Diversified conglomerate General Electric Co. (GE) said it has completed the acquisition of Alstom SA’s power and grid businesses. The completion of the transaction, which is GE’s largest-ever industrial acquisition, follows the regulatory approval of the deal in over 20 countries and regions.

GE reached an agreement with Alstom in 2014 to purchase Alstom’s power and grid businesses for 12.35 billion euros.

Adjusting for the joint ventures announced in June 2014, changes in the deal structure, price adjustments for remedies, net cash at close, and including the effects of currency, the purchase price is 9.7 billion euros, or about $10.6 billion.

GE expects the deal to generate $0.05 to $0.08 of earnings per share in 2016 and $0.15 to $0.20 of earnings per share by 2018. GE is targeting $3 billion (€2.7bn) in cost synergies in year five and strong deal returns. The overall economics and strategic rationale remain the same as GE announced in April 2014.

GE chairman and chief executive officer Jeff Immelt said: “The completion of the Alstom power and grid acquisition is another significant step in GE’s transformation.”

GE also announced today it has completed the sale of its rail signaling business to Alstom for about $800 million (€725m).

The WavEC Seminar 2015 will take place on the 16th of November in Lisbon, Portugal and the B2B meetings at the French Embassy the day after.

These two events offer the opportunity to gather with several entities of the sector and allow attendees to have access to updated and quality information.

The theme of the meeting, entitled “Portugal and France: A driving force on research and innovation in Marine Renewable Energies”, is in partnership with the French Embassy and Institut Français. The event is supported under the high patronage of His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Portugal, with the presence of French, Portuguese and European top experts of the sector.

The following issues will be discussed:

– State of the Art in Portugal and France

– WavEC’s Competences and National and International Partnerships

– Actual Industrial and Technological Capabilities and Future Prospects

– European, French and Portuguese Vision and Development Support to the Sector

The Seminar will focus on the Portuguese supply chain that has obtained know-how through the development of several marine renewable energy (MRE) projects.

The visions of the European Commission, France and Portugal (both from the public and private sector) and the actions planned to start in order to stimulate the sector, as well as the multidisciplinary activities of WavEC will be highlighted in this Seminar.

Registration can be done online by following this link.

For the first time since 2009, the market value of the global mining sector has dropped below US$1 trillion (€909bn), according to a new report by SNL Metals and Mining.

While not by much, the crossing of the line clearly illustrates how battered mining stocks have been as of late.

In aggregate, the 2,684 listed companies tracked by SNL went down a bit over 9% in September alone and a more impressive 43% since mid-2014.

Only four years ago, during the peak of the so-called “mining boom”, the sector was worth nearly US$2.5 trillion (€2270bn).

To put things in perspective, SNL notes that the entire industry is now worth less than Apple and Google combined, which are valued at $650 billion (€590bn) and $440 billion (€400bn) respectively.

Despite this, SNL’s Pipeline Activity Index, which measures exploration and development activity, improved in September after a healthy increase in drilling activity and a slight uptick in announcements of initial resources:

“The upbeat picture was offset by a 50% drop in the number of financings by companies with annual revenue of less than US$500 million”, says SNL.

There were only 12 such financings of over US$2 million last month, compared with 24 in August and 36 in June. This represented the lowest number of financings by exploration companies since at least January 2012. However, the US$171 million raised in September (70% by Canadian companies) was 15% higher than the month before, although still only a third of the US$513 million registered in June.

Last month, most miners experienced one of the deepest intra-day losses in history, after a series of broker downgrades triggered by continued fears over China’s growth and falling commodities.

About $51 billion were wiped from the ASX alone, while on Asia, Europe and North America resources firms were at the forefront of a general sell-off.

On Tuesday, in a seemingly shocking move, environmental group Greenpeace has announced it plans to acquire coal mines and power plants owned by Swedish utility in eastern Germany.

This decision comes after the Swedish energy giant Vattenfall has decided to shed its eastern German lignite operations, after writing down the business by $1.8 billion in July, citing a drop in power prices and worsening business due to Germany’s transition to renewables.

But what the watchdog really seeks by buying such assets, one of Europe’s largest coal mining operations, is to transfer their ownership to a charitable foundation, paid for by Vattenfall and the German and Swedish governments, that would oversee the gradual closure of the coal field and six attendant power plants.

Greenpeace estimates the costs of phasing out the plants and replanting the nearby lands used for mining is about $2.27 billion (2bn euros). A sum they are, by no means, willing to fork out.

“We don’t want to pay any money for it, it’s worth nothing,” Greenpeace Energy leader, Nils Mueller, was quoted as saying by AFP.

The group says it intends to operate the mine through 2030, though its main goal is to persuade both Vattenfall and the Swedish government to adopt a transition plan that envisions job growth in renewables, storage, power to gas and other technologies.

Vattenfall’s eastern German operations employ around 8,000 in a region already affected by high rates of unemployment.

EDF Energy has reached an agreement with China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN) for a nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point, Somerset coast.

It was confirmed yesterday at a news conference by Prime Minister David Cameron and Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is in the middle of a four-day visit in England.

The mainly state-owned EDF said the final cost would be £18bn (€24.5bn). State-owned CGN will pay £6bn (€8.2bn) for one third of it (33.5% stake).

The companies also announced preliminary agreements to work together on two more nuclear power stations: Sizewell C in Suffolk and Bradwell in Essex. The latter has attracted particular criticism because it will give primary ownership of the project to CGN – and use Chinese technology.

While they have reached Strategic Investment Agreements for all three plants, only Hinkley has a target date. The plant was originally scheduled to open in 2017 but has been hit by a a series of delays. On Wednesday EDF said it would be constructed by 2025 although the subsidy agreement with the British government contains a clause allowing the plant to be completed no later than 2033.

BBC business editor Kamal Ahmed says the final investment decision, which should largely be a formality, by EDF and CGN will now be taken in the next few weeks.

The Hinkley Point project has come under fire over its cost and the delays to investment decisions and the timetable for building.

The government has also been criticised for guaranteeing a price of £92.50 per megawatt hour of electricity – more than twice the current cost (£40). – for the electricity Hinkley produces, which could mean higher bills for consumers. Even George Osborne’s father-in-law, former energy minister Lord Howell, has described the project as “one of the worst deals ever” for British consumers and industry.

The government said that 25,000 jobs will be created and enough energy to power six million homes, which is about 7% of the UK’s energy.

EDP Renováveis (EDPR) has signed an Investment Cooperation Agreement with China Three Gorges (CTG), allowing the latter up to a 30% stake in the up to 1.1GW Moray offshore wind project in Scotland.

CTG will be entitled to 30% of the equity and shareholder loans directly or indirectly owned by EDPR in the Moray Offshore Renewable (MORL), according to the agreement.

Signed by the firm’s subsidiary, EDPR UK, the deal furthers the strategic partnership between EDPR’s principal shareholder, Energias de Portugal (EDP), and CTG.

Following the deal, CTG will be involved in the investment, development and operation of the offshore wind project in the North Sea along with EDPR and other potential investors.

The CTG investment for the project is planned to be done in two stages.

The firm will initially invest 10%-20% when the UK Government announces a new Contract for Difference (CfD) auction allocation round.

An additional investment of up to 10% will be put forward by the Chinese firm once the project secures a CfD.

The Scottish Government has given its consent for the offshore wind project, which is expected to have a capacity for up to 1,116MW, in March 2014.

EDPR is likely to divide the project into a number of phases to allow ‘a proper bidding strategy’ for CfDs.

This equity sharing deal with CTG is subject to regulatory and third party approvals, and other precedent conditions.

French electric utility ENGIE and Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to collaborate on the energy value chain and technology.

The agreement includes development of technologies and solutions such as conventional and nuclear power plants, renewable energy technologies, and innovative services designed to increase energy-efficiency, optimise the use of resources and reduce CO2 emissions.

The companies will also develop technologies that will reduce emissions of electrical systems globally and increase process efficiency.

Also to be explored are the development of efficient gas turbines, along with a combination of electricity, heat and hydrogen, fuel cells, monitoring systems and the advancement of nuclear-related businesses delivering reliable carbon-free base-load electricity.

The MoU was announced after a meeting between French and Japanese Prime Ministers in Tokyo on 5 October.

The agreement builds on their long-term relationship as worldwide purchaser-suppliers, and partnerships.

MHI CEO Shunichi Miyanaga said: “The on-going systemic change of the energy sector and the need to drastically reduce greenhouse gases emissions call for shorter innovation cycles and a holistic view of the energy value chain: I’m convinced that closer cooperation between technology suppliers and utilities, as reflected in this MoU, will contribute to shorter times to market and a better response to the customer needs while using the energy resources with maximum efficiency.”

ENGIE CEO Gérard Mestrallet said: “The concluded cooperation agreement reflects our mutual commitment to provide the most up-to-date solutions for the energy sector across the globe, and will serve as a stepping stone to pave the way to explore new opportunities for cooperation leveraging our technical expertise and past experience of working together.”

They companies have already completed installation and commissioning of several projects worldwide.

Irish energy firm ESB announced an operating profit of €337 million, an increase of €10 million on the same period in 2014, although its progress was crimped by factors such as the weakening euro against sterling, according to interim financial statements released last Thursday.

ESB’s Chief Executive, Pat O’Doherty, said: “These results reflect a solid performance in the first half of 2015, while markets continue to be challenging as wholesale electricity prices remain low.

“ESB continues to deliver value for its customers, its shareholders, and for the Irish economy, while maintaining its financial strength and credit rating.”

Profit after tax was €201 million, an increase of €93 million on the same period in 2014.

UK-based energy-focused private equity firm Denham Capital has formed a partnership with Singapore-based Nexif Energy todevelop, finance, construct and acquire conventional and renewable power generation assets across South East Asia.

Nexif Energy founder and co-chief executive officer Surender Singh said: “South East Asia has a tremendous need for new power generation and we look forward to working with governments, our partners and the region’s communities to provide electricity solutions that are both economical and reliable.”

Nexif is an independent power management firm that has developed, financed, constructed or exited more than 4GW of projects, worth around $4.3bn, across Asia, Australia and the Middle East.

Matthew Bartley is also a co-founder and co-chief executive officer at Nexif.

Both firms are backed by significant experience and intend to take advantage of further opportunities in their target markets.

The new platform planned by the partners aims to initially establish itself as a power generation developer in South East Asia and Bangladesh, and is likely to expand across other regional markets in the future.

Denham Capital managing partner and co-president Scott Mackin said: “Denham Capital is delighted to partner with Surender, Matthew and their proven team with an outstanding track record in power sector.

“They are perfectly suited to build on our previous work in the region, which includes the successful development, construction and ultimate sale of our interest in GNPower’s 600MW Mariveles power generating plant in the Philippines.

“Through the Nexif Energy platform we anticipate investing more than $200m in project equity across the region.”

Denham Capital director Saurabh Anand said: “The partnership with Nexif follows our strategy of backing the best management teams to develop and construct contracted power generation assets in high-growth markets with a fundamental need for power.”

17 August 2015, source edie newsroom – Europe’s five biggest energy markets have added 8GW of wind and solar capacity in the first half of 2015, a new report has found.

The wind and solar capacities of the UK, Germany, Italy, France and Spain have grown to a combined total of around 175GW, according to Platts Renewable Power Tracker.

Germany added around 2.9GW of wind power in the first six months of 2015, with around 1.8GW of this coming from German North Sea wind farms.

The UK’s installed capacity of solar energy reached 7.7GW, as well as reaching 13.4GW of wind energy. The UK’s combined renewable energy output generated 2.7TWh of energy, according to Platts.

Wind and sun

Unseasonably high winds throughout the summer in Northern Europe and a heatwave around the Mediterranean helped to drive an average of a 25% increase in renewable energy generation in July, according to Platts.

German solar and wind energy outputs hit an all-time high, generating around 11TWh in July and increasing wind output by around 156% year on year.

In the UK, a wet and windy July led to high renewable energy generation in Scotland, with wind turbines powering 72% of Scottish households and generating 660,000MWh of electricity.

Renewable energy generation in the UK has recently hit new highs, generating 19% of the UK’s total electricity requirements. The increase in generation has been driven by developments of wind power, biomass and solar, with the UK’s offshore wind capacity passing 5GW in June this year.

Despite this increase in capacity and generation, renewable energy industry leaders have warned the sector is at risk of being “killed off” by recent changes by the Government to subsidies for renewable energy.