Thames Water, Basra Date Palms, Jupiter Power & Enfinity Solar News

Thames Water Approaches £16bn Financial Lifeline

Thames Water is on the verge of finalizing a significant £16bn rescue deal aimed at preventing its transition into temporary public ownership. The company’s creditors, who hold £13bn of its £20bn debt, are working towards securing an in-principle agreement with Ofwat by mid-February. This deal would involve creditors accepting “haircuts” up to 30% on Class A debt and writing off over £13bn in exchange for at least 10% equity in the recapitalized company, alongside an increased equity injection beyond the initially planned £3.15bn. Access to the second £1.5bn tranche of a £3bn emergency funding package is contingent on this agreement.

The London & Valley Water consortium intends to invest £20.5bn in infrastructure and services over five years. They have also committed to withholding dividends until after the turnaround or listing, avoiding any additional bill increases beyond those agreed with Ofwat, and refraining from selling before 2030. However, regulatory bodies including Ofwat, the Environment Agency, and others caution, “There’s still no guarantee this gets done,” indicating the need for multiple approvals and resolutions of financial and other terms.

Further reading: Thames Water closes in on £16bn rescue deal with lenders

Basra’s Lab-Based Date Palm Cultivation in Response to Environmental Challenges

In an effort to counter the detrimental effects of war, land degradation, and increasing salinity on date palm orchards, Iraqi scientists near Basra are employing tissue-culture technology. These labs are capable of producing up to 250,000 disease-free seedlings annually, boasting a success rate of approximately 99%. According to Director Mohammed Abdulrazzaq, this innovation allows the transformation of a single palm from yielding just a few offshoots to generating “thousands of offshoots.”

The seedlings undergo rigorous heat hardening, being acclimated from 25 °C up to about 52°C, and are exposed to salinity levels of 6,000–8,000 ppm to ensure resilience against Basra’s harsh climate and saline water conditions, as explained by researcher Ismail Sadiq. Farmer Faysal al-Khazraji noted that all 100 tissue-culture palms planted were thriving, in stark contrast to only 25 out of 100 conventionally propagated ones. Currently, Basra hosts about three million date palms, a significant reduction from its original 13 million, with tissue-culture trees now comprising over 15% of the varieties in some areas.

Further reading: Rising salinity and heat push Basra to grow date palms in the lab

Jupiter Power Amplifies US Battery Storage with $500 Million Funding

Jupiter Power, a Texas-based utility-scale battery storage developer, has secured a $500 million Senior Secured Green Revolving Loan and Letter of Credit Facility. This comes after being acquired by BlackRock Alternatives in 2022 and expands upon a $225 million facility closed in September 2024. The funding is intended to propel the development and construction of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) across the U.S.

The company boasts nearly 8,000 MWh of projects either operating, under construction, or contracted, with an additional development pipeline exceeding 12,000 MW nationwide. The facility was arranged by a consortium including Barclays, HSBC, ING, Société Générale, and SMBC.

Jesse Campbell, Jupiter Power’s CFO, commented on the upsizing, stating it “underscores the confidence our banking partners have in our ability to continue delivering high-quality BESS projects with long-term contracted cash flows” and will enable the procurement of new BESS and advancement of “numerous projects proceeding into construction.” Paul Snow of HSBC added that the expanded facility highlights both Jupiter’s robust platform and their “shared commitment to scaling critical energy storage infrastructure and support energy security across the United States.”

Further reading: GlassPoint Raises $20 Million to Decarbonise Industrial Heat with Solar Tech

Enfinity’s Solar Project to Deliver Clean Energy to Microsoft in Italy

Enfinity Global has commenced operations of a 33.8 MW solar photovoltaic plant in Italy. This project is part of a series of Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with Microsoft, aimed at delivering up to 366 MW of renewable capacity in support of Microsoft’s 2030 clean energy objective. Founded in 2019, Enfinity manages a 39.3 GW global portfolio of renewable generation and storage projects, alongside 37 GW under negotiation in the U.S., and has secured 808 MW of solar PPAs in Italy over the past two years.

Effinity CEO Carlos Domenech expressed enthusiasm for the collaboration, stating, “We are delighted to provide solar energy electricity to a global technology leader like Microsoft.” He further emphasized their commitment to delivering “reliable, value-added renewable energy solutions” while contributing to community development. Enfinity and Microsoft also plan on making investments and creating jobs in regions such as Lazio, Emilia-Romagna, and Basilicata.

Further reading: Enfinity starts solar project to supply clean energy to Microsoft in Italy

Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed here by the authors are their own, not those of impakter.com — In the Cover Photo: Thames Water manhole cover. Cover Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Original Story at impakter.com