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According to the World Nuclear Report 2019, China led global nuclear developments in 2018, as 7 of the 9 reactors that were commissioned during the year were located in China, the other two being in Russia. Chinese nuclear power generation grew by 19% and contributed to the 2.4% increase in global nuclear production (without China, this growth would have only been 0.6%). However, China will miss the nuclear targets set in its Five-Year-Plan 2020 to have 58 GW installed and 30 GW under construction (no construction start up since December 2016). As of 1 July 2019, China had 47 operating reactors with a total net capacity of 44.5 GW, while 10 units totaling 8.8 GW are under construction.

In 2018, the share of nuclear in the global power mix continued to decline and newbuild projects are facing delays. At least 27 of the 46 reactors under construction are delayed, with 11 reporting increased delays, and only 9 of the 17 units scheduled to be commissioned in 2018 were actually connected to the grid.

Nuclear power generation is also facing an increased competition from renewables. In many countries, new renewable power projects can now compete economically with existing nuclear power plants and are built much faster, saving more CO2 per year. According to the report, levelized cost estimates for utility-scale solar fell by 88% over the past decade, wind by 69%, while nuclear increased by 23%. Investments in renewables are continuing to soar, with 165 GW connected to the grid in 2018, compared to 9 GW of new nuclear capacity.

The Swiss Federal Council – Switzerland’s Government – has reaffirmed its intention to liberalise the domestic power market, following the result of the consultation procedure to amend the energy law (Loi sur l’énergie, LEne).

The Danish Energy Agency has opened a new technology-neutral renewable tender for onshore wind, «open-door» offshore wind and solar PV projects. A price premium will be given as a fixed price supplement on top of the electricity price for 20 years. A total of DKK 258m (€34.5m) has been allocated for the tender, with a DKK 0.06 øre /kWh (less than €0.01c/kW) bid cap.

The Chinese energy regulator National Energy Administration (NEA) aims to shut down 8.66 GW of obsolete coal-fired power capacity by the end 2019, as part of its strategy to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Total has completed the acquisition of Anadarko’s 26.5% operated interest in the Mozambique LNG project for US$3.9bn. The project is the first LNG development in Mozambique and includes the construction of two liquefaction trains with a combined capacity of 12.88 Mt/year, with commercial operations expected to start by 2024.

Endesa (part of the Enel group) has decided to stop its coal-fired power plants in the Iberian Peninsula and to review options for the related sites. Evolutions in commodity prices and in the CO2 emissions market in 2019 have degraded their competitiveness and these new conditions make their operations in the electricity market very unlikely in the future.

The government of Malaysia is considering listing the exploration and production branch of the national oil and gas company Petronas in the Malaysian stock exchange (Bursa Malaysia) in order to reduce its debt. The entire company might be listed too at a later stage.

The Chinese corporation Liaoning Lide plans to develop a 1.5 GW wind power project in the Bukhara region in southeastern Uzbekistan, for a total investment of about US$1.8bn.. The wind project will be constructed in three stages and the first 200 MW segment will require an investment of US$240m. …