Latest news with #renewables
South China Morning Post
a day ago
- General
- South China Morning Post
Asean's renewable push needs inclusive economic models
Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@ or filling in this Google form . Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification In South Papua, Indonesia, nine-year-old Ulin spends hours each day collecting water and firewood – time that could be spent in school or learning online. Her village, once reliant on diesel generators, has struggled to afford fuel amid rising costs. With the nearest grid over 50km away, communities like hers are left quite literally in the dark. Such stories highlight a deeper issue. While Southeast Asia's economies are growing rapidly, access to reliable, affordable and clean electricity remains uneven. The International Energy Agency estimates that about 35 million people in the region still lack electricity, and that more than 100 million rely on traditional biomass or kerosene for cooking. As the global energy transition accelerates, we must remember a fundamental principle: no one should be left behind. A just transition means more than swapping fossil fuels for renewables; it's about ensuring communities have the energy they need to thrive, from hospitals to schools to homes. Progress requires more than large-scale infrastructure. It demands inclusive economic models, resilient institutions and tailored support for rural and marginalised populations. Southeast Asian governments have advanced regional cooperation on renewables, yet deployment on the ground remains uneven. Urban and wealthier communities often benefit first, while poorer regions face hurdles in financing and technical support.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
BP Sells U.S. Onshore Wind Assets, Realigns Focus on Oil & Gas
BP plc BP, a British oil and gas giant, has entered into an agreement to divest its U.S. onshore wind business to LS Power, a U.S.-based energy firm. This move is part of BP's 'strategic reset', announced in February 2025, to shift focus to its traditional oil and gas business and scale back its expansion toward renewables. The energy giant has been facing criticism in recent years from investors due to its underperformance compared to its rivals in the energy sector. By divesting non-core assets and shifting its focus back to the traditional oil and gas business, BP intends to improve shareholder returns and address investor concerns. The company plans to deliver divestment proceeds worth over $3-$4 billion in 2025. BP's onshore wind business in the United States, named bp Wind Energy, includes 10 operational wind projects across seven states. The wind farms have a cumulative capacity of nearly 1.7 GW, of which BP owns 1.3 GW. Of the 10 operational projects, five are wholly owned by the British energy firm. BP holds a 50% stake in the other five projects. The company stated that the divestment of its US onshore wind business had taken place after a 10-month competitive bidding process, indicating strong interest from several buyers. The transaction is expected to conclude by the end of this year. Following the close of the deal, bp Wind Energy will operate as a part of LS Power's subsidiary, Clearlight Energy. This should bring the total capacity of LS Power's operating portfolio to about 4.3 GW. The financial details of the deal have not been disclosed yet. LS Power builds and operates electric transmission systems in the country. The company stated that the acquisition of bp Wind Energy should expand its renewable energy capacity, which should help meet the growing energy requirements in the United States. BP's Zacks Rank & Key Picks Currently, BP carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Some better-ranked stocks from the energy sector are MPLX LP MPLX, Venture Global Inc. VG and W&T Offshore WTI, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here. MPLX LP owns and operates a wide range of midstream assets. The partnership's midstream assets include oil and natural gas gathering systems and transportation pipelines for crude, natural gas and refined petroleum products. MPLX is least exposed to commodity price fluctuations as it generates stable fee-based revenues. Furthermore, it surpasses its industry peers in terms of distribution yield, reflecting its commitment to returning capital to its unitholders. Venture Global is primarily involved in the production and export of liquefied natural gas, sourced from the abundant gas basins in North America. It is the second-largest exporter of natural gas in the United States. The company is well-positioned to capitalize on the rise in LNG demand, partly driven by the growth of data centers and the global shift toward the use of lower-emission fuels. W&T Offshore benefits from its prolific Gulf of America assets, which offer low decline rates, strong permeability and significant untapped reserves. The company's recent acquisition of six shallow-water fields in the Gulf of America boosts its production prospects, which is expected to significantly benefit WTI. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report BP p.l.c. (BP) : Free Stock Analysis Report W&T Offshore, Inc. (WTI) : Free Stock Analysis Report MPLX LP (MPLX) : Free Stock Analysis Report Venture Global, Inc. (VG) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
BP abandons US wind farms as Trump shuns green energy
BP is selling its US wind farm business as Donald Trump steps up his attacks on green energy. The FTSE 100 oil company said New York-based LS Power would buy BP Wind Energy North America, which has 10 operating onshore wind farms across the country. The move is part of BP's plans to pivot back to its core oil and gas business in the hope of boosting its share price. The company has come under intense pressure from shareholders, including activist Elliott Adviers, to improve performance. The exit from US wind also comes amid President Trump's latest assault on the renewables industry. This week he announced that decisions related to solar and wind energy projects on federal lands will in future have to be approved by interior secretary Doug Burgum. President Trump said the aim was to end what he calls preferential treatment for renewable energy sources, in line with his pledge to undo the clean energy and climate change policies of former president Joe Biden. 'Today's actions further deliver on President Trump's promise to tackle the green new scam and protect the American taxpayers' dollars,' Adam Suess, acting assistant secretary for lands and minerals management, said on Thursday. Mr Trump has long been critical of turbines, derisively calling them 'windmills'. He said in 2019: 'I never understood wind. You know, I know windmills very much. They're noisy. They kill the birds. You want to see a bird graveyard? Go under a windmill someday. You'll see more birds than you've ever seen in your life.' In 2023, he said: 'Windmills are causing whales to die in numbers never seen before. No one does anything about that.' Earlier this week, Mr Trump told the BBC that Aberdeen was 'the oil capital of Europe' and should 'get rid of the windmills'. Market responds positively to wind exit BP's move will therefore be seen as politically astute as well as fitting with its plan to divest $20bn worth of assets by 2027. Its shares rose by about 2pc soon after the Friday morning announcement. The US deal is expected to conclude by the end of the year, with BP suggesting it will have divested itself of $3-4bn of assets by then, with $1.5bn signed or completed to that date. Earlier this month it agreed to sell its 300 Dutch petrol stations to Dutch fuel distribution and trading company Catom by the end of this year. It sold its Turkish petrol station network in 2023 and a sale process for its Austrian retail network is ongoing. William Lin, BP vice-president for gas & low carbon energy, said: 'The onshore US wind business has great assets and fantastic people, but we have concluded we are no longer the best owners to take it forward. 'I am pleased we have reached a mutually beneficial deal with LS Power and I look forward to working with them to support our people in maintaining safe and reliable operations as we transition ownership.' Paul Segal, chief executive of LS Power, said: 'These new assets will expand our renewable energy presence and help to meet growing energy demand across the US.' Solar and wind accounted for the vast majority of new electricity generation added to the US grid last year despite President Trump's claims that they are unreliable and expensive. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Sol Systems secures $675m revolving finance for renewable energy
Sol Systems, an independent power producer (IPP), has secured a $675m revolving construction finance facility to support the construction of its solar and wind project portfolio. This funding will support construction loans, tax equity bridge loans and letters of credit for an initial 500MW of projects in Illinois, Ohio and Texas, with the first operational by the end of 2026. A syndicate of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Capital, Intesa Sanpaolo, National Australia Bank, NatWest and Natixis provided the financing. It supports a strong portfolio of shovel-ready projects that align with state-level and corporate decarbonisation objectives. Sol Systems chief financial officer Richard Romero stated: 'This facility is a major step forward in scaling Sol's operating portfolio. It gives us the capital to reliably and quickly deliver clean energy projects across the country. 'We're grateful to our partners and lenders for their vision, trust and alignment to accelerate this shared mission.' Sol Systems is now well-positioned to enhance its operating portfolio, allowing for a scaleable approach to deploying projects and meeting the growing demands from corporate entities, utilities and community stakeholders. Sol Systems chief development officer Dan Diamond stated: 'We've seen long-term energy supply and demand market dynamics drive continued investment into renewables. 'Customers continue to leverage utility-scale solar for cleaner, faster, cheaper generation supply. This sizeable financing paves the way for the growth of our IPP platform.' KKR Capital Markets served as the structuring and placement agent to Sol Systems for the deal. Legal expertise was provided by Bracewell, with Milbank representing the lending consortium's interests. ING Capital served as documentation agent on the transaction, alongside Intesa Sanpaolo and Natixis as joint green loan structuring agents. In January 2025, Sol Systems commenced the development of the $345m, 182MW Tilden solar energy project in Illinois, US. The project has earned financial support through partnerships with key financial and construction entities ING, Churchill Stateside Group and Qcells. "Sol Systems secures $675m revolving finance for renewable energy" was originally created and published by Power Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Times
BP offloads US wind farms worth $2bn
BP has offloaded its American onshore wind farm business in a deal that analysts estimate could be worth more than $2 billion. The sale to LS Power should help the FTSE 100 oil and gas group towards its target of $20 billion of divestments by 2027. It is seeking to shore up its heavily indebted balance sheet, including through asset sales of $3 billion to $4 billion this year. The sale of the US wind farms began in September last year, with BP saying at the time that the assets were 'not aligned' with its plans for growth in its solar venture Lightsource BP. Murray Auchincloss, chief executive, then pledged in February to 'fundamentally reset' BP's strategy, has abandoned most of the green energy goals set under his predecessor Bernard Looney and refocused the company on focus on oil and gas. BP declined to disclose the value of the wind farms deal but promised to give further details as part of its second-quarter results in early August. Irene Himona, analyst at Bernstein, said: 'Using 2024 average global renewables transaction multiples as a reference point, we estimate the deal consideration could reach circa $2.2 billion or above.' She estimated that BP was 'on track to meet or exceed the mid-point of its 2025 goal, with circa 74 per cent of the target achieved, post the completion of today's deal'. BP is also looking to sell its Castrol lubricants business and a stake in Lightsource BP. It has already announced a deal this month to offload its petrol stations in the Netherlands for an undisclosed sum, thought to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. BP has global operations including drilling for new oil and gas discoveries and retailing fuel and Marks & Spencer convenience food. It reported underlying profits of $8.9 billion last year. Its US wind farm business comprises ten operational wind farms that were mostly built or acquired in the mid to late 2000s as part of BP's first push into green energy. Lord Browne of Madingley, when chief executive, established 'BP Alternative Energy' in 2005 as the oil giant promised to go 'Beyond Petroleum'. BP wholly owns five of the wind farms, in Indiana, Kansas and South Dakota, and has 50 per cent stakes in five others in Colorado, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Idaho and Hawaii. They have a total generating capacity of 1.7 gigawatts and BP's share is 1.3 gigawatts. William Lin, BP's executive vice-president for gas and low-carbon energy, said: 'We have been clear that while low-carbon energy has a role to play in a simpler, more focused BP, we will continue to rationalise and optimise our portfolio to generate value. The onshore US wind business has great assets and fantastic people but we have concluded we are no longer the best owners to take it forward.'
