Latest Energy News
JSW Energy will buy a 1 GW coal-fired power plant in India
18 Feb 2020
JSW Energy, the energy branch of the Indian conglomerate JSW, has reached a INR53.2bn (US$745m) deal with GMR Energy to acquire its subsidiary GMR Kamalanga, which owns and operates a 1,050 MW (3×350 MW) subcritical coal-fired power plant in the State of Odisha (eastern India). The two parties started exclusive negotiations over a potential buyout of GMR Kamalanga in October 2019.
Romania considers selling 5% of Hidroelectrica to EBRD
18 Feb 2020
The government of Romania is considering selling 5% of state-owned power producer Hidroelectrica to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), ahead of an initial public offering (IPO) for 20% of the company, expected later in 2020. Hidroelectrica is the largest power generation company in Romania, with a hydropower capacity of 6.4 GW and a generation of 17 TWh in 2018.
Iberdrola (Spain) added 2.7 GW of renewable capacity in 2019
18 Feb 2020
The Spanish energy group Iberdrola has released provisional operational figures for 2019: the group’s installed capacity rose by nearly 5.4 GW to almost 52.1 GW (+11.5%), mainly thanks to new onshore wind projects (+1.2 GW to 16.8 GW), offshore wind projects (+420 MW in the United Kin
Energy & Climate Markets
Europe installed more than 15 GW of new wind capacity in 2019
18 Feb 2020
According to WindEurope, Europe’s wind power capacity grew by 8% in 2019, thanks to the installation of 15.4 GW, and reached 205 GW at the end of the year. New installations are 27% higher than in 2018. However, this number needs to double to reach the objectives of the Green Deal. Over 3/4 of new installations were onshore wind (11.7 GW), and 1/4 offshore (3.6 GW). Four countries accounted for 55% of new wind installations: the United Kingdom (+2.4 GW, including almost 1.8 GW of offshore wind), Spain (+2.3 GW), Germany (+2.2 GW, half of which was offshore), and Sweden (+1.6 GW).
Egypt signs offshore oil and gas exploration agreements with 5 companies
18 Feb 2020
The Ministry of Petroleum of Egypt has signed initial agreements for oil and gas exploration in deep waters off its western coast with 5 major companies, namely BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell, and Total. The companies will start to explore seven concessions in early 2021.
Infrastructure & Investments
UAE issues operating licence for first Barakah nuclear unit
18 Feb 2020
The Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR) of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has granted a 60-year operating licence to the first unit of the Barakah nuclear power project in Abu Dhabi. The first reactor was originally due to start up in 2017 but commissioning has been delayed several times. The plant’s operator, Nawah Energy, is now authorised to load fuel into the reactor and start the commissioning phase of Barakah-1, which is expected to start operation in 2020.
EIB lends €100m to upgrade Greece’s power distribution network
18 Feb 2020
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has awarded a €100m loan with a sovereign guarantee to state-owned electric power company Public Power Corporation (PPC), out of a €255m facility to support the investment programme of PPC’s power distribution subsidiary Hellenic Distribution Network Operator (HEDNO). With the objective to reinforce and modernise the Greek electricity distribution network, the 20-year loan programme aims at installing more than 7,000 km of new medium and low voltage electricity distribution lines.
Abu Dhabi Power will develop a 2.4 GW CCGT plant in UAE with Marubeni
18 Feb 2020
Abu Dhabi Power Corporation (ADPower) has formed a joint venture with Marubeni Corporation (60% ADPower and 40% Marubeni) to develop a 2.4 GW CCGT power project in Fujairah (United Arab Emirates). The project is expected to start generating power and supplying electricity to Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) by the summer of 2022. Once fully commissioned in 2023, the Fujairah F3 IPP project would bring ADPower’s current power capacity to 20.4 GW.
Virginia (US) adopts 5.2 GW offshore wind target by 2034
17 Feb 2020
The Virginia’s House and Senate (United States) have passed the Virginia Clean Economy Act, which lays out a plan to reach 100% of renewable power generation by 2050 at the latest. The legislation would replace the existing voluntary renewable energy portfolio system (RPS) scheme with a programme with mandatory RPS. It also calls for the construction of 5,200 MW of offshore wind capacity by 2034, with the first 2,600 MW developed by 2030, and for the development of 2,400 MW of energy storage capacity by 2035.
Vietnam will use more fossil fuels to generate electricity in 2020
17 Feb 2020
As the output from hydropower plants is expected to decrease due to a lack of rain, Vietnam intends to generate more electricity from fossil fuels (coal and oil) in 2020: it will increase the production from coal-fired power plants by 1.9 TWh compared with previous plans and that from oil-fired power plants by 1.2 TWh to
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