Daily Energy News
Policy & Regulatory
Japan’s sixth solar auction awards 369 MW with lowest bid of US$9.5c/KWh
16 Nov 2020The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) of Japan has selected 255 bids with a total capacity of 369 MW in its sixth auction for solar projects of 250 kW capacity or more. Initially, more than 750 MW was offered in the auction, which had a ceiling price of JPY12/kWh (US$11.4c/kWh). The lowest offered price reached JPY10/kWh (US$9.5c/kWh), down from JPY10.99/kWh in the 5th auction (January 2020), JPY10.50/KWh in the 4th auction (summer 2019), JPY14.25/kWh in the third auction (January 2019) and JPY16.47/kWh in the second auction (September 2018).
Read moreSwitzerland earmarks €435m for solar PV support in 2021
16 Nov 2020Switzerland has set aside CHF470m (€435m) in order to promote the development of solar PV in 2021. The country has allocated CHF270m (€250m) to one-off payments for small PV installations, twice the 2020 amount (CHF130m, i.e. €120m). This is expected to cover some 25,000 plants with a total output of around 330 MW. In addition, the government earmarked CHF200m (€185m) for one-off payments for around 2,400 large solar PV installations totalling 713 MW, compared with CHF257m (€238m) in 2020. Switzerland will also provide support to small hydropower plants and biomass-fired projects.
Read moreSweden and Norway will add 18 TWh of new renewable power by 2022
16 Nov 2020Norway and Sweden plan to add 18 TWh of new renewable power by 2022 under their common green subsidy scheme. The program will close to new participants from 1 January 2022. New projects under construction are expected to add 10.6 TWh in Sweden and 7.4 TWh in Norway.
Read moreColombia will auction 5 GW of renewable capacity in early 2021
13 Nov 2020The Colombian government plans to organise the country’s second renewable energy auction during the first quarter 2021. The country intends to allocate around 5 GW of renewable capacity. Projects selected in the procurement process will sign a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) and must be grid connected by 31 December 2022.
Read moreSouth Korea presents a bill to reach its carbon neutrality target
13 Nov 2020South Korea has presented a bill that would turn the target of net-zero emissions by 2050 into law. The proposal would also oblige the government to develop policies and strategies for meeting the target, and creates new parastatals, including a National Climate Crisis Committee and a Climate Crisis Response Fund.
Read moreCompanies
SSE Renewables, Marubeni and CIP join forces for 10 GW ScotWind bid
16 Nov 2020SSE Renewables, Marubeni and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) have created a joint venture to bid together for the 10 GW ScotWind seabed leasing process managed by Crown Estate Scotland (United Kingdom). SSE is already involved in the construction of the 1.1 GW Seagreen offshore wind project and of the 3.6 GW Dogger Bank offshore wind project, both located in Scotland.
Read moreTalen Energy (US) pledges to shut down 5 GW of coal-fired capacity
16 Nov 2020The US power generation and infrastructure group Talen Energy intends to stop burning across its 5 GW wholly-owned fossil fleet. The company plans to stop coal-fired operations at its 1.8 GW Montour plant in Pennsylvania and at its 1.4 GW Brandon Shores and 360 MW H.A. Wagner in Maryland by the end of 2025. Talen Energy already pledged to stop coal-fired generation at its 1.6 GW Brunner Island plant in Pennsylvania by 2028.
Read moreInfrastructure & Investments
Minnesota (US) approves key permits for Enbridge’s Line 3 oil pipeline project
16 Nov 2020The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (United States) has approved key permits for the Line 3 Replacement Project, developed by the Canadian energy transportation company Enbridge. The approvals pave the way for the US Army Corps of Engineers to issue federal permits for the project.
Read moreNeonergia (Brazil) starts building its 567 MW Oitis wind project
16 Nov 2020Neoenergia, an affiliate of the Spanish energy group Iberdrola, has launched the construction of the 567 MW Oitis wind project in Casa Nova, in the state of Bahia (Brazil). The Oitis wind project consists of 12 wind parks, which should be fully operational by the end of December 2022. The project reached financial close in September 2020, after it received a BRL715m (US$133m) loan from the Brazilian regional development bank Banco do Nordeste. The company also secured two loans for the project with the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES) and the European Investment Bank (EIB).
Read moreXinhai Group plans to add a 160 kb/d refining unit in Hebei (China)
16 Nov 2020The Chinese private refining group Xinhai Group plans to expand its 12,000 bbl/d refinery in the port city of Cangzhou in Hebei (northern China) by the end of 2021, by adding a 160,000 bbl/d crude distillation unit (CDU). The company received a crude oil import quota in 2017 and was allowed to import up to 3.72 Mt in 2020.
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