Energy & Climate Markets Saudi Arabia shelves US$3.2bn oil supply deal with Pakistan 11 Aug 2020 A November 2018 arrangement between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to supply US$3.2bn worth of Saudi oil on deferred payments expired in June 2020 and is still to be renewed, as Saudi Arabia would be…
Policy & Regulatory Vietnam’s updated NDC targets 9% GHG emissions cut by 2030 10 Aug 2020 The government of Vietnam has updated its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). The country intends to reduce to its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 9% by 2030 compared to the business-as-usual (BAU) scenario, equivalent to 83.9 Mt of…
Policy & Regulatory Ireland’s auction awards support for 1,275 MW of renewable capacity 6 Aug 2020 The government of Ireland has announced the provisional results of the first Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS) auction, with a bidding date set for 28 July 2020. This support typically applies for 15 years. The tender…
Volume 4 Issue 8, August 2020 Pinniped population genomics A mixed breeding colony of California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) and northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus) on San Miguel Island, California. See Peart et al. Image: Fritz Trillmich. Cover Design: Lauren Heslop. Editorial Editorial | 30 July 2020 Peering into peer…
Policy & Regulatory The Supreme Court forces Ireland to strengthen its climate plan 5 Aug 2020 The Supreme Court of Ireland has ruled that the government’s National Mitigation Plan (2017-2022) does not comply with Ireland’s obligations under the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 and that it fails to…
Policy & Regulatory Indonesia offers more flexible terms for oil and gas production contracts 4 Aug 2020 The Indonesian government has revised its "gross split" production sharing contract model, introduced in 2017, to allow more flexibility for oil and gas investors when selecting their contract options for exploration. In a…
Policy & Regulatory Estonia and Latvia plan a 1 GW joint offshore wind project 3 Aug 2020 Estonia and Latvia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly develop a 1 GW offshore wind project in the Gulf of Riga, in the Baltic Sea. The two governments will jointly carry out…
Volume 10 Issue 8, August 2020 Human fingerprint in regional drying The large-scale mechanisms causing regional drying are not well understood. Writing in this issue of Nature Climate Change, Celine Bonfils et al. demonstrate through models and observational data that human-caused changes in greenhouse gases and aerosols have led to…
Policy & Regulatory Germany’s lastest solar tender was oversubscribed again 31 Jul 2020 The German Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur) has published the results of the latest tenders for onshore wind and solar capacity, with a bidding date set for July 2020. The onshore wind auction for 275 MW of capacity attracted 26…
Actualidad científica: Del 1 al 31 julio, 2020 Planetas Fotografían por primera vez un sistema de varios planetas en torno a una estrella como el Sol Los dos mundos tienen una masa muy superior a la de Júpiter y orbitan mucho más lejos de su estrella que cualquier planeta del…
Policy & Regulatory The Philippines plans to develop a national nuclear energy policy 30 Jul 2020 The government of the Philippines has created an inter-agency panel to study the adoption of a national nuclear energy policy. It will evaluate the feasibility of adding nuclear to the Philippines’ power mix, considering…
Companies ČEZ and Czech Republic sign agreement on Dukovany-5 nuclear project 29 Jul 2020 The Czech government has signed agreements with the state-owned power utility ČEZ for the development of a new 1.2 GW unit at the Dukovany nuclear power plant. The agreement encompasses the overall general framework of the €6bn project…
Volume 5 Issue 7, July 2020 Compatible by design Building batteries with energy-dense metallic anodes requires compatible electrolytes. Yu et al. develop electrolytes with single-solvent and single-salt components through molecular design, offering promise for high-energy and long-cycle-life lithium metal batteries. See Yu et al. Image: Yuchi Tsao, Stanford University Cover…
Policy & Regulatory EWEC (UAE) awards a 2 GW solar project to a TAQA-led consortium 28 Jul 2020 The Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) has awarded the 2 GW Al Dhafra Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Independent Power Producer (IPP) project, which will be located in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates, UAE) to a consortium led…
Policy & Regulatory EU launchs consultation on energy taxation and carbon border tax 27 Jul 2020 The European Commission has launched public consultations on the revision of the Energy Tax Directive (ETD) and on the creation of a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). The revision of the ETD would revise minimum…
Policy & Regulatory New Jersey (US) plans 2.4 GW offshore wind bidding round 24 Jul 2020 The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU, United States) has issued a draft solicitation guidance for its second offshore wind power solicitation and doubled the capacity to be offered from 1,200 MW to 2,400 MW….
Policy & Regulatory New York (US) issues solicitations for 4 GW of renewable power 23 Jul 2020 The US State of New York has announced two large solicitations for 4,000 MW of renewable power capacity, including 2,500 MW of offshore wind projects and 1,500 MW of onshore renewable projects for the New York State…
Policy & Regulatory European Commission clears Ireland’s renewable support scheme 22 Jul 2020 The European Commission has approved Ireland’s Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS), considering that it complied with EU State aid rules without unduly distorting competition. Moreover, the scheme is expected to help Ireland meet its national target to…
Policy & Regulatory US court clears linking carbon markets in California and Quebec (Canada) 21 Jul 2020 The District Court for the Eastern District of California (United States) has ruled that linking the carbon markets of California (US) and Quebec (Canada) is constitutional and doesn’t conflict with the federal governments foreign policy. This…
Companies Tullow Oil’s shareholders clear sale of Ugandan oil assets to Total 20 Jul 2020 The shareholders of Tullow Oil have approved the proposed sale of the company’s entire interests in Blocks 1, 1A, 2 and 3A in Uganda and of the proposed East African Crude Oil Pipeline System to…
Policy & Regulatory Israel selects 11 projects (168 MW) in solar-plus-storage tender 17 Jul 2020 The Electricity Market Regulatory Authority of Israel, which had pre-qualified 15 bidders proposing 45 projects (465 MW) for its solar-plus-storage tender, has selected 11 projects proposed by three developers and totalling 168 MW. Israeli project developers…
Daily Reports Monday, 13 July 2020 HLPF 2020 On Monday, fourteen countries presented their voluntary national reviews (VNRs): Nepal, Georgia, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Bangladesh, India, Morocco, Niger, Panama, Benin, Costa Rica, Peru, and Argentina. English Side Events Third Local and Regional Governments Forum on the 2030 Agenda: The Decade of Action –…
Volume 3 Issue 7, July 2020 Converging carbon footprints Household carbon footprints reflect resource use and income level. Mi and colleagues find footprints for Chinese households generally converge with economic growth but convergence is highest in wealthy coastal regions. See Mi et al. Credit line: CHUNYIP WONG / E+ /…
Policy & Regulatory Germany issues tender for 650 MW of ‘innovative’ renewable projects 16 Jul 2020 The German energy regulator (Bundesnetzagentur, federal network agency) has launched a tender for 650 MW of renewable power projects with innovative technologies (400 MW for 2020 plus 250 MW for projects non awarded in 2019), focusing on bids on…
Policy & Regulatory Saudi Arabia updates its net-metering scheme for rooftop PV systems 15 Jul 2020 The Electricity and Cogeneration Regulatory Authority (ECRA) of Saudi Arabia has released new rules for distributed solar PV systems ranging from 1 kW to 2 MW for all kinds of energy consumers, in order to…
Policy & Regulatory EU creates a €10bn fund to support energy transition in Eastern Europe 13 Jul 2020 The European Commission has approved the rules on operation of the Modernisation Fund, an EU solidarity fund to support 10 Central and Eastern European EU Member States in their transition to climate…
Policy & Regulatory UK Ofgem unveils a €28bn green investment plan for 2021-2026 10 Jul 2020 The UK Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem) has released a £25bn (€27.9bn) green investment plan for 2021-2026, which seeks to improve the country’s gas and electricity transmission and distribution infrastructure and to deliver emissions-free…
Volume 1 Issue 7, July 2020 Pyroclastic density currents are complex multiphase flows originating from volcanic eruptions, accounting for almost a third of global volcanic fatalities. This Review discusses recent advances in understanding the complex internal processes within PDCs and how these influence the flow dynamics and hazard footprints. See…
Policy & Regulatory Jordan’s energy strategy for 2020-2030 focuses on reducing gas imports 9 Jul 2020 The Jordanian government has unveiled its energy sector strategy for 2020-2030, which seeks to diversify energy sources and reduce fuel imports. The contribution of (imported) natural gas to power generation will decrease from more than…
Policy & Regulatory Romania will invest €12.5bn in the energy sector over 2020-2025 8 Jul 2020 The Romanian government has presented its National Investment and Economic Recovery Plan. Read more Chile awards development rights for 2.6 GW of renewables projects 8 Jul 2020 The Ministry of National Assets of Chile…