CIP to increase renewable energy investments

Swift policy action is required to accelerate the pace of the renewable build-out and meet the Paris agreement targets for limiting the rise in temperature

“Our ambition is to reach €100 billion in asset under management no later than 2030. We have already seen tremendous growth in our portfolio since our establishment eight years ago. Now, we have set the ambitious target of increasing our annual investments into new renewable energy projects to approximately €10 billion on average between 2022 and 2030. In combination with financing from banks and partners, our average annual deployment will be almost €20 billion per year during this period, resulting in significant CO₂ reductions. We have already initiated this acceleration of activities across geographies and across all areas of greenfield renewable energy investments,” says Jakob Baruël Poulsen, Managing Partner of CIP.

He continues: “We join the call for COP26 to deliver swift and joint global action, and concrete policy initiatives to combat climate change. The recent reports from the IPCC and the IEA are sobering reminders of the challenges we all face. In CIP we have the project pipeline, the capabilities as well as the technological and financial resources to continue to tackle climate change. But we need firmer and more decisive policy instruments to curb CO₂ emissions, including increased offshore wind build-out targets and faster approval processes”.

Energy transition leaders benefit from cost competitiveness and innovation

Many countries and states, including the UK, several EU countries and major US East Coast States, have already laid out a clear plan and framework to fundamentally change their energy systems over a relatively short period of time, driven by strong policy support and bold renewables targets, in particular within offshore wind.

Other countries could benefit from following their lead, as renewable energy today is generally cost-competitive, and often cheaper, than fossil-based alternatives – thanks to innovation, large scale industrialisation and technological progress.

Denmark has been at the forefront of the green transformation of energy production, and is a leading nation within offshore wind. Recently, the country has decided to build the world’s first energy island, a concept which CIP has been instrumental in conceptualising. Together with floating offshore wind and Power-to-X, energy islands – which could each support 10 GW of offshore wind – are key elements of the next generation of game-changing concepts for offshore wind. These technologies can be scaled and applied across several markets around the North Sea, in Asia, the US and beyond.

These developments are important parts of the future of renewable energy, scaling it to unprecedented levels, reducing costs and bringing more valuable products to fuel societies with low carbon energy.

“We expect to continue to expand our activities both in scope and size, including traditional and floating offshore wind, Power-to-X, energy islands and other green technologies. We believe that with our unique project approach, our team of experienced industrialists, and our strong track record, CIP is well positioned to make a significant contribution to meeting ambitious renewable energy targets and delivering the energy transition”, says Jakob Baruël Poulsen.

The roadmap to 2030: CIP’s development portfolio includes 30 GW of offshore wind plus 20 GW onshore wind, solar and Power-to-X projects

CIP’s €100 billion ambition is underpinned by a pipeline of projects that is both tangible and diverse across geographies and technologies. Approximately one third will be offshore wind and the remaining two thirds will include onshore wind and solar photovoltaic (PV), as well as other technologies such as Power-to-X, energy storage, energy islands, power transmission, electrification and advanced biofuels.

With more than 30 GW of offshore wind capacity in development, CIP has a leading portfolio of both fixed-bottom and floating offshore wind projects in key offshore markets, including North America, Asia-Pacific, emerging markets and Europe. The pipeline includes the first large scale offshore wind project in the US (Vineyard Wind), plus sizeable pipelines in key markets like Korea, Japan and Taiwan.

The Power-to-X projects are the most recent addition to the CIP portfolio. Key projects include the 5 GW pathbreaking Murchison project in Australia, and the 1 GW Hoest project in Denmark. These projects, as well as the rest of the Power-to-X pipeline, will contribute to the integration of intermittent renewable power into energy systems as well as the decarbonisation of hard-to-abate sectors such as farming, heavy industry and transportation.

For more news and technical articles from the global renewable industry, read the latest issue of Energy Global magazine.

Energy Global's Autumn 2021 issue

The Autumn issue of Energy Global features a varied spectrum of in-depth technical articles detailing recent projects, future projections, and technological advancements in the renewables sector, from companies including MISTRAS Group, Fugro, X1 Wind, Sulzer, and more.

Read the article online at: https://www.energyglobal.com/special-reports/03112021/cip-to-increase-renewable-energy-investments/