Daily Energy News
Policy & Regulatory
The Netherlands will organise consultations on new nuclear plants
24 Sep 2020The Dutch government has decided to organise a public consultation on building new nuclear power plants to assess under which conditions market parties are interested in investing in nuclear power plants in the Netherlands, and to investigate what kind of public support would be needed, and in which regions there is inter
Read moreGerman cabinet endorses 65% renewables target for 2030
24 Sep 2020The German federal government has approved an amendment to the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG 2021) targeting a 65% share of renewables in gross electricity consumption by 2030 (up from 43% in 2019). In addition, the amendment introduces a legally binding goal of greenhouse gas (GHG) neutrality before 2050 for the electricity generated and consumed in Germany. The text also comprises annual quotas for solar, biomass, and onshore and offshore wind, which are to be regularly checked in each of Germany’s 16 federal states.
Read moreChina aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060
23 Sep 2020China plans to scale up its updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the Paris Agreement, targeting a peak in CO2 emissions before 2030 and carbon neutrality before 2060. The country is currently working on a new five-year plan that will determine its near-term decarbonisation plans. The country’s CO2 emissions from energy combustion have almost quadrupled since 1990, reaching 9.7 GtCO2 in 2019.
Read morePoland will auction 2.4 GW of renewables capacity before end-2020
23 Sep 2020The Polish Ministry of Climate has approved a regulation to organise eight auctions between 3 November and 3 December 2020 for 2.4 GW of renewables capacity, including 1,000 MW of wind and 800 MW of solar. The government intends to award PLN27.4bn (€6.1bn) in subsidies to renewable energy producers, which will receive 15-year off-take contracts.
Renewables account for 21% of Poland’s installed capacity, with 9.7 GW (2019). The country plans to build 8 to 11 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2040, with investment estimated at PLN130bn (€29bn).
Read moreCompanies
Verbund buys OMV’s controlling stake in Gas Connect Austria (Austria)
24 Sep 2020The Austrian oil and gas company OMV has agreed to sell its 51% stake in the Austria gas transmission system operator (TSO) Gas Connect Austria to Verbund for €271m. The transaction is expected to close in 2021. Gas Connect Austria (OMV 51%, AS Gasinfrastruktur 49%) operates most of the Austrian gas transmission network (900 km), with a transport capacity of 143 bcm/year. In 2016, OMV sold 49% of Gas Connect Austria to AS Gasinfrastruktur (Snam 40% and Allianz 60%) for €601m.
Read moreEnergy & Climate Markets
CNOOC’s new oil project in South China Sea enters production
24 Sep 2020CNOOC has started production at its Liuhua 16-2 oilfield/ 20-2 oilfield joint development project located in Eastern South China Sea. The project, in which CNOOC owns a 100% stake, is expected to reach its peak production of approximately 72,800 bbl/d of crude oil in 2022.
Read moreInfrastructure & Investments
Acciona starts building 238 MW Malgarida solar project in Chile
24 Sep 2020Acciona has started building the Malgarida I and II solar project in Chile, which has a total capacity of 238 MWp. The project will require a US$170m investment and will generate 654 GWh/year. Commissioning is scheduled by the end of 2021.
The group reached a 684 MW operational capacity in Chile in 2020, with the recent commissioning of the 84 MW Tolpán wind park and of the 64 MW Usya solar PV plant.
Read moreBNDES raises USS$100m to fund a 332 MW wind portfolio (Brazil)
24 Sep 2020Brazil’s state-owned development bank BNDES has raised US$100m with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to support 12 wind power projects in the states of Bahia and Pernambuco (eastern Brazil), with a total installed capacity of 332 MW and worth over BRL2bn (around US$360m).
Wind accounts for around 9% of Brazil’s installed capacity with over 15 GW (2019). As of September 2020, more than 4 GW are under construction and 33.8 GW are under development.
Read more1.9 GW Salto Grande hydropower plant in Argentina and Uruguay modernised
24 Sep 2020The Salto Grande Mixed Technical Commission has awarded Emerson a 5-year contract to modernise the 1,890 MW Salto Grand hydropower plant located between Argentina and Uruguay. Emerson will modernize 14 hydroelectric turbine governors. The project is the first of a three-stage, 30-year, US$960m investment aimed at extending the life and improve the efficiency and safety of the 40-year-old plant.
Read moreIOC approves US$2.4bn Koyali refinery expansion project (India)
24 Sep 2020The Indian state-owned oil and gas company Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has approved the expansion and petrochemical and lube integration project at its Koyali refinery in Gujarat (western India), which will require an INR178.2bn (US$2.4bn) investment. The project will increase the refinery’s capacity from 13.7 Mt/year (275,000 bbl/d) to 18 Mt/year (361,000 bbl/d) . The expansion project will improve operational efficiency by replacing smaller capacity atmospheric unit and vacuum units with a large atmospheric vacuum unit (AVU) and enable to meet 100% BS-VI fuel production.
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