Renewable Energy

Brookfield flips AGL out of furnace into coal fire

7 Mar 2022

The Canadian fund manager and its tech billionaire partner are abandoning a green takeover plan after their sweetened $6 bln bid was rejected. It leaves the Aussie power producer grappling with a weak demerger proposal and a pushy investor. Boss Graeme Hunt will feel the heat.

Capital Calls: Ford’s private equity playbook

2 Mar 2022

Concise views on global finance: The Detroit automaker’s reorganization plan makes explicit the goal of squeezing its traditional car business for cash to fund its electric future.

Chevron’s green fuel deal is cheap and cheerful

28 Feb 2022

The $276 bln oil giant is buying sustainable diesel firm Renewable Energy for around $3 bln. A solid investment return makes it financially sensible. It's also a bet on the transition away from fossil fuels. For now, though, it's a tiny one compared to Chevron's European peers.

U.N. climate report takes aim at net-zero 2050

28 Feb 2022

The world is moving too slowly to stop global warming, per the multinational body’s latest study. Ditching fossil fuels will reduce natural and man-made disasters. But too many governments and companies use the mid-century emissions targets to delay action. That’s unsustainable.

Ukraine war gives impetus to climate backsliders

24 Feb 2022

Politicians are supposed to be fast-tracking decarbonisation. Russia’s invasion may speed the long-term shift to renewable energy. But it could also empower fossil fuel fans to ease energy security fears via new supply. Investors, lured by high crude prices, may go along with it.

Brookfield Aussie coal bid hits toxic smokescreens

23 Feb 2022

The asset manager and its Atlassian CEO partner’s $3.6 bln offer for AGL deserves some pushback for its scant premium and competition issues. But government scaremongering that a deal could raise energy prices throws ugly light on official resistance to the energy transition.

Brookfield drafts inspired climate-deal blueprint

21 Feb 2022

The Canadian investor and Atlassian co-CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes want to buy AGL for A$5 bln and spend up to A$20 bln more to make the coal-heavy company a renewable-energy powerhouse. It’s a potent idea that others could emulate. The price to get started will be higher, however.

EDF minorities’ cash better off in their pockets

18 Feb 2022

The 25 bln euro French energy group is raising 2.5 bln euros via a rights issue to plug holes left by plant outages and state interventions. EDF is integral to France’s nuclear power ambitions. But its issues give ample reason for non-state investors not to plough in more money.

Aussie coal exits put dithering government on spot

17 Feb 2022

Origin wants to shut the country’s largest plant powered by the fossil fuel seven years early, following rivals’ lead. It drew ire from the ruling coalition, whose green-transition plan is lacklustre. Renewables have won the economic fight; the political battle is a slower burn.

BHP’s deal willpower put to ultimate test

15 Feb 2022

A record $7.6 bln interim dividend speaks to the miner’s rude health. Boss Mike Henry sees opportunities from inflation and less risk in China. His confidence and a simplified share structure make capital discipline even harder in the quest to bulk up on energy-transition metals.

High power prices are no reason to ditch net zero

14 Feb 2022

Some politicians blame soaring energy costs on the global drive to cut carbon emissions. Yet climate change policies don’t explain the price spike, while investment in oil and gas is high enough. The criticism risks undermining tougher challenges like reducing demand for power.

Naturgy split may be less than sum of its parts

11 Feb 2022

The 25 bln euro Spanish power group is putting renewable energy and gas under one roof and fencing off its regulated network business. It could create value if investors see gas as less worthy of a discount than they have in the past. But that’s a pretty big if.

Top Aussie polluter sets up new investing quandary

10 Feb 2022

Poor earnings and market reluctance to finance fossil fuels left AGL Energy scrambling to fund the coal-heavy unit it is demerging. The company’s latest idea is a separate fund for renewables, but it also seems to be repeating a pitch for state aid. It’s a hard mix to swallow.

BP inserts wind in sails of its energy transition

8 Feb 2022

The $110 bln UK group joined oil peers in reporting bumper results. But it also pledged to maintain fossil fuel profitability despite cutting output, and gave new 2030 targets for its low-carbon growth business. That could start to revive its becalmed valuation.

Offshore wind power gets a tartan quantum leap

7 Feb 2022

The green energy’s drawback is its major use of scarce coastal shelf. Scotland’s recent auction of 15 gigawatts of floating turbines, enough to power 60% of UK homes, changes the game. The economies of scale created should make a nascent technology cost-competitive quicker.

Siemens Gamesa’s new Mr. Fixit can take his time

3 Feb 2022

The wind turbine maker has ousted its second CEO in two years. As another German, Jochen Eickholt may get a frosty reception from Spanish bits of the firm. Parent Siemens Energy won’t mind. The longer Gamesa’s woes drag on, the easier it will be to buy out minority investors.

Siemens Energy wind fix would be worth the money

28 Jan 2022

The German group may buy out minority investors at struggling wind-turbine subsidiary Gamesa. The 5 bln euro bill sounds steep, especially as the problems may be temporary. Yet Siemens Energy can afford it, and it would get to keep the upside for itself when wind power scales up.

The Exchange: Hydrogen wave

27 Jan 2022

Can green hydrogen decarbonise big chunks of our economies? Air Products CEO Seifi Ghasemi, who’s backing the carbon-free gas in a major Saudi Arabia project, thinks so. He tells Lisa Jucca how his $61 bln group plans to be the world’s top green hydrogen producer in five years.

New backer would fuel Aussie hydrogen hype machine

25 Jan 2022

Fortescue’s ambitious plans to use the gas for renewable energy help it trade at a premium to mining peers. Scant detail raises concerns, however. Chair Andrew Forrest could ease them by selling a stake in the FFI green unit, as GM and Ford did with their self-driving outfits.

Eni’s quirky rejig may turn rivals green with envy

24 Jan 2022

Italy’s $54 bln oil major may list stakes in its green energy and biofuels arms, as well as a Norwegian subsidiary. That’s different from rivals which are financing green investments by selling fossil fuels. Yet if Eni’s spinoffs get cheaper financing, others may follow suit.