Negative energy price record in Europe, and other top energy stories

European energy prices have dropped below zero for a record number of hours in 2024, the Financial Times reports.

As rapid development of solar and wind generation across Europe outpaces the continent’s ability to deal with excess supply, electricity prices fell into negative territory for 7,841 hours during the first eight months of the year.

In some instances, according to consultancy ICIS, prices fell below -€20 per megawatt hour.

Solar energy has driven the negative pricing, the FT says, as it tends to be more consistent, leading to negative prices in particular in spring and summer, and during late mornings and afternoon.

Batteries and long-term energy storage such as hydrogen could help address the issue of negative pricing.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has launched a new regional hub in South Africa to boost investments in clean energy and infrastructure projects in Southern Africa and the Indian Ocean.

The EIB says the new investment and policy hub in Pretoria complements its three existing African offices, enhancing its regional presence and enabling more targeted financial support to address partners' urgent needs.

As the financing arm of the European Union, the EIB invests in projects that support its policy goals, including renewable energy, energy efficiency and climate-resilient infrastructure. To date, it has invested €8.3 billion in the region.

Alongside the new hub, the EIB announced a €400 million loan to South Africa’s FirstRand Bank to fund renewable energy and energy efficiency projects.

Oman has launched five wind power projects as part of its aim to diversify its energy mix and reach net zero emissions by 2050.

India will connect a record 35 gigawatts of solar and wind energy to its grid this year, Reuters reports. The country is the world’s third largest solar power producer, but it is also the third largest emitter of greenhouse gases.

BlackRock and Microsoft are preparing to launch a $30 billion artificial intelligence (AI) investment fund – one of the biggest investment vehicles ever raised on Wall Street – to develop data centres and energy infrastructure needed to meet the surging demands driven by AI technologies.

Germany has awarded contracts for almost 3 gigawatts of onshore wind energy – the highest volume ever – in its latest auction. The country is working to cover 80% of its electricity consumption with renewables by 2030.

Al Gore, former US Vice President and co-founder of Generation Investment Management, has called for higher-capacity grids to “facilitate the faster and wider deployment of renewable electricity”, Bloomberg reports.

Italy's central banks have backed a plan to help poorer countries reduce their carbon emissions. The move would ultimately reduce the overall cost of the energy transition, they said.

Jobs in the US solar industry rose 6% to nearly 280,000, their highest level ever last year, a report has found. However, it adds that figures for 2024 may fall flat compared with 2023, amid challenges including a fall in residential installations, long waits to connect to the grid and a shortage of skilled labour.

The UK government has described overcoming barriers to the rollout of wind turbines, solar farms and pylons across the country as a matter of “national security”, according to The Guardian.

For the first time, electric cars now outnumber petrol cars in Norway, a major oil-producing country.

Brazilian authorities have said they will hold a large-scale energy storage auction in 2025. The Ministry of Mines and Energy aims to promote battery technology in the country.

Oil demand is growing at its slowest rate since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the head of the International Energy Agency. The organization says market prices could continue to drop as supply of crude exceeds demand.

Spanish renewable power company Iberdrola and Britain's BP have agreed to build a 25-megawatt green hydrogen plant in the country. The site will reportedly be Spain's largest green hydrogen project.

Despite global net-zero commitments, the energy transition is “unfolding slower than needed to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement”, a new report from McKinsey & Company says.

The EU's complex industrial permitting system delays renewable projects, but new technologies such as hydrogen and carbon capture and storage are becoming central to the bloc’s energy transition. Digitalization and centralization offer some solutions.

Less than half of the population of Nigeria has access to a reliable electricity supply – something that start-up ICE Commercial Power is working to address by connecting the country’s SMEs to clean power via solar microgrids.

The energy transition will fall under the spotlight at this month’s World Economic Forum Sustainable Development Impact Meetings in a critical year where elections, geopolitical strife and economic challenges can slow momentum for the climate. Here's what you need to know.

To learn more about the work of the Energy, Materials, Infrastructure Platform, contact Ella Yutong Lin: ellayutong.lin@weforum.org