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Policy & Regulatory
SECI awards 1.2 GW of solar in oversubscribed auction (India)
2 Mar 2020State-owned Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) has awarded 1.2 GW of solar projects, receiving bids for 3.5 GW. SECI granted 600 MW to SB Energy, 300 MW to EDF and 100 MW to AMP Energy at INR2.50/kWh (US$3.45c/kWh) and 300 MW Power to Renew at INR2.51 (US$3.46c/kWh). The auction had a ceiling tariff of INR2.78/kWh (US$3.38c/kWh).
Slovakia launches its first renewable power auction
28 Feb 2020The government of Slovakia has initiated its first technology-neutral renewable energy auction to allocate 30 MW of power generation capacity. Successful projects ranging from 100 kW to 2 MW for PV and from 500 kW to 10 MW for non PV will be awarded 15-year feed-in premium payments on top of the wholesale electricity price, with ceiling prices respectively of €84.98/MWh for solar and wind projects and €106.80/MWh for other technologies.
EESL (India) plans to develop 1.5 GW of decentralised solar power plants by 2021
28 Feb 2020Indian state-owned Energy Efficient Services Ltd (EESL) plans to develop 1,500 MW of decentralised solar power plants in India by the end of 2020-2021 (i.e. by March 2021). The capacity of the small-scale solar PV projects will range between 0.5 MW and 10 MW (maximum capacity of 10 MW for each substation). A total of 800 MW will be developed in Maharashtra – EESL has already commissioned 100 MW in this state – while 113 MW will be added in Rajasthan.
Companies
US FTC blocks coal mining JV of Peabody Energy and Arch Coal
2 Mar 2020The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has rejected a proposed joint-venture (JV) between Peabody Energy and Arch Coal, the two largest coal-mining companies in the United States, considering that such a JV would eliminate competition.
Petrobras (Brazil) launches sale process of gas unit Gaspetro
2 Mar 2020Brazilian national oil and gas corporation Petrobras has launched the sale process of its 51% interest in the gas holding company Gaspetro, which owns stakes in several gas distribution companies, as part of a settlement with Brazil’s anti-trust regulator, the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade). The sale is open for strategic investors with a net worth of at least US$500m or financial investors with at least US$1bn under management.
Energy & Climate Markets
Coal’s share of China energy drops below 58% in 2019, ahead of target
2 Mar 2020According to the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics, the share of coal in China’s primary consumption decreased by 1.5 percentage point in 2019 to 57.7%. China’s objective was to reduce coal’s share below 58% in 2020. China’s coal consumption and total energy consumption increased by 1% and 3.3%, respectively, in 2019. Consumption of natural gas rose by 8.6%, followed by crude oil (+6.8%) and electricity (+4.5%). Overall, gas, hydropower, nuclear and wind power accounted for 23.4% of the total energy consumption (+1.3 percentage points on 2018).
Australia added 6.3 GW of solar and wind power capacity in 2019
2 Mar 2020According to the Clean Energy Regulator (CER) of Australia, 6.3 GW of new renewable power capacity were commissioned in Australia in 2019 (i.e. 24% more than 2018 installations), including 3.9 GW of utility-scale wind and solar capacity and 2.4 GW of residential and commercial rooftop solar capacity (i.e. 40% more than in 2018, when 1.7 GW of rooftop capacity was added). In addition, project developers announced new financial close announcements of 2 GW and more than 6 GW should be connected to the grid in 2020, with rising rooftop installations.
Eni and Naturgy will restart Damietta LNG (Egypt) by June 2020
2 Mar 2020The Egyptian government has reached an agreement with the Italian and Spanish gas groups Eni and Naturgy over the 5 Mt/year (6.75 bcm/year) Damietta gas liquefaction plant in northern Egypt. The LNG plant, which has been close since the end of 2012, could restart by June 2020.
Forecasts
Russia may increase coal exports to 390 Mt by 2035
2 Mar 2020According to the development strategy of the coal industry until 2035, Russia plans to raise its coal and lignite production to 485-685 Mt by 2035, which would correspond to an increase of 15% to 63% compared to 2018 production level (421 Mt); in 2019, Russian coal production is estimated to have reached 440 Mt. Coal exports could then increase from an estimated 220 Mt in 2019 (213 Mt in 2018) to 292 Mt in 2035.
Russia expects total investments in the coal sector to exceed RUB 1,000bn (US$15bn) by 2025 and to reach RUB 2,500 – 3,500bn (US$38-53bn) in 2035.
Infrastructure & Investments
Total starts offshore oil and gas exploration in Lebanon
2 Mar 2020Total has started oil and gas exploration off the Lebanese coasts. The company will drill a first exploration well in the Block 4 over a 2-month period. In February 2018, contracts were signed with a Total-led consortium (Total 40%, Eni 40%, Novatek 20%) for Blocks 4 and 9 located offshore Lebanon, in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea. Drilling is also planned in the Block 9, though without any specified date so far.
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