Daily Energy News
Policy & Regulatory
Poland considers separating coal-fired power capacity from energy groups
22 Jun 2020The Polish government is working on a plan to take over coal-fired power capacity from energy groups, including PGE, Tauron, Enea and Energa, and to consolidate it in a separate entity. The objective would be to maintain coal assets on the capacity market and give great development opportunities for renewables, as having coal assets makes it difficult for energy groups to access investment financing. The programme could take months to materialise. As of June 2020, coal-fired capacity accounted for 64% of Poland’s total capacity.
Read moreChina’s budget for renewable subsidies rises by 7.5% in 2020 to US$13bn
22 Jun 2020The Chinese government has increased its budget for renewable power subsidies by 7.5% from CNY85.2bn (US$12bn) in 2019 to CNY92.4bn (US$13bn) in 2020. Solar projects will collect CNY42.8bn (US$6bn, +14%), while wind will receive CNY35.7bn (US$5bn, -3.2%). The remaining CNY13.8bn (US$1.95bn) will fund biomass power and local grid companies. So far in 2020, solar power projects accounting for 33.5 GW of new capacity have applied for subsidies (+36% on 2019). In 2019, the Chinese authorities subsidised 22.8 GW of the 24.8 GW that applied for the scheme.
Read moreNorway proposes stricter regulations for onshore wind projects
22 Jun 2020The Norwegian government has proposed to set tighter rules for onshore wind power developments to better protect nature. It includes stricter requirements on turbines height, shorter project implementation time and measures to ensure that projects are economically viable. In addition, Norway plans to give more say to local authorities in approving new projects. The government’s proposal needs to be approved by parliament.
Read moreIndia initiates auction process for 41 commercial coal mines
19 Jun 2020India has launched the auction process of 41 coal blocks for commercial mining. The mines will require an investment of around INR300bn (US$3.9bn) over the next five to seven years and should reach peak production of 225 Mt, accounting for 15% of the country’s total coal output in 2025-2026. Four projects have been identified and could gasify around 100 Mt of coal by 2030 at a cost of INR200bn (US$2.6bn).
Read moreChina plans to cap coal-fired power capacity at 1,100 GW by end-2020
19 Jun 2020China intends to cap its coal-fired power capacity at 1,100 GW and the number of coal mines at 5,000 (down from 5,268 in late 2019) by the end of 2020. According to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the country seeks to eliminate outdated power coal-fired power units and small coal mines. Production by large-scale coal mines should reach 96% of the country’s total output.
Read moreEnergy & Climate Markets
Dutch regulator recommends new cut in Groningen’s gas production
22 Jun 2020According to the Dutch State Supervision of Mines, gas production from the Groningen gas field should be reduced to 9.3 bcm in the year through October 2021 in order to limit the risk of earthquakes. Gas extraction from the field, which is operated by a joint venture of Shell and ExxonMobil is capped at 11.8 bcm for the year ending October 2020. Under normal climate conditions, Groningen gas production would thus drop to 9.3 bcm in 2020-2021 and 3 bcm in 2021-2022, before reaching 0 from the spring of 2022. After 2022, the field will be used as a reserve during an extremely cold situation.
Read moreInfrastructure & Investments
Atlantic Coast gas pipeline project seeks to delay start-up date (US)
22 Jun 2020Dominion Energy has sent a request to the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to commission its Atlantic Coast natural gas pipeline project by 2022, i.e. two years after its expected commissioning date. The FERC approved the project in October 2017, authorising Dominion Energy to complete it by end-2020. The company is currently seeking to renew permits from the U. Forest Service and US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and expects to receive all regulatory approvals by end-2020.
Read morePGN will build a 250 kb/d oil pipeline to Dumai refinery (Indonesia)
22 Jun 2020The Indonesian gas transportation and distribution company PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN), an affiliate of the national oil and gas corporation Pertamina, plans to start building a 367-km crude oil pipeline between the Rokan oil block to Pertamina’s Dumai refinery on the island of Sumatra (Indonesia). The US$300m pipeline will have a capacity of 250,000 bbl/d. Commissioning is expected by the end of 2021.
Read moreUttar Pradesh and THDC India plan a 2 GW renewable plant (India)
22 Jun 2020The state government of Uttar Pradesh (India) has approved the creation of a joint venture (JV) between Uttar Pradesh New Renewable Energy Development Agency (UPNEDA) and THDC India to develop a 2 GW «ultra-mega» renewable power plant in Uttar Pradesh The joint venture will be 74% owned by THDC India and 26% by UPNEDA. The ultra mega renewable project will include a 600 MW solar project, which will require an investment of INR24bn (US$315m).
Read moreIberdrola plans a 400 MW solar PV plant in Velilla (Spain)
22 Jun 2020The Spanish energy group Iberdrola plans to build a 400 MW solar PV plant in Velilla worth €300m, as part of its €1.3bn plan to develop more than 1.8 GW of wind and solar projects in the Castile and Leon region (Spain). Iberdrola already operates more than 5,100 MW of renewable power capacity in Castile and Leon and owns a 498 MW coal-fired power plant in Velilla, which will be dismantled in coming years.
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