Investing in Renewable Energy Projects in Europe Dentons' Guide
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Investing in renewable energy projects in Europe Dentons’ Guide 2021 Data partner Welcome Dentons Europe is delighted to and other countries in our region, present the 2021 edition of our which are no less ambitious in Guide to investing in renewable their implementation of plans energy projects in Europe. Our and measures. We are also publication grows in stature every fortunate to be joined by leaders year, just as renewables become like BloombergNEF, WindEurope, ever more central to Europe’s SolarPower Europe, and energy mix, contributing to the Cummins Inc., who have all modernization and strengthening added so much to this Guide. of the economies in our region. Welcome to the 2021 edition of our With the global drive to a green Guide to investing in renewable recovery, renewables have gained energy projects in Europe. Let it even greater prominence be a small contribution to your as Europe’s leading example plans, whether you are deciding of balanced, yet sustainable on a new project or renewables development, in a world where investment, or are simply looking what matters is not only how to better understand where we are prosperous and rich we are, but also heading across Europe, towards how we can positively contribute a better, greener and economically to the wellbeing of present and viable future. future generations. Colleagues from more than Arkadiusz Krasnodębski 20 jurisdictions have prepared Head of Europe Energy group, a concise overview of renewables Dentons developments at various policy levels – the EU, member states dentons.com • 3 Foreword There is no doubt that 2020 was Union, the UK, Japan and South a testing year. The COVID-19 Korea are targeting to reach net pandemic has set off an zero emissions by 2050. unprecedented global health, In perhaps the single most economic and social crisis. important development in climate The record time in which the policy since the Paris Agreement, pharmaceutical industry developed 2020 also saw China commit to several vaccines is one of many peak emissions by 2030, and net highlights of human ingenuity on zero by 2060. The election of Joe display in this crisis, but it is clear Biden should bring the US back that the pandemic will affect our into the Paris Agreement, and the livelihoods throughout 2021 and Democrats’ majority position in both beyond. Yet, 2020 also brought Senate and Congress means that a string of good news, especially the country may be able to prepare for the world’s transition to a its own net zero pledge in time for low-carbon economy. Despite the COP26 in Glasgow at the end of delay of COP26, which will take this year. India, one of the largest place later this year, 2020 may and most active clean energy well go down as a watershed year markets globally, will certainly look for climate progress. to follow, bolstering Boris Johnson’s goal to make COP26 the “net zero Just a year ago, who would have COP.” What are the trends that thought that the vast majority emboldened governments to make of people walking our planet these pledges? Of course, there today may well live to see a are many, but here are a few that carbon-neutral world economy stand out. and the impact of human activity on climate reverse? That is the Clean technologies have continued promise made by governments their march forward, delivering across countries accounting for further cost declines, increasing nearly half of the world economy their performance, and entering as of the end of 2020. The European more markets. It looks like 2020 4 • dentons.com will deliver yet another record for green bond compared to its new wind and solar installations, standard issuance. The transition to which BloombergNEF expects a carbon-neutral economy is capital to reach 200 GW globally, far intensive, and the global investor surpassing any competing community is showing that it wants technologies. Lithium-ion battery to play its part. prices have gone down almost Investors’ and shareholders’ 90 percent over the last 10 years, expectations typically translate helping decrease the cost of into change in the strategies flexibility services in power grids, of the businesses they invest and of electric vehicles. We expect in. Corporate decarbonization EV sales to grow 28 percent over commitments have accelerated 2020, on the back of record growth throughout 2020. Purchase of clean in Europe, despite the crash of power set a new record at around the wider auto market during 18 GW of new capacity in 2020. the pandemic. 537 organizations pledged to join This progress on the technology the Task Force on Climate-related front is now increasingly being Financial Disclosures, and 55 made recognized by, and matched with, commitments to science-based commitments in the financial emissions reduction commitments community. Sustainable debt (as of December 2020). These issuance hit a new record in commitments are unprecedented, 2020, reaching US$732 billion and the months leading up to across bond and loan varieties Glasgow will bring even more. targeting environmental and social So, where do we go from here? investments. Investors are now If 2020 was the year the world came often ready to put a premium on together to agree that the interest sustainable products over others, of the planet, businesses, investors which was best highlighted by and civil society align, and that the lower interest rate offered to the technological challenges of Germany on its first-ever sovereign dentons.com • 5 reaching net zero can be overcome, Deployment at this scale requires then 2021 must be the year where smooth infrastructure roll-out and we start focusing on execution, social acceptance. Yet, experience especially here in Europe. Without in recent years shows that such a step change in the deployment a consensus is often still missing of sustainable technologies and in key European markets, creating phasing-out of fossil fuel assets, increasingly slow and difficult the EU will miss its new development conditions for climate target of 55 percent projects on the ground. Delivering emissions reduction the systemic transformation that by 2030 against 1990 levels. Europe’s climate ambition calls This level of ambition means for can bring unprecedented that the transition needs to opportunity and accelerate the accelerate and spread to every recovery from the COVID-19 crisis. country and carbon-emitting But to be realized, the political industry in the region. promises must be matched with concrete action to ensure BNEF estimates that Europe needs sustainable investments to install between 566 GW and flow unhindered to the sectors 651 GW of renewables over the and communities where they next decade to reach its climate are needed the most. goals, depending on the role taken by electrification. This is Dario Traum about three times more than what Head of Energy Transitions, was installed in the last decade. BloombergNEF 6 • dentons.com Renewable energy investment, including asset finance and small distributed capacity investment Source: BloombergNEF US$ billion Azerbaijan Belgium Czech Republic France Georgia Germany Hungary Ireland Italy Kazakhstan Luxembourg Netherlands Poland Romania Russian Federation Slovakia Spain Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom Uzbekistan dentons.com • 7 Wind industry can power Europe’s green recovery 2020 was anything but safety protocols. With reduced business as usual. Europe took electricity demand and less thermal unprecedented measures to generation, wind covered 17 percent counter the COVID-19 health of Europe’s electricity demand in the crisis that affected all areas of first half of 2020 (it met 24 percent the economy. of demand in February 2020, before COVID-19 kicked in). In the first half of the year, the wind industry supply chain experienced For project financing, the economic major disruptions, particularly fallout resulting from COVID-19 on the manufacturing side. New increased costs of debt in the short obstacles to the free movement term and triggered strains in debt of people and goods impacted liquidity in the lower-rated states operation and maintenance in Eastern and Southern Europe. services and the construction Despite this, the first semester of of onshore and offshore wind in 2020 saw a record €14.3 billion Europe. And electricity demand in raised for the financing of new wind most European countries dropped farms. This is a clear signal: Wind is by as much as 25 percent during the right bet to build back better. the worst period (mid-March Corporate renewable electricity to mid-May), resulting in lower sourcing in Europe also showed electricity prices. continuous growth in 2020, with cumulative contracted volume But the European wind energy of corporate renewable power sector proved resilient: Turbines purchase agreements (PPAs) produced a record amount of growing by almost 50 percent. electricity, governments held auctions, and the industry With its Green Deal, the EU aims to continued to build new wind become climate neutral by 2050. farms applying strict health and It wants wind to account for half of 8 • dentons.com Europe’s electricity by 2050, which The Commission’s guidance entails a huge expansion in onshore on RRPs identifies renewable and offshore wind between now energy as a priority for the RRPs, and then. Investing in wind energy including the building and sector will not only help Europe reach its integration of 200 GW of renewable climate goals, it will be central to its energy capacity by 2030 and the economic recovery. installation of 6 GW of electrolyzer capacity and the production and Wind already employs 300,000 transportation of 1 million metric people across Europe, contributes tons of renewable hydrogen across €37 billion to EU GDP and pays the EU by 2025. €5 billion in taxes each year, supporting local populations We at WindEurope want to see and community projects.