Daily Energy News
Policy & Regulatory
The French National Assembly approves FiT cuts for 3.6 GW of PV projects
17 Nov 2020The French National Assembly has approved a retroactive cut in feed-in tariffs (FiTs) granted to large photovoltaic (PV) projects – with capacities exceeding 250 kW – between 2006 and 2010, considering that those tariffs were too high. In order to the support the solar PV sector, the government adopted in 2006 a 20-year FiT of €600/MWh, which was 10 times higher than the market price and offered an internal rate of return over 20%. The FiTs were revised in 2010, but purchase contracts signed between 2006 and 2010 were not amended.
Read moreIndonesia delays implementation of 40% biodiesel content rule
17 Nov 2020Indonesia will not implement the mandatory use of biodiesel fuels with a 40% bio-content (B40) in July 2021 due to funding issues and will instead retain its B30 biodiesel programme (30% biodiesel blend in diesel). In May 2020, Indonesia decided to inject US$186m in the Estate Crop Fund as well as to increase the levy on palm export by 10% to US$55/t, in a bid to fix its biodiesel support programme funding issues.
Read moreJapan’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 moreCompanies
Naturgy sells Chilean power distributor CGE to China’s State Grid
17 Nov 2020The Spanish energy group Naturgy has signed an agreement with the Chinese state-owned firm State Grid International Development (SGID) to sell its 96.04% stake in Compañía General de Electricidad (CGE), a Chilean electricity distribution company, for a total consideration of €2.57bn (US$3bn). The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to close by the end of February 2021.
Read moreFurnas (Brazil) contracts 1 GW of solar capacity in its first auction
17 Nov 2020Furnas, an affiliate of the Brazilian electricity group Eletrobras, has contracted 1 GW of solar capacity for a period of 15 years under its first special incentive energy auction seeking the long-term purchase of wind and solar power. The company selected 15 solar projects in the state of Bahia, Piauí, Ceará and Paraíba, which are due to enter operations in 2024. The plants require a total investment of BRL4.1bn (US$756m).
Read moreInfrastructure & Investments
The 10 bcm/year TAP gas pipeline from Greece to Italy enters operations
17 Nov 2020The Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), which transports 10 bcm/year of natural gas from the Shah Deniz II field in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea to Europe, has started commercial operations. Construction had started in 2016. The 878 km long pipeline connects with the Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) at the Turkish-Greek border in Kipoi, crosses Greece and Albania and the Adriatic Sea, before coming ashore in Southern Italy. Snam has a 20% stake in the project, along with BP (20%), Socar (20%), Fluxys (19%), Enagas (16%) and Axpo (EGL) (5%).
Read moreKangnas Wind commissions a 140 MW onshore wind project in South Africa
17 Nov 2020Kangnas Wind, a joint venture of Mainstream Renewable Power, Lekela Power, HI Holdings, African Rainbow Energy and Power (AREP) and Old Mutual Life Assurance Company, has commissioned the 140 MW Kangnas onshore wind project in the Western Cape region of South Africa. The project is one of 12 wind projects in Round 4 part of the South African government’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP).
Read moreSSE, ScottishPower and National Grid plan a 4 GW HVDC project in the UK
17 Nov 2020The British power transmission system operator (TSO) National Grid and the UK power groups SSE and ScottishPower plan to build the 4 GW Eastern Link project, which will comprise 2 GW high-voltage direct current (HVDC) cables from the east coast of Scotland to two points in the north-east of England, Selby and Hawthorn Point (United Kingdom). The east coast of Scotland already has nearly 1 GW of offshore wind parks in operation; another 4.4 GW is in the pipeline and up to 10 GW could be developed in the wake of the next Scottish offshore wind leasing round (ScotWind).
Read moreMexico will award an export licence to Sempra Energy’s LNG project
17 Nov 2020Mexico will award a 20-year export license for the first phase of Sempra Energy’s Energía Costa Azul (ECA) LNG liquefaction and export project in Baja California (north-western Mexico). Sempra Energy planned to make a final investment decision (FID) in the second quarter of 2020 but has been awaiting the permit to make its decision.
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