Daily Energy News
Policy & Regulatory
Mexico unveils constitutional reform to strengthen power utility CFE
4 Oct 2021
Mexico has sent to Congress a constitutional reform seeking to strengthen the role of the state-owned power utility Comision Federal de Electricidad (CFE) within the electricity sector. The reform would give a preferential treatment to the CFE over private firms; the law currently assigns priority to dispatching the lowest-cost power onto the grid, which is often produced by private companies.
Lithuania targets 100% green power consumption by 2035
4 Oct 2021
Lithuania plans to bring forward its targets for consuming at least 50% green power from 2030 to 2025, and its target for using 100% green power will be moved from 2050 to 2035. The country aims to invest €10bn into green energy by 2030, including about €3.5bn of investment from the private sector and significant financing from the European Union funds.
The US will hold an oil and gas auction for the Gulf of Mexico in late 2021
4 Oct 2021
The US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) will hold an oil and gas lease sale for the Gulf of Mexico on 17 November 2021, in compliance with an order from a US District Court. The Lease Sale 257 will include approximately 15,135 unleased blocks.
Turkey will tender 1.5 GW of solar capacity in January 2022
1 Oct 2021
The Turkish Ministry of Energy has initiated the fifth tender for 1,500 MW of utility-scale solar projects under its Renewable Energy Resources Zones (YEKA) scheme. The country will select 76 solar projects with capacities ranging from 10 to 30 MW across 23 regions at a ceiling price of TRY0.40/kWh (€3.9c/kWh). Bids will be open on 12 January 2022.
Italy awards only 821 MW of renewable capacity in a 3.3 GW tender
1 Oct 2021
The Italian energy agency Gestore dei Servizi Energetici (GSE) has published the results of the sixth tender for renewable capacity under the country’s new renewable support scheme. A total quota of 3,316 MW was offered but the call for projects was largely under subscribed, with only 859 MW of bids submitted (around 26% of the available capacity).
Companies
Chile’s GM closes financing for 480 MW of solar and 128 MW of gas projects
4 Oct 2021
The Chilean power utility Generadora Metropolitana (GM), a joint venture between the French group EDF and the Chilean company AME, has secured a US$980m financing to build the 480 MW CEME1 solar project in María Elena (Antofagasta Region), and to convert to gas the 128 MW Los Vientos diesel-fired power plant in in Llay Llay in the Valparaíso Region. The financing was structured with a combination of bank debt and bond issuance.
Energy & Climate Markets
Germany merges its two gas trading hubs to form Trading Hub Europe
4 Oct 2021
Germany has launched the nation-wide market area Trading Hub Europe (THE), connecting more than 700 downstream networks with a total length of around 40,000 km and covering the entire German gas market. The THE is created from the merger of the two existing gas market hubs, Gaspool and NetConnect Germany (NCG), in a move the industry has been planning since 2017. Total volumes traded reached 579 TWh on NCG and 510 TWh on Gaspool in 2020. The total physical exchanges on both hubs represent considerably more than the total natural gas consumption.
Infrastructure & Investments
Egypt and Saudi Arabia move ahead with their power interconnection project
4 Oct 2021
The Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (EETC) and the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) have awarded a €221m (US$260m) contract to Prysmian Group for a ±500 kV HVDC submarine and land cable system to create an interconnection between Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The signature of the contract is expected in early October 2021. The project will have a capacity of 3 GW.
Estonia’s Eesti Energia starts approval process of the Liivi offshore wind project
4 Oct 2021
The Estonian state-owned energy group Eesti Energia has started assessing the environmental impact of the Liivi offshore wind project in the Gulf of Riga. The environmental impact assessment will be carried out by Skepast&Puhkim OÜ.
Falck and BlueFloat plan a 1.2 GW floating offshore wind project in Italy
4 Oct 2021
Falck Renewables has joined forces with BlueFloat Energy for the development of floating offshore wind parks off the Italian coast. Partners will start of the authorization process for the first project, located in the waters off Brindisi (Puglia); the Kailia Energia project is expected to have an installed capacity of around 1.2 GW, which would generate around 3.5 TWh/year.
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