Daily Energy News
Policy & Regulatory
Germany’s Bundestrat approves law to fast-track 30 transmission projects
16 Feb 2021The Bundesrat, Germany’s upper house, has approved the Federal Requirements Plan Act, which will fast-track 35 power network expansion projects, including the 1.4 GW NeuConnect HVDC submarine power cable between Germany and England (United Kingdom), the 700 MW Sweden-Germany Hansa Power Bridge interconnector and a new transmission line with Luxembourg and France. The law also applies to the capacity expansion of the north-south HVDC line SuedOstLink from 2,000 to 4,000 MW and the Corridor B, which will run from Schleswig-Holstein and Lower Saxony to the Ruhr area.
Read moreHungary selects 36 solar projects (210 MW) in second renewable auction
15 Feb 2021The Hungarian Energy and Public Utility Regulatory Authority (MEKH) has announced the winners of the country’s second METAR technology-neutral renewable power auction launched in July 2020. The MEKH received 257 proposals totalling around 2 TWh/year for 390 GWh/year available. The regulator selected 36 bids totalling 210 MW (343 GWh/year), including 6 large projects between 1 MW and 50 MW (total capacity of 185 MW and expected production of 303 GWh/year) that will receive HUF600m/year (average bid of HUF17.2/kWh, i.e. €4.8c/kWh).
Read moreSouth Africa will launch a tender for 2,600 MW of wind and solar capacity
15 Feb 2021South Africa plans to issue a request for proposal for 2,600 MW from wind and solar projects as part of Bid Window 5 in the coming weeks. Another bid window is scheduled in August 2021. The country should be announcing soon the successful bids for 2,000 MW of emergency power. According to Eskom, there will be an electricity supply shortfall of between 4,000 and 5,000 MW over the next five years, as old coal-fired power plants reach their end of life.
Read moreCompanies
Dominion Energy (US) aims to invest U$72bn on decarbonisation by 2035
16 Feb 2021Dominion Energy, which posted a net loss of US$401m in 2020, plans to invest US$32bn in growth capital over the 2021-2025 period, including 52% in zero carbon generation and energy storage, 20% in electric transformation (power transmission, grid transformation and strategic undergrounding), 10% in gas distribution modernisation and renewable natural gas (RNG) systems and 18% in customer growth and others. Capital expenditures will ramp up from US$5bn/year in 2021 and 2022 to US$6bn in 2023 and US$8bn/year in 2024 and 2025.
Read moreLightsource BP acquires a 845 MW solar portfolio in Spain comprising 5 projects
16 Feb 2021Asterion Industrial Partners, through Asterion Energies and its partner Iberia Solar, has sold a solar PV portfolio of 845 MW in Spain to Lightsource BP. The portfolio comprises 5 ready-to-build projects in the regions of Castilla-La Mancha and Castilla y León. Lightsource BP will continue to develop the PV projects until they reach financial closure and plans to start construction in 2022. In January 2021, Lightsource BP acquired a 1.07 GW portfolio in Spain from RIC Energy. The company now has a total of 2.25 GW of project in development or under construction in Spain.
Read moreEnergy & Climate Markets
Japan added 449 MW of new wind capacity in 2020
16 Feb 2021According to the Japan Wind Power Association (JWPA), Japan added 141 new wind turbines at 19 different sites, which represent a net new capacity of 449 MW. The new installation increased by 66% from 271 MW in 2019, reaching a record in new installations. All of the new capacity came from onshore wind (one 7 MW offshore wind turbine was decommissioned in 2020 and no new offshore wind turbines started operation in 2020). According to the JWPA, at the end of 2020, Japan’s installed capacity reached 4,372 MW across 2,531 units.
Read moreEnergy Prices & Taxes
Brazil proposes new rules for fuel taxes at state-level
16 Feb 2021The Brazilian federal authorities have introduced a bill proposal to Congress that would change how state fuel taxes are established, in an attempt to reduce fuel prices volatility. The reform would affect the tax rate of the ICMS (Imposto sobre Circulação de Mercadoria e Serviços), a VAT-equivalent tax that ranges between 12% and 30%, depending on the product and the state of consumption.
Read moreInfrastructure & Investments
Petronas’ 1.5 Mt/year FLNG Dua produces first LNG (Malaysia)
16 Feb 2021Petronas’s second floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) unit in Malaysia, the 1.5 Mt/year PFLNG Dua, has produced its first LNG. The PFLNG Dua project, which was built by the Malaysian state-run energy group Petronas, JGC Corporation and Samsung Heavy Industries, enables the liquefaction of gas from the offshore Rotan gas field, which is located approximately 140 km offshore Kota Kinabulu, in Sabah (East Malaysia).
Read moreCox Energy will start building a 308 MW solar PV project in Chile in 2021
16 Feb 2021Cox Energy America intends to start building a 308 MW solar PV power plant in the Atacama Desert (Chile) in the second half of 2021. The Sol de Vallenar project is expected to cost US$170m and is backed by a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement awarded by the Chilean government. It will be connected to the National Electric System (SEN) at the 220 kV Algarrobal substation and should produce more than 800 GWh/year.
Read moreIndia’s Petronet plans to add 5 Mt/year at its Dahej LNG import terminal
16 Feb 2021Petronet LNG plans to expand the capacity of its Dahej LNG import terminal in Gujarat (north(western India) by 5 Mt/year (6.8 bcm/year) to 22.5 Mt/year (30.4 bcm/year, i.e. +29%) to meet rising demand. The company intends to add 2.5 Mt/year (3.4 bcm/year) within three to four years in the first phase, followed by another 2.5 Mt/year expansion.
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