Policy & Regulatory Chile’s updated NDC strengthens GHG emissions cap by 2030 14 Apr 2020 The government of Chile has presented its updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), presenting its climate commitments to 2030 with a view to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. The updated NDC replaces the previous emission intensity…
Policy & Regulatory China’s NDRC finalizes 2020 solar subsidy policy 10 Apr 2020 The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of China has finalised its solar PV subsidy policy for 2020, taking into account the permitting rules set by the National Energy Administration (NEA) for the construction of new projects. Distributed PV…
Policy & Regulatory Vietnam approves new FiTs for solar power projects 9 Apr 2020 The government of Vietnam has unveiled new feed-in tariff rates for utility-scale, rooftop and floating solar PV projects. The new text determines FiT prices based on three technology types: ground-mounted solar energy projects will receive VND1,644/kWh…
Companies ExxonMobil will cut its capital expenditures by 30% in 2020 to US$23bn 8 Apr 2020 ExxonMobil has reduced its 2020 investment plans by 30% from US$33bn to US$23bn. Most of the capital expenditure cut will be located in the Permian Basin in western Texas and in the south-eastern New…
Policy & Regulatory Switzerland will liberalise its power market in early 2021 7 Apr 2020 Switzerland will go ahead with plans to open the electricity market for all customers, with the introduction of an amendment to the Electricity Supply Law (loi sur l’approvisionnement en électricité, LApEl) by early 2021. So far,…
Policy & Regulatory The US DoE will lease space for 30 mbl of oil in emergency reserve 6 Apr 2020 The US Department of Energy (DoE) has decided to make 30 mbl of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve’s (SPR’s) oil storage capacity available to US oil producers that are negatively affected by the…
Policy & Regulatory The Netherlands unveils planned 2023-2030 solar PV net metering scheme 3 Apr 2020 The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Change of the Netherlands has presented plans for the future net metering scheme for residential PV systems, that will replace the existing one expiring in 2023. The…
Policy & Regulatory EU considers tighter GHG emissions cuts by 2030 to reach 2050 targets 2 Apr 2020 The European Commission has launched a public consultation on tightening the European Union’s 2030 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction target. The European Union (EU) has set a target to cut GHG emissions by 40%…
Companies Fiddler’s Ferry and Aberthaw B coal-fired power plants shut down (UK) 1 Apr 2020 SSE has closed the remaining units of its Fiddler’s Ferry coal-fired power plant in Warrington, Cheshire (United Kingdom). The power units, totalling around 1.5 GW, were idle and were the last remaining coal-fired units operated by SSE. Read…
Policy & Regulatory Japan maintains 2030 climate goals unchanged in new NDC 31 Mar 2020 Japan has submitted an update to its National Determined Contribution (NDC) to the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), in which the country maintains its target of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by…
Policy & Regulatory European Commission maintains EU ETS deadline despite delay calls 30 Mar 2020 The European Commission has decided to maintain the 30 April 2020 deadline for European companies to surrender emissions trading system (ETS) carbon allowances, considering that the existing rules provide enough flexibility for companies to submit verified…
Companies Tokyo Gas aims to boost its power market share in Japan 27 Mar 2020 The Japanese gas utility Tokyo Gas has released its new three-year business plan until March 2023, aiming to raise its profit by 18% to JPN 140bn (US$1.3bn) by this date. The company will focus on expanding…
Policy & Regulatory Estonia’s first renewable auction for 5 GW attracts over 16 GW of bids 26 Mar 2020 The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications of Estonia has received 17 bids in the first renewable energy auction, that offered 5 GW of renewable production capacity. The auction was over-subscribed,…
Publication – Coal phase-out: towards a major shift? Worldwide coal consumption decreased in 2019 for the first time, marking a decisive turning point. Meanwhile, many countries are planning a coal phase-out, and some funders are turning away from financing coal projects. However consumption in other countries, especially in Asia, still shows…
Policy & Regulatory British Columbia (Canada) postpones carbon tax increase 25 Mar 2020 The government of the Canadian province of British Columbia (5 million inhabitants) has decided to suspend the increase in the provincial carbon tax sine die, as part of a broader tax change plan. The CAD40/tC02eq (US$28/tC02eq) carbon tax was…
Policy & Regulatory Saudi Arabia shortlists 49 bidders for 1.2 GW solar PV tender 24 Mar 2020 The Renewable Energy Project Development Office (REPDO) of Saudi Arabia has announced the pre-qualified bidders for the third round of the National Renewable Energy Program (NREP) that was launched in January 2020 and offered four…
Policy & Regulatory Gujarat (India) launches tender for 700 MW of solar power projects 23 Mar 2020 Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd. (GUVNL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Gujarat Electricity Board and holding company of all the power utilities in Gujarat (India), has launched a tender for 700 MW of…
Policy & Regulatory Cambodia will not build dams on the Mekong River for the next decade 20 Mar 2020 Cambodia has abandoned plans to build new hydropower plants on the Mekong River for the next decade, according to a government master plan for the period 2020-2030. The country will instead…
Policy & Regulatory New York State (US) awards 21 renewable and storage projects (1,278 MW) 18 Mar 2020 The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) (United States) has awarded 21 solar, wind and energy storage projects across the state, totalling 1,278 MW of power capacity. The auction, totalling US$1bn…
Policy & Regulatory NSW (Australia) releases net zero emissions plan by 2050 17 Mar 2020 The government of New South Wales (NSW, 8.1 inhabitants) in Australia has released its Net Zero Plan Stage 1: 2020–2030, which aims to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 by attracting investment, cutting residential costs and…
Policy & Regulatory Austria and Lombardy (Italy) approve solar+storage investment grants 13 Mar 2020 The Austrian OeMAG energy agency has launched €36m investment grant scheme for small-scale solar PV installations up to 500 kW and electricity storage systems up to 60 MWh. Rooftop solar installations will receive €24m in rebates…
Daily Energy News Policy & Regulatory Angola plans to remove fuel price subsidies 12 Mar 2020 The government of Angola has announced plans to remove subsidies on fuel prices, though without specifying the implementation schedule. The government estimates that more than US$3.5bn/year are spent on fuel price subsidies and is absorbing…
Policy & Regulatory Sri Lanka launches 150 MW solar tender 10 Mar 2020 Sri Lanka has published a request for proposals for 150 MW of solar capacity. As part of the third phase of the Battle for Solar Energy programme, state-owned power utility Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) intends to build 20…
Policy & Regulatory Manitoba (Canada) implements flat CAD25/t carbon tax 9 Mar 2020 The Canadian province of Manitoba (1.4 million inhabitants) has decided to introduce a flat CAD 25/tCO2 (US$19/tCO2) carbon tax as of 1 July 2020, and to cut the provincial sales tax (PST) from 7% to 6%, saving Manitobans CAD325m/year (US$242m/year),…
Companies FPL (US) will develop 1.5 GW of solar capacity by mid-2021 6 Mar 2020 The Florida Public Service Commission (FPSC) (United States) has approved Florida Power & Light Company’s (FPL) plans to launch its community solar program SolarTogether. As part of the plan, FPL will add 20 new solar power plants, totalling…
Policy & Regulatory Brazil raises minimum biodiesel threshold to 12% 4 Mar 2020 Brazil has raised the minimum share of bio-content in diesel from 11% to 12% on 1 March 2020. The maximum percentage is still capped at 15%. Since 2019, the minimum biodiesel percentage in diesel is increased by…
Tuesday, 3 March 2020 Summary Reports 2nd Meeting of the Open-ended Working Group on the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework At its second meeting, the Working Group commented on the zero draft of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework that was released in January 2020. Delegates approved the final recommendation of the meeting…
Daily Energy News Policy & Regulatory SECI awards 1.2 GW of solar in oversubscribed auction (India) 2 Mar 2020 State-owned Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has awarded 1.2 GW of solar projects, receiving bids for 3.5 GW. SECI granted 600 MW to SB Energy, 300 MW to EDF and 100…
Policy & Regulatory Japan clears bill to secure emergency electricity supply, renewable premiums 27 Feb 2020 The government of Japan has adopted a bill to revise the electricity business law, which intends to secure power in time of disaster, after some parts of the country experienced massive and prolonged power…
Policy & Regulatory Uzbekistan launches tender for 400 MW of solar projects 25 Feb 2020 The Government of Uzbekistan has published an invitation for expression of interest for two 200 MW solar power projects in the Samarkand and Jizzakh regions (east of the country). Interested parties have until 21 March…