Republican state lawmakers and other opponents of offshore wind turbines have called for a 30- to 60-day moratorium to see if it reduces whale deaths. Offshore wind has been approved in New Jersey, but environmental groups have declined to join calls for a moratorium. The federal agency says there is no evidence offshore wind preparations are linked to whale deaths.
Australia's Snowy 2.0 hydropower project is facing delays of up to two years, potentially pushing its start-up until 2028. The delay was due to skilled labor shortages, complex designs, soft ground and supply chain disruptions. The project is expected to add 2,000 megawatts of capacity and store enough energy to power 3 million homes for a week. Construction was suspended in March due to ground collapse.
The Ukrainian government has approved a new strategy for energy development to 2050, which aims to achieve carbon neutrality in the energy sector by 2050. It considers the consequences of the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian war, the consequences of joining the European electricity grid with transmission system operators, and the emergence of the latest technologies in the energy sector. Energy Minister Herman Galushenko said Ukraine aims to increase the share of renewable energy in power generation to 50 percent to strengthen energy security.
Renewable energy accounted for 50.3 percent of Germany's electricity consumption in the first three months of this year, according to the BDEW and the Solar and Hydrogen Research Center. Germany wants green energy from solar, wind, biomass and hydropower to make up 80 percent of its energy mix by 2030. Domestic electricity generation fell by 8.3% to 147.5 TWh, with renewables accounting for 47.1%. Conventional energy sources provided 78 TWh.
U.S.-based green hydrogen electrolyzer maker Ohmium International has closed a $250 million Series C growth equity round led by TPG Rise Climate. The funding will support Ohmium's expansion of its annual manufacturing capacity to 2 GW, as well as deployment projects for its global customer pipeline. It will also provide funding to expand Ohmium's operations, including accelerating its pioneering research and development program to reduce the cost of green hydrogen production. Barclays and BofA Securities acted as placement agents and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Spice Route Legal acted as legal counsel.
India is accelerating project installations to meet its target of 500 GW of clean energy generation capacity by 2030. The government plans to auction 15 GW of projects in each of the first two quarters of this fiscal year, followed by 10 GW of project accommodation in the subsequent two quarters. The state-run electricity company will conduct the auction for the government. Rising energy demand is prompting some states to consider new long-term renewable energy deals.