Here are some noteworthy cleantech announcements of the day from around the world:

Sports good company Decathlon announced a strategic tie-up with Fourth Partner Energy to procure solar power for its supplier network across Bangladesh. Fourth Partner will execute 15 MW of rooftop solar projects in the first phase at 12-15 facilities of Decathlon’s premium suppliers in Bangladesh. This move aligns with Decathlon’s global commitment to switch to 100% renewable energy projects across all its logistics and commercial facilities by 2026. Decathlon aims to help the world become carbon neutral by 2050. Fourth Partner Energy has installed solar projects in Bangladesh for SAN Apparels, Metro Knitting and Dyeing Mills, PANAM Group, and Denim Asia. The company has an operational portfolio of 950 MW of wind and solar assets across India and Southeast Asia.

Central Electricity Authority has granted approval to Powergrid Aligarh Sikar Transmission to lay 765 kV D/C electric lines under the transmission system strengthening program for the evacuation of power from solar energy zones in Rajasthan (8.1 GW). The approval has been granted for 25 years. The transmission lines covered under the project will pass through parts of Rajasthan, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh.

Enagás and naval company Navantia signed an agreement under which Navantia has acquired 5% of its share capital. Hy24, a joint venture between Ardian and FiveT Hydrogen, also became a shareholder of Enagás Renovable. Hy24 is the world’s largest investment platform in renewable hydrogen infrastructure. Through a capital increase of the Enagás subsidiary, Hy24 acquired a 30% stake in Enagás Renovable through its Clean H2 Infra Fund. In July, Pontegadea also acquired a 5% stake in Enagás. Following these transactions, Enagás holds 60% of the shares, Hy24 has 30%, and Pontegadea and Navantia 5% each.

Qatar inaugurated the 800 MW Al-Kharsaah solar power project. The project was constructed on a 10 square kilometer land area and included more than 1.8 million solar modules. It utilizes robotic cleaning solutions to clean the solar panels at night to enhance the plant’s production efficiency. The project is owned by a joint venture between affiliates of QatarEnergy Renewable Solutions with 60%, Marubeni (20.4%), and TotalEnergies (19.6%). The project started supplying electrical power to Qatar’s electricity grid last June, marking the startup of the 400 MW first phase of the 800 MW project. Full capacity was reached by the end of the second phase. The project can provide the national grid with about 10% of peak electricity demand. 

Renewable project developer Energiequelle chose Siemens Gamesa to deliver wind turbines for the Mikonkeidas wind farm in Finland. Located in the municipality of Kristiinankaupunki, the 16 SG 6.6-170 wind turbines that will make up the 105-MW project will sit on 145-meter towers to best capitalize on the wind conditions in the region. The wind farm installation is expected to be completed in the first half of 2024. The companies have also signed a long 35-year service agreement covering the maintenance of the wind turbines over this period.

Nordex Group received an order for 81.6 MW from the Landwind Group to supply 12 N163/6.X turbines distributed among four wind farm sections in eastern Lower Saxony, Germany. The order also includes premium service for the turbines covering 20 years. The wind farms are to be built in the districts of Helmstedt and Wolfenbüttel. The turbines in the 6 MW class on hybrid towers with a hub height of 164 meters are scheduled to start operation as of winter 2023. Subsequently, the turbines will produce some 180 million kWh of green electricity, saving up to 128,000 tons of CO₂ annually.