Policy & Regulatory Algeria could ban imports of petroleum products from 2021 21 Aug 2020 Algeria plans to quickly diversify its exports in order to reduce its dependence on hydrocarbon sales. According to the government, the share of oil and exports as a share of total trade is expected to…
Policy & Regulatory Angola has ratified the Paris Agreement 20 Aug 2020 The Angola parliament has ratified the Paris Agreement, which was signed in 2015. The country’s late ratification was due to the need to develop tools to monitor greenhouse gas emissions and delays in the political process. In the…
Companies A single consortium is formed to develop the Inga III hydro project (Congo DR) 19 Aug 2020 Six Chinese companies led by China Three Gorges Corporation and Spain-based AEE Power have agreed to form a single consortium to develop the Inga III hydro project in the Democratic Republic of…
Companies Woodside blocks Lukoil’s 40% stake acquisition in RSSD oil project (Senegal) 18 Aug 2020 Woodside Petroleum has pre-empted the sale by Cairn Energy to Lukoil of its 40% stake in the Rufisque Offshore, Sangomar Offshore and Sangomar Deep Offshore (RSSD) project in Senegal. Woodside will make an upfront payment of…
Volume 5 Issue 8, August 2020 Offshore wind not at sea Offshore wind power has been declining in price but is still considered expensive compared to other non-renewable and renewable energy sources. Jansen et al. use extensive energy auction data from five European countries to show that offshore wind energy…
Policy & Regulatory MNRE (India) plans wind-solar hybrid auctions and extends deadlines 17 Aug 2020 The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) of India has announced various measures related to renewable power project developments. The MNRE has identified areas suitable for hybrid wind-solar power projects and plans to conduct hybrid…
Policy & Regulatory Israel cancels 4.9 GW of gas-fired power projects 14 Aug 2020 The Israeli Ministry of Energy has requested the National Planning and Building Council to cancel four gas-fired power plant projects with a total capacity of 4,860 MW. Read more Nigeria opens its oil transport network to…
Policy & Regulatory UK’s NIC recommends 65% of renewables in power generation by 2030 13 Aug 2020 The UK’s National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) has updated its target for deployment of renewables as part of a low-cost low carbon electricity system, from 50% to 65% by 2030. According to the NIC, accelerating the…
Policy & Regulatory Pakistan targets a 30% share of renewables in power mix by 2030 12 Aug 2020 The government of Pakistan plans to increase the share of its power generation from renewables (excluding hydropower) from less than 4% in 2018 to 20% by 2025 and 30% by 2030. The target…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…