S M E

11/01/2021

A new E*Trade Financial survey of 904 active investors revealed that 66% believe the stock market is either fully or somewhat in a bubble.

11/01/2021

Bitcoin has been legitimized by Interest from public companies and institutional investors, and more investors view it as an effective way to hedge.

08/01/2021

European renewables auctions ‘set for record-breaking year’

45GW capacity pipeline featuring 17GW of wind and 6GW of solar PV predicted for 2021.

This year has the potential to be “record-breaking” for renewables auctions in Europe.

As the race to meet 2030 targets begins, there will be 45GW of capacity put up for grabs across Europe, researchers believe.

The total consists of 17GW of wind and 6GW of solar PV, with the remainder of auctions being either technology-neutral or applying to several sources.

Previous auction outcomes highlight that there is no guarantee the targeted volumes will be achieved – over the past three years, European auctions have seen an average award rate of 70%.

If this same level of success is achieved in 2021, we could see upwards of 30GW of capacity awarded.

Wind and solar PV will represent a “vast majority” of capacity procured in 2021, while the non-dispatchable nature of these technologies presents a flexibility challenge to power systems.

The analyst outfit highlighted this has already started to manifest in several markets, with negative day-ahead and intra-day power prices occurring during periods of high non-dispatchable renewable generation and low demand.

Coronavirus-related demand issues aside, the frequency of negative prices are expected to increase.

This raises the question: are policymakers aware of the flexibility challenge ahead? While negative prices should receive much greater focus over the coming year, we think price signals alone are unlikely to trigger new investment in much-needed flexible resources.

Once government restrictions are eased and industrial activity recovers in 2021, we predict power demand will return, to support higher prices.

“In the absence of major additions of flexible resources, supply pressure in 2021 will be determined by the availability of existing generators and the scale of thermal plant closures.

The ability of Europe’s power systems to cope with the winter’s challenges will be a significant indicator of future flexible supply requirements and overriding policy direction on matters of system security and reliability.

Balancing and day-ahead markets will see further harmonisation, while the build-out of HVDC interconnectors in 2021 will continue.

08/01/2021

It's time to change the way we invest

08/01/2021

Germans ‘want more renewables’

But building wind farms in forests is a controversial topic finds 2020 AEE survey

Renewable energy accounted for more than half of Germany's electricity mix in 2020 with most Germans in favour of further expansion, according to a survey by the Renewable Energy Agency (AEE).

"A clear majority of Germans are even in favour of an even stronger expansion of renewable energies than before – and recognise the enormous opportunities for their expansion and the need for electricity grids for the local economy,” said Robert Brandt, AEE managing director.

For more than ten years, the AEE has been publishing a representative acceptance survey on the expansion of renewable energy.
Approval has always been around 90%. In the latest survey, conducted by the polling institute YouGov, almost nine out of 10 citizens (86%) are also in favour of greater use of renewable energy in Germany.

AEE’s survey found that building wind farms in forests is a controversial topic with more than half of those surveyed rejecting the idea.

Brandt said: “In view of the complex ecosystem of forests, special sensitivity is required.

“A nature-friendly use of wind energy in commercial forests with spruce or pine monocultures, which are used for management, is definitely possible.”

Brandt said overall there is still a “great deal of support” for the expansion of renewable energy among the population.

For the first time in the survey the question was asked whether respondents believed that the expansion of electricity grids and renewable energies strengthen the regional economy, with 57% agreeing.

07/01/2021

An additional $1 trillion of stimulus will be added to the economy as Democrats push for a large infrastructure bill, Jefferies estimates.

07/01/2021

https://markets.businessinsider.com/currencies/news/bitcoin-price-cryptocurrency-market-cap-apple-record-high-2021-1-1029940052

The value of the entire crypto market is now larger than the economy of Switzerland, as Bitcoin tops $37,000 and Ethereum touches two-year highs.

05/01/2021

Digital currency bitcoin has emerged as a rival to gold and could trade as high as $146,000 if it becomes established as a safe-haven asset, investment bank JPMorgan (JPM) said on Tuesday. Interest in the world's biggest cryptocurrency has soared this year, with investors viewing bitcoin as a hedge....

05/01/2021

Energinet says production similar to that of 2019 as final figures are being validated

05/01/2021

Wind, solar produced more electricity than all fossil fuels combined according to new data