IFM offers $8b for stake in Spanish power group
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IFM Investors is making an $8 billion cash bid for a 23 per cent stake in Spanish gas and electricity group Naturgy Energy in a proposal that would boost its exposure to renewable energy assets.
The friendly offer by the Australian investment group’s global infrastructure fund for up to 220 million shares in Madrid-based Naturgy would give IFM stock in a multinational company with an expanding renewable energy portfolio.
Kyle Mangini, IFM’s global head of infrastructure, said that Naturgy had been a leader in decarbonising.
Naturgy’s Australian assets include NSW’s Crookwell II wind farm
One of Belgium s existing large-scale battery storage facilities. Image: Eneco-Alfen-Next Kraftwerke.
Commodities trading company Trafigura has said that it is building a large-scale battery storage plant in Belgium through a newly-launched renewable energy joint venture (JV) company.
Located at the site of a zinc smelting facility in the northeastern Belgian municipality of Balen, owned and operated by metals company Nyrstar, construction on the project is expected to begin in the first half of this year for completion during 2022. Trafigura said in a press release last week that the project will use lithium-ion batteries with 25MW rated output and 100MWh capacity (four hours duration).
The €30m battery storage project will be built at Nyrstar’s zinc smelting facility in Balen.
Construction is planned to start during the first half of 2021 following permitting approval, with completion in 2022.
The project will provide grid stability and balancing services for the Belgium grid, as well as help shift renewable energy production into high energy demand periods.
Trafigura head of power and renewables trading Julien Rolland said: “Efficient energy storage has a critical role in the low-carbon economy.
“Weather-reliant renewables, such as wind and solar, generate energy intermittently.
“This needs to be combined with high-capacity energy storage and rapid-release systems that can be used to align peaks and troughs in power generation with changing patterns in demand.
Trafigura, one of the world’s leading independent commodity trading companies, has announced the first live project by Nala Renewables, its newly formed joint venture company with IFM Investors. An investment of up to EUR30 million will be made to develop one of Belgium’s largest Battery Energy Storage Systems (“BESS”) at Nyrstar’s zinc smelting facility in Balen.
Construction of the Balen BESS project is planned to start during the first half of 2021 following permitting approval, with completion in 2022. Utilising lithium-ion battery technology, the 100 MWh battery project will be able to store 25 MW for over four hours. The BESS system will provide grid stability and balancing services for the Belgium grid, as well as help shift renewable energy production into high energy demand periods.
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