessons for the world’s broader efforts.

Renewable will increasingly mean mostly solar

7 Dec 2023

Cheap green power is eating coal and gas, but solar's price is falling fast. It isn’t an exact wind substitute, so even costly offshore farms have a future. Texas shows the future, where solar now accounts for 7% of generation and has grown 5 times as fast as wind since 2019.

COP28 wrestles with the nuances of binning oil

7 Dec 2023

The global climate conference in Dubai has seen its fossil fuel-rich UAE host criticised for appearing to contest the need to phase out crude. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists discuss how the picture is a bit more complex.

Capital Calls: Roche, Brookfield/Origin

4 Dec 2023

Concise views on global finance: The $224 bln Swiss drugmaker is splurging $2.7 bln on obesity drug developer Carmot; the Canadian investment firm’s joint $13 bln bid for Origin Energy has failed. The trick now is to show what lessons it’s learned from its 16-month-plus campaign.

Every country needs an Inflation Reduction Act

23 Nov 2023

The US's $370 bln in green subsidies left allies fearing they’d be at a disadvantage. Now they’re realising that adapting the blueprint can unlock private capital, boost economies and speed up the energy transition. Funding remains a challenge, but not an insurmountable one.

Britain solves half of its wind power problem

16 Nov 2023

After a humiliating failed auction, the UK is hiking green energy subsidies. That will draw bidders, and the resulting power should still be cheaper than gas. But to hit a target of 50 GW of offshore wind by 2030, PM Rishi Sunak will need to allot more cash in new bidding rounds.

Siemens Energy solves just one of its many issues

15 Nov 2023

CEO Christian Bruch got 12 bln euros of financial guarantees, including from the German state, which fixes the turbine maker’s urgent problem. But he now faces dividend and bonus restrictions. And reviving the struggling wind-power unit will involve racking up yet more losses.

Capital Calls: Disney’s Marvel flop, US inflation

14 Nov 2023

Concise views on global finance: Bob Iger’s prized acquisitions Marvel, Pixar and Lucasfilm are losing their mojo, just as his dealmaking mettle is being tested; inflation has eased even as growth looks strong, but warnings from consumers and companies signal potential weakness.

Wind woe opens door for alternative green ideas

9 Nov 2023

Shares of Orsted and Siemens Energy are being battered by their inability to boost profits. In this Viewsroom podcast, Breakingviews columnists explain how trouble in offshore wind may encourage investors to back other clean energy segments like battery storage, cables and solar.

Orsted’s losing US bets need rethink of UK plans

1 Nov 2023

The Danish wind giant lost a fifth of its value after a surprising $4 bln impairment in the States. That erases most of the capex spent there. Yet it still wants to invest in the world’s biggest economy to meet its lofty targets, a risky gamble that requires restraint in Britain.

Germany faces tricky call on Siemens Energy aid

26 Oct 2023

The $6 bln firm’s shares slumped 34% on fears banks might not issue guarantees for its projects. Berlin would usually expect investors like parent Siemens, which has a 25% stake, to step in. Yet as Europe ramps up clean energy, there’s a case for state help for existing players.

How to spur investments in greener power grids

24 Oct 2023

Electricity networks need to be upgraded and adapted to a carbon-free world. That means doubling investments to $750 bln a year. With returns uncertain, attracting cash is not easy, Secure Meters CEO Suket Singhal argues in this Exchange podcast. New pricing models would help.