Green Markets - July 18, 2024

Jul 18, 2024

Green Markets is a daily series dedicated to highlighting events of interest that could impact investments within environmental markets.

The Green Impact Exchange (GIX) has applied for SEC approval to become the first U.S. stock market exclusively focused on the green economy, aiming to start operations in early 2025. GIX will list companies committed to sustainability goals.
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM) announced plans to issue funding for R&D projects targeting undocumented orphaned wells (UOWs). The funding will focus on three key areas: advanced remediation techniques, wellbore characterization, and long-term monitoring to manage methane emissions. The goal is to develop cost-effective technologies for permanent well sealing, non-intrusive wellbore assessments, and environmental monitoring to support U.S. decarbonization efforts.

Zimbabwe's state-owned Kuvimba Mining House has secured a $310 million deal with a consortium of British and Chinese investors to build a lithium concentrator at its Sandawana mine. The agreement includes a build, operate, and transfer (BOT) arrangement for a 3 million metric ton per year ore processing plant, expected to be operational within 18 months. The plant will produce 600,000 metric tons of lithium concentrate annually.
Serbia is positioning itself as a key player in the European lithium market by offering Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, and Stellantis the opportunity to purchase lithium for electric vehicle batteries.

Sustainable Fuel Plant Group (SFP) has secured $131.2m in financing to build two 20-MW biomethane plants in the Netherlands. This investment will boost SFP’s annual biomethane production capacity to 800 GWh. Dutch banks ABN Amro and ING provided the green loan.

Swiss Re Corporate Solutions and the climate startup goodcarbon have introduced insurance for long-term carbon credit purchases. This new product is designed to support the creation of five-year forward carbon credit portfolios, enhancing market liquidity and trust in forward credits. The insurance aims to channel capital into impactful nature-based projects and critical ecosystems.

Intersect Power has secured $837 million to fund three new utility-scale battery energy storage projects in Texas, each with 320 MWh of capacity. These facilities will enhance Intersect’s storage portfolio, which will support its existing 1.2 GW of solar capacity.

California has officially launched the ARCHES Hydrogen Hub with a $12.6 billion agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy, including $1.2 billion in federal funding. The hub aims to cut up to 2 million metric tons of carbon emissions annually while focusing on decarbonizing public transportation and port operations. It will also develop key infrastructure, such as 60 heavy-duty hydrogen fueling stations and 165 miles of pipelines.

China has withdrawn from its contract with the Cyprus government for the construction of the island's first natural gas import terminal, citing non-payment by the government. An unnamed official indicated that both parties agreed to terminate the contract due to the consortium's financial difficulties, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The project was initially estimated to cost €289 million with €101 million from the EU.
Sempra Infrastructure has signed a fixed-price EPC contract with Bechtel Energy for the Port Arthur LNG Phase 2 project in Texas. Under this contract, Bechtel will handle detailed engineering, procurement, construction, and other key activities for the project. Port Arthur LNG Phase 2 aims to expand the facility's liquefaction capacity to 26 million tonnes/year, doubling its current capacity. Commercial operations for the first phase are expected to start in 2027 and 2028.

Seriti Green has initiated a $1.37 billion wind farm project in Mpumalanga, South Africa. Beginning with the 155MW Ummbila Emoyeni facility, the project will supply 75% of the power needed for Seriti’s coal mines. The project, funded by Standard Bank and Rand Merchant Bank (RMB), aims to construct 900MW of wind energy over three years, with the first phase expected to be completed by mid-2026.
According to the power grid operator Terna, in the first half of 2024, Italy's renewable energy output exceeded that of fossil fuels for the first time. On June 22, Italy saw a peak of 33.2 GW in renewable energy production. Hydroelectric power surged by 65% to nearly 26 TWh, driven by high rainfall in northern Italy.

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