Daily Energy News
Policy & Regulatory
Greece will unlock €5bn in compensation for phasing out lignite by 2028
11 Sep 2020The Greek government plans to spend €5bn in compensation for phasing out lignite by 2028. The funds, which will come from the national budget, the Juncker Plan and the European Investment Bank, will finance 16 large investments in Western Macedonia and Megalopolis (Peloponnese). Among the projects, Greece’s state-owned power utility PPC will develop 2.8 GW of solar projects (2.3 GW in Western Macedonia and 500 MW in Megalopolis).
Read moreFrance will invest €7.2bn by 2030 to support hydrogen production
11 Sep 2020As part of a €100bn economic stimulus package, the French government has unveiled a €7.2bn hydrogen production support scheme over the 2020-2030 period, which intends to make the country a world leader in hydrogen production. The plan, which seeks to help companies move from the R&D and demonstrator stage to the industrial stage, has two main pillars: the development of a profitable green hydrogen production, and the democratisation of its use, especially for heavy-duty vehicles.
Read morePoland mulls cutting the share of coal in its power mix to 37% in 2030
10 Sep 2020The Ministry of Climate of Poland has released an update of its energy strategy by 2040. It intends to reduce the share of coal in its power generation to 37% in 2030 (up to 56% in the worst scenario) and to 11% in 2040 (28% in the worst scenario). The policy document is yet to be approved by the Council of Ministers. A previous draft, released in November 2019, targeted a decrease of coal’s share in power generation to 56%-60% in 2030 and to 28% in 2040. In 2019, power generation from coal and lignite accounted for almost 3/4 of the total power mix.
Read moreEcuador launches a tender for 200 MW of renewables capacity
10 Sep 2020The Ministry of Energy and Non-Renewable Natural Resources of Ecuador has launched a tender for 24 hydropower, wind, and biomass projects, with a total capacity of 200 MW. The government, which intends to attract US$300m in private investment, will announce the winners within 237 business days.
Read moreCompanies
South Korea’s KOSPO plans to invest US$3.4bn in renewables by 2025
11 Sep 2020South Korean power utility Korea Southern Power (KOSPO) intends to invest KRW4,000bn (US$3.4bn) in renewables capacity by 2025. The company plans to develop as much as 100 wind projects. KOSPO will start by completing a 60 MW wind project in Omi Mountain in 2021, and a 30 MW wind project in Yukbaek Mountain in Samcheok by 2022.
Read moreEnel plans to close 2 additional coal-fired plants in Italy by 2021
11 Sep 2020Enel has requested approval from the Italian Ministry of Economic Development to close two additional coal-fired power units in Italy by 202, at the 428 MW Fusina power plant and the 520 MW La Spezia power plant. The company already has the authorisation to shut down the Brindisi 2 plant (660 MW) in early 2021.
Read moreBP enters the US offshore wind market in partnership with Equinor
11 Sep 2020Equinor has signed an agreement with BP to sell a 50% stake in the Empire Wind and Beacon Wind assets in the US east coast for US$1.1bn. Equinor will remain the operator of the projects in these leases through the development, construction and operations phases. BP’s acquisition of stakes in Empire Wind and Beacon Wind is expected to close in early 2021, subject to customary conditions and authority approval. The two companies will also establish a strategic partnership in the US offshore wind sector.
Read moreEnergy & Climate Markets
EU and UK energy-related CO2 emissions declined by 3.8% in 2019
11 Sep 2020According to the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre, global CO2 emissions from energy combustion increased by 0.9% to 38 GtCO2 in 2019, driven by China (+3.4%, accounting for 30% of global emissions) and India (+1.6%, 7% of global emissions). Meanwhile, Japan (3% of global emissions) reduced its energy-related CO2 emissions by 2.1%, the United States (13% of total emissions) by 2.6% and Russia (5% of total emissions) by 0.8%.
Read moreInfrastructure & Investments
The Tianwan-5 nuclear unit (China) enters commercial operation
11 Sep 2020The Chinese state-run nuclear group China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) has commissioned the fifth unit of the Tiawan nuclear project, located in the Jiangsu province of China. The Unit 5 consists of a Chinese-designed ACPR1000 pressurised water reactor (PWR) rated 1,080 MWe. The project completed fuel loading into the reactor in July 2020 and achieved first criticality and was connected to the grid in August 2020.
Read moreWestern Australia approves Mitsui’s 3.7 bcm/year gas processing plant project
11 Sep 2020The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) of Western Australia has approved the Waitsia Gas Project Stage 2, located about 16 km south-east of the Dongara-Port Denison town sites. Mitsui is proposing to develop a new 250 TJ/d (2.6 bcm/year) gas processing plant that will draw from up to eight production wells phased over a 20-year life-cycle and will convey gas via the nearby Dampier to Bunbury Natural Gas Pipeline. The project is in design stage and subject to a final investment decision.
Read more
No Comment