Daily Energy News
Policy & Regulatory
Poland adopts its new energy policy until 2040
4 Feb 2021
The Council of Ministers of Poland has approved Poland’s energy policy until 2040, which aims to shift its power mix to less emitting energy sources and will limit the share of coal in electricity production to 56% in 2030.
India unveils a 5-year US$42bn plan to reduce power grids’ T&D losses
4 Feb 2021
The Indian government has unveiled an INR3,050bn (US$42bn) electricity distribution reform program to help reduce losses and improve the efficiency of electricity distribution companies (discoms) over the next 5-year period. The scheme proposes to upgrade supply systems, installs prepaid meters and separate supply lines from subsidised and non-subsidised customers. Around 20% of the spending plan will be funded by the Union Budget of India, and the rest will be raised from international financial institutions, such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank.
China officially launches its national emissions trading scheme
3 Feb 2021
China has officially launched its national emissions trading scheme (ETS). Under the new rules, more than 2,200 companies above a cut-off point of 26,000 tCO2eq/year of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, equivalent to a consumption of 10,000 tce/year, started trading their emission quotas on 1 February 2021. The first phase of the ETS covers 2,267 coal-fired and gas-fired power plants.
Malaysia launches a new 500 MW rooftop PV net metering scheme
3 Feb 2021
The Sustainable Energy Development Authority (SEDA) of Malaysia has opened the Net Energy Metering 3.0 (NEM 3.0) programme, which will be in force until the end of 2023. It will seek to allocate 500 MW of solar rooftop PV capacity, including 100 MW under the NEM Rakyat program for residential systems offering a 10-year net metering tariff, and 100 MW under the NEM GoMEn regime for public entities and government ministries.
Companies
BP posts US$20bn loss in 2020 and sells stake in Oman asset
4 Feb 2021
BP has released its 2020 results, posting a US$20.3bn loss (compared with a US$4bn profit in 2019), due to significant impairments and exploration write-offs taken in the second quarter of 2020. The group suffered from a depressed demand owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, from lower oil and gas prices, and from continuing pressure on refining margins. However, it succeeded in reducing production costs (-6.5% for upstream unit production costs).
Orsted’s global power capacity rose by 19% in 2020
4 Feb 2021
Ørsted has released its 2020 results, and announced a 19% increase (+1.4 GW) in its power capacity to 8.9 GW (including 3.1 GW in Denmark). This strong increase was driven by its offshore wind power branch that added 752 MW, corresponding to the Borssele 1-2 offshore wind project in the Netherlands and to the commissioning of three onshore wind parks in the United States (+671 MW).
ConocoPhillips’s global oil and gas output fell by 16% in 2020
4 Feb 2021
The US energy group ConocoPhillips has released its preliminary 2020 results, posting a US$2.7bn loss in 2020, compared to US$7.2bn earning in 2019. The company’s net loss resulted mainly from write-downs in the value of its assets in the United States, including the Alaska North Slope Gas asset. Excluding write-downs, the group would have lost US$1bn in 2020. ConocoPhillips’s oil and gas output declined by 16% to 1,127 mboe/d in 2020 (including 9 mboe/d in Libya that remained in force majeure for most of the year).
Energy & Climate Markets
Solar rooftop installations accelerated in Germany in 2020 (+4.9 GW)
4 Feb 2021
According to the German Federal Solar Industry Association (BSW), solar rooftop installations accelerated in 2020, with 184,000 new systems totalling 4.9 GW added during the year, compared to 3.8 GW in 2019. A large part of the new installations consisted in residential systems below 10 kWp (over 151,000 new systems totalling 1,131 MW, i.e. twice the capacity installed in 2019).
Morocco’s power demand declined by 1.4% in 2020
4 Feb 2021
According to the National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE), Morocco’s electricity demand declined by 1.4% in 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic and its social and economic impacts. The country’s installed capacity reached 10.6 GW at end-2020, with renewables accounting for 36.8% of the total capacity. The length of transmission lines increased by about 1% in 2020 to over 27,400 km, and the rural electrification rate reached 99.8% in 2020 (32% in 1998).
Kazatomprom’s uranium output declined by 15% in 2020 (Kazakhstan)
4 Feb 2021
The Kazakh state-owned uranium extraction and nuclear group Kazatomprom’s uranium output declined by 15% in 2020 to 19,477 tU (on a 100% basis); its attributable production volume fell by 19% to 10,736 tU during the year but its sales increased by 2% to 16,432 tU in 2020. In 2021, Kazatomprom plans to produce 22,500-22,800 tU and to sell between 15,500 tU and 16,000 tU of uranium.
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