Brookfield Renewable to invest up to $1 billion in Isagen
As a part of the deal, Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), an existing co-investor in Isagen, will also invest about $500 million and increase its equity interest in Isagen to about 15%.
The investment will be funded through a combination of proceeds from non-recourse financings at the business and available liquidity, Brookfield said.
Isagen generates stable and contracted cash flows from its large fleet of hydro assets. In addition, it also has a pipeline of renewable power projects, to support Colombia's growing power needs.
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2 hours ago
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Influx of long-only funds signals a shift at PTSB
E amonn Crowley, chief executive of PTSB, should buy one of those bar-room signs that declares how all patrons make us happy: some by coming, some by leaving. Last week Crowley would have been happy enough to see NatWest leave the register, and absolutely delirious to welcome Fidelity International and Wellington Management in its stead. The British bank was an accidental investor; its stake part payment for the loan book and deposits sold to PTSB as part of Ulster Bank's exit from the market. It was never a long-term holder. Fidelity and Wellington are long-only funds, the kind of members every public company wants in its club. Forget the ruffian, event-driven hedge funds, these boys are quality. Wellington (5.8 per cent) and Fidelity (4.2 per cent) still rank behind waste magnate Eamon Waters's Sretaw (7.1 per cent). It's possible that all three could look to edge up to just below the 10 per cent level that requires Central Bank of Ireland approval. The big hope is that the two funds will attract other long-term investors.
BBC News
3 hours ago
- BBC News
The rise of green tech is feeding another environmental crisis
Raquel Celina Rodriguez watches her step as she walks across the Vega de Tilopozo in Chile's Atacama salt flats. It's a wetland, known for its groundwater springs, but the plain is now dry and cracked with holes she explains were once pools."Before, the Vega was all green," she says. "You couldn't see the animals through the grass. Now everything is dry." She gestures to some grazing generations, her family raised sheep here. As the climate changed, and rain stopped falling, less grass made that much it worsened when "they" started taking the water, she explains. "They" are lithium companies. Beneath the salt flats of the Atacama Desert lie the world's largest reserves of lithium, a soft, silvery-white metal that is an essential component of the batteries that power electric cars, laptops and solar energy the world transitions to more renewable energy sources, the demand for it has soared. In 2021, about 95,000 tonnes of lithium was consumed globally - by 2024 it had more than doubled to 205,000 tonnes, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). By 2040 it's predicted to rise to more than 900,000 tonnes. Most of the increase will be driven by demand for electric car batteries, the IEA say environmental costs to them have risen this soaring demand has raised the question: is the world's race to decarbonise unintentionally stoking another environmental problem? Flora, flamingos and shrinking lagoons Chile is the second-largest producer of lithium globally after Australia. In 2023, the government launched a National Lithium Strategy to ramp up production through partly nationalising the industry and encouraging private finance minister previously said the increase in production could be by up to 70% by 2030, although the mining ministry says no target has been set. This year, a major milestone to that is set to be reached. A planned joint enterprise between SQM and Chile's state mining company Codelco has just secured regulatory approval for a quota to extract at least 2.5 million metric tonnes of lithium metal equivalent per year and boost production until government has framed the plans as part of the global fight against climate change and a source of state companies predominantly extract lithium by pumping brine from beneath Chile's salt flats to evaporation pools on the surface. The process extracts vast amounts of water in this already drought-prone region. Faviola Gonzalez is a biologist from the local indigenous community working in the Los Flamencos National Reserve, in the middle of the Atacama Desert, home to vast salt flats, marshes and lagoons and some 185 species of birds. She has monitored how the local environment is changing."The lagoons here are smaller now," she says. "We've seen a decrease in the reproduction of flamingos."She said lithium mining impacts microorganisms that birds feed on in these waters, so the whole food chain is points to a spot where, for the first time in 14 years, flamingo chicks hatched this year. She attributes the "small reproductive success" to a slight reduction in water extraction in 2021, but says, "It's small.""Before there were many. Now, only a few."The underground water from the Andes, rich in minerals, is "very old" and replenishes slowly."If we are extracting a lot of water and little is entering, there is little to recharge the Salar de Atacama," she explains. Damage to flora has also been found in some areas. On property in the salt flats, mined by the Chilean company SQM, almost one-third of the native "algarrobo" (or carob) trees had started dying as early as 2013 due to the impacts of mining, according to a report published in 2022 by the US-based National Resources Defense the issue extends beyond Chile too. In a report for the US-based National Resources Defense Council in 2022, James J. A. Blair, an assistant professor at California State Polytechnic University, wrote that lithium mining is "contributing to conditions of ecological exhaustion", and "may decrease freshwater availability for flora and fauna as well as humans".He did, however, say that it is difficult to find "definitive" evidence on this topic. Mitigating the damage Environmental damage is of course inevitable when it comes to mining. "It's hard to imagine any kind of mining that does not have a negative impact," says Karen Smith Stegen, a political science professor in Germany, who studies the impacts of lithium mining across the issue is that mining companies can take steps to mitigate that damage. "What [mining companies] should have done from the very beginning was to involve these communities," she example, before pumping lithium from underground, companies could carry out "social impact assessments" - reviews which take into account the broad impact their work will have on water, wildlife, and communities. For their part, mining companies now say they are listening. The Chilean firm SQM is one of the main one of their plants in Antofagasta, Valentín Barrera, Deputy Manager of Sustainability at SQM Lithium, says the firm is working closely with communities to "understand their concerns" and carrying out environmental impact feels strongly that in Chile and globally "we need more lithium for the energy transition."He adds that the firm is piloting new technologies. If successful, the idea is to roll these out in their Salar de Atacama include both extracting lithium directly from brine, without evaporation pools, and technologies to capture evaporated water and re-inject it into the land."We are doing several pilots to understand which one works better in order to increase production but reduce at least 50% of the current brine extraction," he said. He says the pilot in Antofagasta has recovered "more than one million cubic metres" of water. "Starting in 2031, we are going to start this transition."But the locals I spoke to are sceptical. "We believe the Salar de Atacama is like an experiment," Faviola says it's unknown how the salt flats could "resist" this new technology and the reinjection of water and fears they are being used as a "natural laboratory."Sara Plaza, whose family also raised animals in the same community as Raquel, is anxious about the changes she has seen in her lifetime. She remembers water levels dropping from as early as 2005 but says "the mining companies never stopped extracting." Sara becomes tearful when she speaks about the future."The salt flats produce lithium, but one day it will end. Mining will end. And what are the people here going to do? Without water, without agriculture. What are they going to live on?""Maybe I won't see it because of my age, but our children, our grandchildren will."She believes mining companies have extracted too much water from an ecosystem already struggling from climate change."It's very painful," she adds. "The companies give the community a little money, but I'd prefer no money. "I'd prefer to live off nature and have water to live." The impact of water shortages Sergio Cubillos is head of the association for the Peine community, where Sara and Raquel says Peine has been forced to change "our entire drinking water system, electrical system, water treatment system" because of water shortages."There is the issue of climate change, that it doesn't rain anymore, but the main impact has been caused by extractive mining," he says since it started in the 1980s, companies have extracted millions of cubic metres of water and brine – hundreds of litres per second."Decisions are made in Santiago, in the capital, very far from here," he says. He believes that if the President wants to fight climate change, like he said when he ran for office, he needs to involve "the indigenous people who have existed for millennia in these landscapes."Sergio understands that lithium is very important for transitioning to renewable energy but says his community should not be the "bargaining chip" in these community has secured some economic benefits and oversight with companies but is worried about plans to ramp up says while seeking technologies to reduce the impact on water is welcome that "can't be done sitting at a desk in Santiago, but rather here in the territory." Chile's government stresses there has been "ongoing dialogue with indigenous communities" and they have been consulted over the new Codelco-SQM joint venture's contracts to address concerns around water issues, new technologies and contributions to the says increasing production capacity will be based on incorporating new technologies to minimise the environmental and social impact and that the high "value" of lithium due to its role in the global energy transition could provide "opportunities" for the country's economic though worries about their area being a "pilot project" and says if the impact of new technology is negative, "We will put all our strength into stopping the activity that could end with Peine being forgotten." A small part of a global dilemma The Salar de Atacama is a case study for a global dilemma. Climate change is causing droughts and weather changes. But one of the world's current solutions is – according to locals – exacerbating is a common argument from people who support lithium mining: that even if it damages the environment, it brings huge benefits via jobs and Jimenez, from lithium consultancy iLiMarkets, in Santiago, takes this argument a step further. He claims that environmental damage has been exaggerated by communities who want a pay-out. "This is about money," he argues. "Companies have poured a lot of money into improving roads, schools – but the claims of communities really go back to the fact they want money."But Prof Stegen is unconvinced. "Mining companies always like to say, 'There are more jobs, you're going to get more money'," she says. "Well, that's not particularly what a lot of indigenous communities want. It actually can be disruptive if it changes the structure of their own traditional economy [and] it affects their housing costs."The jobs are not the be all and end all for what these communities want." In Chile, those I spoke to didn't talk about wanting more money. Nor are they opposed to measures to tackle climate change. Their main question is why they are paying the price."I think for the cities maybe lithium is good," Raquel says. "But it also harms us. We don't live the life we used to live here."Faviola does not think electrifying alone is the solution to climate change."We all must reduce our emissions," she says. "In developed countries like the US and Europe the energy expenditure of people is much greater than here in South America, among us indigenous people.""Who are the electric cars going to be for? Europeans, Americans, not us. Our carbon footprint is much smaller.""But it's our water that's being taken. Our sacred birds that are disappearing."Top image credit: Getty Images BBC InDepth is the home on the website and app for the best analysis, with fresh perspectives that challenge assumptions and deep reporting on the biggest issues of the day. And we showcase thought-provoking content from across BBC Sounds and iPlayer too. You can send us your feedback on the InDepth section by clicking on the button below.
BBC News
3 hours ago
- BBC News
'Great British Energy solar panels' for schools were made in China
The first schools in England to install what the government described as "Great British Energy solar panels" were made in China, the BBC has first 11 schools involved in the GB Energy scheme bought solar panels from Aiko and Longi, two Chinese government said the scheme was "the first major project for Great British Energy - a company owned by the British people, for the British people".Labour MP Sarah Champion said GB Energy should be buying solar panels from companies in the UK rather than China, where there have been allegations of forced labour in supply chains. "I'm really excited about the principle of GB Energy," she told BBC News. "But it's taxpayers' money and we should not be supporting slave labour with that money. And wherever possible, we should be supporting good working practices and buy British if we can."She added: "That means that yes, unfortunately, in the short term, solar panels are probably going to be slightly more expensive."There are solar panels made around the world in Taiwan, Canada, even in the UK."Longi and Aiko both told the BBC they forbid forced labour in their production and supply is the world's leading producer of solar panels and the suppliers in the Xinjiang region have been linked to the alleged exploitation of Uyghur this year, the law was changed to ban GB Energy from investing in renewables if there is evidence of modern slavery in their has dominated the market and, according to the International Energy Agency, the country's global share in all the manufacturing stages of solar panels exceeds 80%.Champion, who is chair of the International Development Select Committee, said "abuse in renewable supply chains is insidious and hard to root out".But she urged ministers to exclude known human-rights offenders from winning public contracts.A GB Energy spokesperson said all of the solar contracts issued under the schools initiative complied with the UK's modern slavery rules. The Xinjiang challenge Up to 50% of the world's supply of polysilicon - a key component in solar panels - is estimated to come from the Xinjiang Candlish is the director of GB-Sol, which calls itself the only manufacturer of conventional solar panels in the said polysilicon was "a key social issue facing our industry, with the risk of forced labour in the main mining areas".He added: "The global solar market is so dominated by China that it is difficult to avoid buying Chinese if you want the low cost energy and low carbon benefits of solar PV."Many businesses and governments - including the UK's - buy Chinese solar panels because they are cheaper than those made thirds (68%) of the solar panels imported by the UK came from China in 2024, according to HMRC trade data. That's an increase on the figure in 2023, when Chinese products accounted for 61% of UK solar imports.A report by Sheffield Hallam University in 2023 linked various solar companies to suppliers in the Xinjiang of the report's authors, Alan Crawford, said the general lack of transparency in the entire solar supply chain was greater now than it was in 2023, when his Over-Exposed report was published."Companies that were willing to comment are now silent," he said. 'Ethical supply chains' GB Energy is a state-owned company that was set up by the Labour government to invest in renewables, such as solar its first big investment, GB Energy is spending about £200m on rooftop solar for 200 schools and NHS hospitals across the first tranche of this funding has been spent on the Chinese solar panels for the 11 Department for Education told the BBC which companies had made the solar panels in response to a freedom of information request.A GB Energy spokesperson said the company would "lead the way in ethical supply chains" and insisted there was "no place for forced labour or unethical practices in the UK's energy transition".The spokesperson added: "That is why we are introducing a statutory duty on Great British Energy to prevent modern slavery in its supply chains, and reviewing supplier transparency and disclosure standards to ensure confidence in all public-facing renewable programmes."All contracts issued under this schools and hospitals solar initiative complied with UK procurement rules, including extensive requirements under the Modern Slavery Act."GBE will seek to uphold these requirements in its contracting arrangements and are actively engaging with international partners to raise the bar globally on solar supply chain accountability." China has been accused of committing crimes against humanity against the Uyghur population and other mostly-Muslim ethnic groups in the north-western region of state-sponsored programmes, detainees are forced to produce goods including polysilicon, a core ingredient in solar panels, according to the US Department of Chinese government has denied all allegations of human rights abuses in and Aiko are both members of the Solar Stewardship Initiative, which is a scheme designed to develop confidence in the supply chain and the responsible sourcing of solar Aiko spokesperson said the company was "committed to upholding the highest standards of ethical business conduct and responsible sourcing"."We take any concerns related to human rights and labour practices seriously and expect our suppliers to do the same," the spokesperson said."As part of our ongoing efforts, we engage with suppliers to promote transparency and continuous improvement in line with international guidelines. We are also closely monitoring global supply chain developments and remain committed to working with stakeholders to support a fair and sustainable solar industry."Longi said it regretted the findings of the Sheffield Hallam University report and "categorically affirms that forced labour has no place within our supply chain".A company spokesperson said the conclusions in the Over-Exposed report "may not fully reflect the comprehensive measures Longi has implemented to ensure full compliance with international labour standards"."Independent third-party audits play a critical role in verifying compliance and identifying potential risks," the spokesperson said."While the complexity of global supply chains presents challenges, Longi remains steadfast in its efforts to eliminate any risks associated with forced labour."
