Daily Shorts: Repsol buys ConnectGen in RE pivot, IT honcho will ship solar power from Australia to Singapore, and more

Spanish energy company Repsol acquired US renewable energy developer ConnectGen for $768 million, as part of the oil company's plan to pivot from fossil fuels to renewables. The announcement comes a day after Repsol signed a deal to sell its oil and gas business in Canada to Peyto for $468 million. ConnectGen, with 20 GW in planned RE and energy storage projects, is an ideal fit for Repsol, which is targeting 20 GW of installed renewables capacity by 2030.

Australia's Mike Cannon-Brookes, billionaire founder of tech firm Atlassian, has acquired Sun Cable, an ambitious, $13 billion plan to generate solar power in northern Australia and ship it to Singapore via undersea cable. Cannon-Brookes said the project already had demand for more energy than it could produce, and would apply for a licence with Singapore's Energy Market Authority later this month.

EV components company Magna International said sales of electric powertrains and EV parts could roughly double amid a rush by car companies to roll out more affordable EV models. CEO Seetarama Kotagiri told investors, "We expect to roughly double our managed electrification sales this year, and almost double again between 2023 and 2025." The Canadian company said an industry push for smart functionality such as parking assist and driving aids had boosted demand for parts and sensors, and raised 2025 sales forecasts to $46.7-49.2 billion from $44.7-47.2 billion earlier.

The US solar industry expects to add a record 32 GW of production capacity this year. That's 53 percent more than the amount installed in 2022, according to a report by the SEIA and Wood Mackenzie. Total operating solar capacity is forecast to grow from 153 GW at present to 375 GW by 2028, in part due to the resolution of supply-chain issues resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic. The report noted that US solar module production could grow tenfold by 2026 if planned investments materialized.