Daily Energy News
Policy & Regulatory
A US court vacates the ACE rule on coal-fired power plants’ emissions
21 Jan 2021The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has vacated the Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule, issued in 2019, which gave States more time and authority to decide how to implement the best new technology to reduce CO2 emissions from coal-fired power plants.
Read moreAustralia unveils a plan to develop the Beetaloo shale gas sub-basin
20 Jan 2021The Australian government has released an AUD224m (US$173m) plan to accelerate exploration and development of the Beetaloo sub-basin in the Northern Territory (NT), which is expected to hold more than 200,000 PJ (nearly 5,700 bcm) of shale gas resources. Australia aims to forward the final investment decisions of Beetaloo development to 2025 or earlier. The Beetaloo sub-basin has the potential to supply downstream gas industries in the Northern Territory, the Australian east coast domestic gas market and potentially LNG exports.
Read moreCompanies
Naturgy acquires a US solar and energy storage company
21 Jan 2021Naturgy has acquired Hamel Renewables, a US solar and energy storage company with a portfolio of 8 GW of solar projects and 4.6 GW of energy storage projects in 9 US states, of which 25 projects totalling 3.2 GW of solar and 2 GW of storage could be operational before 2026. The Spanish energy group plans to invest up to US$1.8bn over the next five years to reach an operational capacity of 1.85 GW of solar energy in 2025. It may also develop the remaining pipeline adding up to 8 GW of solar energy projects until 2030.
Read moreForestalia sells 2 GW of solar PV projects in Spain to Bruc Energy
21 Jan 2021Bruc Energy, owned by Ontario Pension Trust (OPT) and a Spanish business man, has entered into an agreement with Forestalia to acquire 2 GW of solar PV projects in Spain. The power plants, which already have access to the transmission grid and are in administrative processing, are located in the provinces of Zaragoza and Terue in Aragón (northern Span). Forestalia will transfer them to Bruce Energy once they reach the "ready to build" status.
Read moreNorway’s Aker agrees to acquire renewable developer Mainstream
20 Jan 2021Norway’s energy group Aker has agreed to acquire a 75% stake in the Ireland-based global wind and solar project developer Mainstream Renewable Power, in a transaction valuing the company at €900m (on a 100% basis, plus a €100m potential earn-out in 2023), subject to customary adjustments. The transaction, which is subject to customary and regulatory approvals, is expected to close by June 2021.
Read moreForecasts
Indonesia expects gasoline imports to rise by 54% in 2021
21 Jan 2021According to the Ministry of Energy of Indonesia, gasoline imports are expected to increase by 54% to 140 mbl, up from 91 mbl in 2020 and exceeding the pre-pandemic import level of 119 mbl in 2019. In addition, Indonesia’s gasoline sales should reach 233 mbl in 2021 (+32% compared to the 176 mbl level of 2020), while domestic gasoline production should increase by 9% from 86 mbl in 2020 to 94 mbl in 2021, close to its 2019 levels.
Read moreInfrastructure & Investments
The permit for the Keystone XL oil pipeline (US) will be revoked again
21 Jan 2021The newly-elected US President has decided to revoke the Presidential permit granted to the Keystone XL pipeline, which is developed the Canadian energy infrastructure group TC Energy and was expected to be commissioned in 2023. TC Energy may appeal the decision, as the group did after a first presidential veto in 2015.
Read moreBulgaria will use Russian technology for unit 7 of Kozloduy nuclear plant
21 Jan 2021Bulgaria intends to use the Russian equipment provided for the Belene nuclear power project for a 7th nuclear reactor at the Kozloduy nuclear power plant. The country already paid equipment worth BGN1.3bn (€665m) for the Belene nuclear project. In October 2020, the government was considering selecting US technology for the Kozloduy-7 project, but those plans have been shelved.
Read moreBangladesh grants permit for the 1,320 MW Payra coal-fired power project
21 Jan 2021Bangladesh has awarded overall operation certification to the first 660 MW phase of the 1,320 MW Payra ultra-supercritical coal-fired project, which was invested, built, and operated by China’s state-owned China General Technology. The project, which will produce 8.5 TWh/year, is part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor.
Coal-fired capacity, which was multiplied by 4.5 over 2017-2019 (from 250 MW to over 1.1 GW), accounts for 6% of Bangladesh’s installed capacity (2019).
Read moreVietnam authorises the 1.2 GW Quang Trach 2 coal-fired power plant
21 Jan 2021The Prime Minister of Vietnam has authorised the 1,200 MW (2×600 MW) Quang Trach 2 coal-fired power project in the Quang Binh province. The power plant, which is developed by Electricity of Vietnam (EVN), requires a VND41,000bn (US$1.8bn) investment.
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