Daily Energy News
Policy & Regulatory
Norway’s supreme court confirms governments plans for Arctic oil exploration
24 Dec 2020The Supreme Court of Norway has upheld governments plans for Arctic oil exploration. The court ruled that ten exploration licenses in the Arctic awarded in 2016 did not violate Norway’s constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights. In November 2020, The Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy launched its 25th oil exploration licencing round, which comprises 9 areas, including 8 in the Arctic Barents Sea and 1 in the Norwegian Sea. The government will tender 136 new oil exploration blocks, with 125 in the Arctic Barents Sea.
Read moreIndian government mulls advancing E20 blending from 2030 to 2025
24 Dec 2020The central government of India has proposed to advance the adoption of E20 fuel, which is a blend of 20% ethanol with gasoline (petrol), for vehicular use from 2030 to 2025 or 2023. The advancing of the deadline would allow sugar mills to convert excess sugarcane or sugar for producing higher quantity of ethanol required for blending, as India will not be able to extend financial help for marketing and transport of excess sugar beyond 2023 as per WTO conditions.
Read moreGermany’s latest onshore wind and solar PV tender was oversubscribed
24 Dec 2020The 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 1 December 2020. The auction for 367 MW of onshore wind capacity was oversubscribed, attracting 96 bids totalling 657 MW. 58 bids totalling 400 MW were selected with price ranging from €5.59c/kWh to €6.07c/kWh (weighted average of €5.91c/kWh). Three bids were excluded.
Read moreChina plans to lift restrictions on foreign investment in energy sector
23 Dec 2020The Chinese State Council Information Office has released a white paper on the country’s energy development and major policies and measures for energy reform, which plans to lift foreign investment restriction on coal, oil, gas, power generation, and new energy businesses during the 14th five-year plan period between 2021-2025. Investment restrictions on nuclear will remain in place. The policy document prioritises the development of solar energy, wind power, hydropower, and nuclear power, as well as biomass, geothermal, and ocean energy.
Read moreUS coronavirus relief package includes measures to tackle climate change
23 Dec 2020The United States Congress, which consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate, has passed a US$900bn coronavirus relief package, which includes measures to address climate change. The bill instructs the Department of Interior to establish an objective of producing at least 25 GW of solar, wind and geothermal energy on public lands by 2025.
Read moreCompanies
PipeChina will acquire Dalian LNG terminal from Kunlun Energy (China)
24 Dec 2020Kunlun Energy, an affiliate of PetroChina, has signed an agreement to sell a 60% stake in a Beijing natural gas pipeline and a 75% stake in the 10 Mt/year (13.5 bcm/year) Dalian LNG import terminal to PipeChina for a total consideration of CNY40.9bn (US$6.3bn).
Read moreEnergy & Climate Markets
China expects crude oil and gas production to increase in 2020
24 Dec 2020According to the National Energy Administration (NEA), China’s crude oil production is expected to increase by 1.6% to over 194 Mt (3.87 mb/d) in 2020, following a jump in output from the onshore Changqing and Tarim oilfields, as well as in Bohai Bay. In addition, the country’s natural gas production should increase by 7% to 186 bcm in 2020.
Read moreInfrastructure & Investments
Siemens Gamesa will supply wind turbines for the São Vitor project (Brazil)
24 Dec 2020Siemens Gamesa has won a contract to supply 75 of its SG 5.8-170 turbines (operating at 6.2 MW each) for the 465 MW São Vitor wind project in the state of Bahia (northeast Brazil). The project, which is scheduled to be commissioned in 2022, is developed by Essentia Energia, a Brazilian renewable energy platform of Patria Investments, an alternative asset manager focused on Latin America. Power generation will be sold to a major Brazilian electricity provider through a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).
Read moreNew Latvia-Estonia power transmission line completed
24 Dec 2020The 330 kV transmission between Estonia and Latvia has been completed and is scheduled to be commissioned by mid-2021. The project, which has a transmission capacity of 600 MW, is an important step to integrate Baltic power grids with the Continental Europe network, which is targeted in 2025. Baltic countries are currently synchronised to Russian network. The new line will also help eliminate the transmission capacity deficit in the Estonia-Latvia cross section by 2024, whn the reconstruction of the Valmiera-Tartu and Valmiera-Tsirgulin lines is completed.
Read moreEngie and Enel seek approval for 553 MW of renewable projects in Chile
24 Dec 2020Engie initiated the environmental evaluation of the 353 MW Lomas de Taltal onshore wind project in the Antofagasta region of Chile. The project, which also comprise a transmission line to the Parinas substation, requires a US$424m investment. In addition, Enel Green Power is also seeking environmental approval for the 200 MW Pampa Norte 2 solar PV project, which is also located the Antofagasta Region, and will require US$143m in investments.
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