Daily Energy News
Policy & Regulatory
Ireland’s auction awards support for 1,275 MW of renewable capacity
6 Aug 2020The government of Ireland has announced the provisional results of the first Renewable Electricity Support Scheme (RESS) auction, with a bidding date set for 28 July 2020. This support typically applies for 15 years. The tender attracted 108 bids, and 82 bids representing 1,276 MW and 2,237 GWh have been provisionally successful in the auction for an average strike price of €74.08/MWh (€72.92/MWh for solar projects and €104.15/MWh for community schemes).
Read moreUkraine liberalises its residential gas market
5 Aug 2020Ukraine has authorised residential customers to freely choose their gas supplier as of 1 August 2020, as planned in the new Gas Market Act adopted in 2015. Residential customers will have to select a gas supplier or will be supplied by Naftogaz, which has been designated as a supplier of last resort. The market liberalisation is expected to contribute to reduce gas prices.
Read moreThe Supreme Court forces Ireland to strengthen its climate plan
5 Aug 2020The Supreme Court of Ireland has ruled that the government’s National Mitigation Plan (2017-2022) does not comply with Ireland’s obligations under the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015 and that it fails to give sufficient detail on greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction and about how to achieve the national target of a low carbon economy by the end of 2050. In addition, the court judged that the 2019 climate action plan – that aims at reaching net zero emissions by 2050 – is not a plan in the sense of the 2015 Act, as it had not been through a public consultation process.
Read moreCompanies
PSEG (US) plans to sell 7 GW of thermal and solar power capacity
6 Aug 2020US power utility Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) is considering divesting more than 6,750 MW of fossil fuel plants located in New Jersey, Connecticut, New York and Maryland and a 467 MW solar power portfolio located in various US states, as the group intends to transform into a primarily regulated and gas utility. The company intends to retain ownership of its existing nuclear plants (3,759 MW at end-2019) and will evaluate potential investments in offshore wind, including in Ørsted’s Ocean Wind project.
Read moreNovatek launches gas production at the North-Russkiy Cluster (Russia)
6 Aug 2020Russian independent gas producer Novatek, through its subsidiary Novatek-Tarkosaleneftegas, a wholly owned subsidiary, has launched production from gas condensate bearing layers of the North-Russkoye and East-Tazovskoye fields with a capacity of 7.7 bcm/year of natural gas and 1 Mt/year of gas condensate.
Read moreEnergy & Climate Markets
Neptune Energy makes a new oil find in the Norwegian North Sea
6 Aug 2020Neptune Energy has made an oil discovery at the Dugong well (PL882) in the Norwegian North Sea, with recoverable resources estimated at 40-120 Mboe. In addition, the company has significantly de-risked another prospect in the licence estimated by Neptune at 33 Mboe, raising the total resource potential in PL882 to 153 Mboe. Neptune Energy is the operator of the Dugong licence with a 40% stake in partnership with Concedo (20%), Petrolia NOCO (20%), and Idemitsu Petroleum Norge (20%). The license was awarded during the Awards in Predefined Areas (APA) in 2017.
Read moreForecasts
Global offshore wind capacity will surge to over 234 GW by 2030
6 Aug 2020According to the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), through 2030, more than 205 GW of new offshore wind capacity will be added globally – a 15 GW increase from last year’s outlook – spurred by declining technology costs, ambitious polices, and international commitments to decarbonisation. The global offshore wind capacity would then surge from 29 GW in 2019 to 234 GW in 2030, including at least 6 GW of floating offshore wind installed globally by 2030
Read moreInfrastructure & Investments
CFE will develop 2 solar plants (350 MW) in Baja California (Mexico)
6 Aug 2020The Mexican state-owned power utility Comisión Federal de Electricidad (CFE) will invest US$342m into two solar projects with a total capacity of 350 MW at its 820 MW Cerro Prieto geothermal plant in Mexicali (Baja California). The power project will be developed in two stages, with the 150 MW Cerro Prieto II expected to be commissioned in 2023, and the 200 MW Cerro Prieto III scheduled in 2029.
As of July 2020, Mexico’s total capacity was 83 GW, including 4 GW of solar (5%).
Read moreGE and J-Power invest in hydropower projects in Australia
6 Aug 2020GE and Walcha Energy have signed an agreement to jointly develop the 500 MW Dungowan pumped-storage project in New South Wales (Australia). The project is located in the New England Renewable Energy Zone (REZ), where the hydropower plant will support the addition of another 4 GW of renewable capacity, providing stable power generation to the grid. New England Renewable Energy Zone’s first wind plant, the 700 MW Winterbourne project that is majority-owned by Vestas, is scheduled to start operations in 2022.
Read moreUS FERC approves PennEast’s new plan for its natural gas pipeline project
6 Aug 2020The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has released a favourable environmental review for PennEast’s plan to divide the 1 bcf/d (10.3 bcm/year) natural gas pipeline project in two phases, considering that it would not significantly affect the environment. The project, which originally intended to ship natural gas from the Marcellus Shale production area in Pennsylvania to markets in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York, faced regulatory obstacles in New Jersey.
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