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…
Con los recortes presupuestales al medio ambiente, México compromete su futuro Opinion by Enrique Provencio || The Washington Post || Martes 7 de julio, 2020 Enrique Provencio es investigador asociado del Programa Universitario de Estudios del Desarrollo de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México En México se ha recrudecido el…
Policy & Regulatory Ukraine approves feed-in-tariff reductions for wind and solar 7 Jul 2020 The Ukrainian parliament has approved a draft law on feed-in-tariff (FiTs) reductions for renewable power generation. FiTs will be cut by 15% for solar parks and by 7.5% for wind parks commissioned between 2015 and 2019 and…
Policy & Regulatory Japan identifies 10 additional offshore wind areas 6 Jul 2020 The Japanese Ministries of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) have identified 10 areas as potentially suitable for offshore wind development. Four areas are more advanced: Aomori Prefecture off the Sea of…
Volume 4 Issue 7, July 2020 Biodiversity under stress A school of fish on a remote coral reef in the Indian Ocean. Biodiversity was found to be the primary driver of ecosystem functioning of coral-reef fishes. The positive biodiversity-ecosystem function relationships were robust to two human-caused stressors: climate change and…
Policy & Regulatory Poland plans to develop 3.8 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030 3 Jul 2020 The government of Poland and representatives of the offshore wind industry have signed an agreement to develop 3.8 GW of offshore wind capacity in the Baltic Sea by 2030. The first offshore…
Volume 10 Issue 7, July 2020 Plant hydraulics improve models Evapotranspiration links productivity with water cycling between land and atmosphere and is restricted by plant responses to soil moisture and vapour pressure deficit stresses. In this issue, Liu et al. show that a model including plant hydraulics better describes the…
Policy & Regulatory Poland plans to develop 3.8 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030 3 Jul 2020 The government of Poland and representatives of the offshore wind industry have signed an agreement to develop 3.8 GW of offshore wind capacity in the Baltic Sea by 2030. The first offshore…
Policy & Regulatory Germany approves a €40bn plan to phase out hard coal by 2033 1 Jul 2020 The German coalition government has approved a €40bn compensation package for power utilities, which operate hard coal-fired power plants in the country and should shut them down by 2038 at the latest….
Companies Iberdrola raises its bid for Australian renewable producer Infigen 30 Jun 2020 The Spanish energy group Iberdrola has raised its bid for Infigen Energy, Australia’s largest renewable power producer, by 3.5%, offering AUD 0.89 (€0.545, or US$0.61) per staple security of Infigen, instead of the AUD 0.86 (€0.527, or US$0.59) bid…
Policy & Regulatory Israel launches third offshore oil and gas offshore bid round 29 Jun 2020 The Ministry of Energy of Israel has launched its third offshore bid round for gas and oil exploration offshore Israel, inviting companies to bid for an exploration license in Block #72. This license, which…