Daily Shorts: UAE's first commercial wind farm, Japan will subsidize hydrogen aeroplanes, and more

The UAE launched its first commercial-scale wind power project, a 104 MW installation at four sites run by the emirates' green power company Masdar. Electricity from the wind farm is expected to power more than 23,000 homes, the company said, estimating the project will help displace around 120,000 tons of CO2 a year, the equivalent of "removing around 26,000 cars from the roads". The launch comes a month before the UAE plays host to global leaders for their annual climate change conference COP28.

Japan plans to subsidize electric aircraft, the country's Nikkei business daily reported, adding that the government had earmarked $205 million to subsidize hydrogen fuel cell systems and other equipment. The amount, which translated to just above 30 billion yen, will be divided between development of hydrogen fuel cell systems for aircraft (17.3 billion yen) and development of fuel-efficient engine control systems (13.3 billion), the newspaper said. Globally, startups such as ZeroAvia and Universal Hydrogen and Airbus' ZEROe project are engaged in developing hydrogen-fueled airplanes.

Germany's Daimler Truck, energy company EnBW and the City of Worth am Rhein have formed a joint venture to investigate geothermal energy in the areas surrounding the town. The JV will set up a geothermal plant if found feasible and supply the power to a Mercedez-Benz plant in the city. At least 10 percent of the power generated will be supplied to the City of Worth am Rhein to use in municipal heating networks, the parties said in a release.

Australian iron ore mining company Fortescue announced it had tied up 337.5 MW of solar energy supply for the company's proposed Gibson Island project, while underpinning a renewable energy project in the region. A Fortescue unit signed the renewable power purchase agreement a subsidiary of Genex, the company that will supply the power. Genex will supply 337.5 MW of Fortescue's estimated 450 MW requirement from the first stage of its Bulli Creek Solar Project near Queensland.