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According to data released by the Turkish Wind Energy Association (TÜREB), the country’s total installed wind energy capacity rose from over 6,800 MW in 2017 to around 7,400 MW at the end of 2018. Wind capacity in Turkey is forecast to reach 8 GW by the end of 2019 thanks to the addition of about 600 MW. The Turkish wind power industry is booming as the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources launched the last tender for Renewable Energy Resource Areas (YEKA) in November 2018, offering 1,000 MW of onshore wind power capacity divided into four 250 MW zones. Applications for the tender will be accepted until March 2019. The power plants will be deployed in the Aegean provinces of Balıkesir, Çanakkale, Aydın and Muğla. The ceiling price has been set at US$5.5c/kWh over a 15-year period. The power projects will each receive a 49-year power plant license. According to preliminary statistics released by the Turkish Electricity Transmission Corporation, Turkey’s installed capacity rose by 3.7% in 2018, from 85 GW to more than 88 GW. Renewables accounted for a significant part of capacity additions, with 980 MW of new hydropower and 852 MW of new solar capacity installed during the year. In addition, wind and geothermal power added 433 MW and 218 MW, respectively, to the national transmission grid.

The Chinese Ministry of Ecology and Environment will take action against highly-polluting diesel trucks by imposing tougher fuel and engine standards, and by raising domestic rail freight volumes. Besides, the quality of diesel itself will be improved by reducing overall nitrogen oxide (NOx) and particulate matter emissions from fuel combustion.

Argentinian nuclear utility Nucleoeléctrica Argentina’s Embalse nuclear power plant in Córdoba province (Argentina) has returned to service for another 30 years of operation following the completion of several modernisation works. The pressurised heavy water reactor (PWR) will resume power supplies to the domestic grid shortly.

In 2018, Chinese state-run oil and gas producer Petrochina produced 4.27 bcm of shale gas in the Sichuan province, which is 40% more than in 2017. Its rival Sinopec Corporation, which is developing the Fuling gas field in southwest China’s Sichuan basin (Chongqing region), produced 6 bcm of shale gas in 2018 and remains the largest shale gas producer in China.

South African state-run power utility Eskom has submitted a request to the domestic regulator NERSA (National Energy Regulator of South Africa) for a 45% electricity price hike spread over the next three years. Public hearings on Eskom’s demand for an initial 15% electricity tariff increase are expected to start later in January 2019.

Indian state-held engineering and manufacturing company BHEL (Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited) has commissioned the 800 MW Kothagudem-VII-1 coal-fired unit at the Kothagudem Thermal Power Station (KTPS) facility in Telangana (India).

The Peruvian Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) and the General Directorate of Rural Electrification (DGER) plan to achieve their rural electrification objective of 100% by 2021 as per the National Plan of Rural Electrification 2011-2020. In 2016, the rural electrification rate stood at nearly 76% (World Bank), against an average electrification rate of nearly 95%.

The Indian Department of Atomic Energy has outlined plans to commission 21 new nuclear power reactors with a combined generating capacity of 15,700 MW by 2031. 9 units are currently at various stages of construction and scheduled for completion by 2024-2025, including two units in each of the states of Gujarat, Rajasthan and Haryana along with an additional three units in Tamil Nadu. Besides,…