Today’s ESG Updates
- Brazil’s First Grid-Scale Battery Auction: Brazil will hold its first electricity auction for large-scale batteries in April with hopes of adding 2 GW of storage capacity.
- Europe and UK Seal Major Clean Energy Security Pact: The UK and nine European countries signed the Hamburg Declaration to develop 100 GW of offshore wind in the North Sea.
- California Sues Trump Administration Over Pipeline Restart: California filed a lawsuit after federal regulators allowed the restart of the Las Flores oil pipelines.
- Dubai Firm Delivers 200 MW Power Plant in Burkina Faso: Mark Cables completed a €180 million thermal power plant in Burkina Faso in just six months.
Electricity auction in Brazil is gaining the attention of Chinese companies
Brazil plans to hold its first-ever auction for grid-scale batteries in April, giving Chinese companies another opportunity to increase their influence in Brazil. According to the Brazil-China Business Council, China invested $35 billion into power sector projects in Brazil between 2007 and 2024. Curtailment, which occurs when energy production exceeds demand, has become a central issue in Brazil’s renewable energy sector. As a result of curtailment, Brazil lost 19% of its wind power generation and 26% of its solar generation in 2025. To combat this, the Brazilian government hopes that the auction will secure 2 gigawatts of energy storage capacity. During the auction, Chinese companies such as China Energy Engineering Corp and Huawei will be bidding against firms like Tesla and Brazilian state-owned Petrobras.
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Further reading: Brazil Is Set for a Battery Boom. China Is Poised to Benefit
European countries and the UK sign clean energy security pact
Representatives from the UK, Norway, France, Germany, and other European countries met in Hamburg, Germany, on Monday to sign a clean energy security pact. The Hamburg Declaration will build 100 gigawatts of offshore wind projects, equivalent to the current energy capacity of the entire UK. The North Sea clean energy projects are part of the region’s response to geopolitical instability, as the UK and Europe aim to move away from fossil fuels. The UK’s Energy Secretary, Ed Miliband, said, “We are standing up for our national interest by driving for clean energy, which can get the UK off the fossil fuel rollercoaster and give us energy sovereignty and abundance.” Trump, a notable critic of offshore wind, called Europeans “losers” for installing more turbines.
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Further reading: UK and Europe sign historic pact to drive clean energy future
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California suing Trump administration after reopening pipelines
California’s Attorney General, Rob Bonta, announced a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Friday. The state is suing the administration after Sable Offshore was given federal permission to restart pumping oil through the in-state Las Flores pipelines. In 2015, the company caused an oil spill that dumped more than 100,000 gallons of crude oil off the coast of Santa Barbara. Reopening the pipelines is part of President Trump’s efforts to boost U.S. fossil fuel production. The administration reclassified the Las Flores pipelines as “interstate,” allowing for federal intervention. AG Bonta says this is against the law as the pipelines cross two California counties, not states. The federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration said in a statement, “Restarting the Las Flores Pipeline will bring much-needed American energy to a state with the highest gas prices in the country.”
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Further reading: California suing Trump administration over Sable oil pipeline restart
Dubai industrial group completes 200 MW thermal power plant in Burkina Faso
Mark Cables, a Dubai-based industrial and infrastructure group focused primarily on Africa, completed construction of a 200-megawatt thermal power plant in Burkina Faso. The company completed the project in six months and invested €180 million ($213 million) into its completion. Only a fifth of Burkina Faso’s population currently has access to electricity, according to the World Bank. In a statement by Mark Cables, the company said, “By providing 200 MW of additional capacity, Mark Cables offers a concrete solution to the national electricity deficit.” The goal of the new power plant will be to reduce the country’s dependence on energy imports and strengthen the domestic grid.
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Further reading: Dubai-based group develops 200 MW thermal power plant in Burkina Faso
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed here by the authors are their own, not those of impakter.com — In the Cover Photo: Powerlines in the State of Paraná, Brazil. Cover Photo Credit: João Pedro Schmitz
