Wednesday, 9 October 2024
Paris
Aurora Energy Finance
Conference
Watch the 2024 highlights video below!
Closing the Investment Gap: Accelerating Europe’s Path to Net Zero with Private Capital
The global energy sector is undergoing profound changes amidst international tensions, economic instability, and the transition to a Net Zero future. In 2022, the energy crisis forged a European compromise in favour of a swift shift towards clean electrification technologies and infrastructure, culminating in the REPowerEU plan. Such movement is essential for providing cleaner, independent, and cost-effective energy for European industries and citizens.
However, citizens and economic players question the feasibility of implementing the plan, with concerns over the rapid decline in industrial competitiveness and strained public investment. Although the crisis has accelerated the move and investments in renewable energy, the public sector alone cannot finance this transition, as public funding falls far short of the additional 620 billion € annually estimated by the European Commission to meet the objectives of the Green Deal and REPowerEU.
Private capital must play a crucial role in ramping up investments in clean technologies, and infrastructure but must navigate emerging risks such as price volatility, economic curtailment, grid limitations, and supply chain bottlenecks. Therefore, continued project financing is essential to avoid stagnation in the challenging energy market.
As a pan-European event, the inaugural Aurora Energy Finance Conference explored how project sponsors and lenders from across Europe can mitigate risks by integrating technologies such as battery storage, deploying new business models like PPAs, better anticipating challenges like grid curtailment, and utilising innovative financing structures that more effectively allocate risks.
Leading experts in the European energy finance industry, as well as other influential players, gathered to explore the opportunities and challenges that lay ahead. Following the success of other Aurora events, such as the Aurora Spring Forum, this half-day conference delivered insightful talks, in-depth analysis, and lively debates, with ample networking opportunities throughout the day.