Daily Energy News
Policy & Regulatory
Bangladesh releases plan for 40 GW of solar capacity by 2041
22 Oct 2020Bangladesh has unveiled a draft 20-year National Solar Energy Action Plan, which envisages almost 40 GW of solar capacity by 2041; solar would then account for half of the country’s installed capacity. The solar strategy, which is will be updated every five years, foresees large ‘solar hubs’ hosting 16 GW of generation capacity, electric utilities 4 GW, private developers 5 GW and rooftop installations another 12 GW; the remainder would come from irrigation pumps (2.5 GW, 285 MW from residential PV systems, and 16 MW from minigrid, microgrid and offgrid installations).
Read morePoland and the United States sign a nuclear power cooperation agreement
21 Oct 2020Poland has signed a 30-year intergovernmental agreement to cooperate on the development of the country’s civil nuclear program with the United States. Over the next 18 months, the two countries will work together on a report delivering a design for implementing Poland’s nuclear power programme, as well as potential financing arrangements. Poland would buy at least US$18bn in nuclear technology from US companies. Westinghouse Electric Company will take part in a first step in the agreement, an engineering study for planned plants.
Read moreIndia maintains deadline for the privatisation of oil refiner BPCL
21 Oct 2020The Indian Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) has decided not to extend the date for the sale of the state-owned majority stake in the Indian oil company Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL). The current deadline, which has already been extended by the government on four occasions, is 16 November 2020.
Read moreCompanies
Iberdrola acquires US power utility PNM Resources for US$8.3bn
22 Oct 2020The Spanish energy group Iberdrola, through its affiliate Avangrid, has acquired PNM Resources, the power utility of New Mexico and Texas, for a total consideration of US$8.3bn. This acquisition will turn Avangrid into one of the largest power utilities in the United States, with 10 regulated electricity companies in 6 states (New York, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Mexico and Texas) and the 3rd largest renewable operator in the country, with a total presence in 24 states.
Read moreNorwegian power producers Hydro and Lyse merge hydropower assets
22 Oct 2020Hydro, a large Norwegian aluminium producer, plans to merge its hydropower plants (582 MW) in Røldal-Suldal Kraft with hydro assets owned by power utility Lyse. Lyse has a total installed capacity of 1,958 MW, including 1,759 MW of hydro generation and 199 MW of thermal generation. The new entity, named Lyse Kraft DA, will owned by Hydro (25.6%) and Lyse (74.4%), and will become the third-largest power market company in Norway, with a market portfolio of 9.5 TWh in a normal year.
Read moreUS shale producer Pioneer buys Parsley Energy for US$4.5bn
22 Oct 2020US shale producer Pioneer Natural Resources has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire its peer Parsley Energy in an all-stock transaction valued US$4.5bn. Pioneer Natural Resources will assume Parsley Energy’s debt, raising the total value of the transaction to US$7.6bn. The combined company will have a production base in the Permian basin of 328,000 bbl/d of oil and 558,000 boe/d of hydrocarbon as the second quarter of 2020. In addition, Pioneer Natural Resources’ reserves will increase by around 65%.
Read moreInfrastructure & Investments
South Africa will invest US$7.2bn on transmission projects by 2030
22 Oct 2020As part of its Transmission Development Plan (TDP) for 2021 to 2030, the South African power utility Eskom plans to invest ZAR118bn (US$7.2bn) to add 5,650 km of high-voltage lines and 41,595 MVA of transformer capacity. The state-owned company intends to add 30 GW of new generation capacity over the next ten years. The new renewable generation capacity, which will constitute the bulk of capacity addition to 2030, tends to be located in areas with very limited network
Read moreEquinor bids for two offshore wind power projects in New York (US)
22 Oct 2020Equinor has submitted bids into New York’s second offshore wind solicitation requesting proposals for up to 2.5 GW of offshore wind and a multi-port infrastructure plan. Equinor’s proposal includes two projects: Empire Wind Phase 2 and Beacon Wind.
Read moreAndhra Pradesh (India) plans to add 6.3 GW of pumped-storage projects
22 Oct 2020The state government of Andhra Pradesh (south-eastern India) has identified 7 potential locations to set up pumped-storage hydropower projects with a combined capacity of up to 6.3 GW, in a bid to promote new renewable energy power plants and to balance the fluctuations in solar and wind power generation.
Read moreIsrael plans to extend its Eilat-Ashkelon oil pipeline to the UAE
22 Oct 2020Europe Asia Pipeline Co. (EAPC), an Israeli state-owned pipeline operator (formerly known as Eilat-Ashkelon Pipeline), and MED-RED Land Bridge have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to extend the Eilat-Ashkelon oil pipeline, which links the Red Sea with the Mediterranean, to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The oil pipeline extension would enable to transport oil from the United Arab Emirates to Europe and would also allow exports from the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions to Asia.
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