Daily Energy News
Policy & Regulatory
The US will launch lease for 7 GW of offshore wind in the New York Bight
15 Jun 2021
The US Department of the Interior has proposed competitive lease sale for offshore wind development on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) in the New York Bight, an area of shallow waters between Long Island and the New Jersey coast, which has the potential to unlock 7 GW of offshore wind capacity. Eight lease areas in the New York Bight would be auctioned for commercial wind energy development. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will decide within 2 months – after a 60-day consultation period – whether to publish a Final Sale Notice.
Swiss voters reject new CO2 law in a nationwide referendum
15 Jun 2021
Swiss voters have rejected the new CO2 law in a nationwide referendum. The text proposed to halve CO2 emissions by 2030 compared to 2030 levels, and introduced a series of financial incentives, such as a tax on airline tickets, an increase in the tax on fossil fuels and a rise in the price of gasoline. The proceeds from the taxes would have been partly allocated to a climate fund to be created and partly redistributed to the population and businesses.
Germany awards 1,161 MW of onshore wind capacity
15 Jun 2021
The German Federal Network Agency (Bundesnetzagentur or BNetzA) has published the results of the latest tenders for onshore wind with a bidding date set for 1 May 2021. The auction for 1,243 MW of onshore wind capacity attracted 137 bids totalling 1,161 MW. Ten bids were excluded and 1,110 MW were awarded, with price ranging from €5.68c/kWh to €6c/kWh (weighted average of €5.91c/kWh, -1.5% compared to the previous round).
Canada will end new thermal coal mining or expansion projects
15 Jun 2021
The government of Canada has pledged not to approve new thermal coal mining or expansion projects, including Coalspur Mines’ proposed thermal coal mine expansions at the Vista Coal Mine near Hinton, Alberta.
EU’s revised TEN-E Regulation focuses support on renewables and hydrogen
15 Jun 2021
The Council of the European Union has revised the Trans-European Networks for Energy (TEN-E) Regulation, agreed on new rules for cross-border energy infrastructure and pledged over €5.8bn to finance Projects of Common Interest (PCI) in the period 2021-2027 as part of the second Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) scheme. The TEN-E rules governs cross-border energy infrastructure planning and help implement PCIs.
China will end subsidies for new solar and onshore wind projects from August 2021
14 Jun 2021
The Chinese central government will end subsidies from new centralised solar photovoltaic (PV) plants, distributed photovoltaic projects for commercial users and onshore wind power projects from 2021. The policy will be effective from 1 August 2021. Electricity generated from renewables will have to match local coal-fired power generators on price or set its grid price through market trading, as the country aims to achieve grid parity. In addition, the pricing authorities of provincial-level regions will have to set electricity prices for new offshore wind and solar project from 2021.
Senegal will reform its state-owned power utility Senelec
14 Jun 2021
The Council of Ministers of Senegal has approved the country’s first electricity code, which aims to provide a new regulatory framework for the power sector. The reform will have to be adopted by the parliament. It aims to transform Senelec, the state-owned integrated power utility into a holding company and separate its generation, transmission and distribution activities.
Companies
BP, Aker and Staktraft form JV to bid in Norway’s next offshore wind round
15 Jun 2021
BP, Aker and Staktraft have agreed to create a consortium that will pursue a bid to develop offshore wind power in the Sørlige Nordsjø II (SN2) licence area in Norway. Each company will own a 33.3% stake in the consortium, which intends to explore opportunities to provide clean power to electrify offshore oil and gas facilities.
Infrastructure & Investments
The 1.4 GW Sirik gas-fired power plant enters construction (Iran)
15 Jun 2021
Iran and Russia have finalised an agreement to build the 1,400 MW Sirik gas-fired power plant in the Hormozgan Province in southern Iran. The two countries had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in 2016 to implement the project, and the Russian company Technopromexport pledged to invest €12bn (US$14.6bn) in the project.
Turkey completes the first phase of the 1 GW Karapınar solar project
15 Jun 2021
Kalyon Group, a Turkish conglomerate, has completed the first 271 MW phase of the 1 GW Karapınar solar project in Turkey’s central Anatolian province of Konya. The power plant, which has already started to produce power, is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2022. A consortium of Kalyon Group and South Korea’s Hanwha won a tender to build the plant in March 2017, offering a price of US$6.99c/kWh.
No Comment