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According to the United States Energy Information Administration (EIA), domestic wholesale electricity prices were much higher in 2018 than in 2017, with increases ranging from 14% in the Midwest Independent System Operator (MISO) to 60% in the ERCOT electricity market (Texas). Besides, they were also more volatile, as spikes occurred during summer and winter months. In July 2018, record power demand levels and limited available generation capacity in Texas pushed monthly prices soared from the average US$36/MWh (July 2017) to US$112/MWh. Summer prices also rose in much of the western United States, such as California, where record high electricity demand and surging gas costs raised monthly CAISO wholesale prices to US$101/MWh. Natural gas accounted for 35% of the total US electricity generation, up from 32% in 2017. Meanwhile, the share of total power generation from coal declined from 30% to 27% over the same period. Renewable generation from wind and solar power plants went up from a combined share of 8% in 2017 to 9% in 2018. As for hydropower generation, 2018 figures were relatively similar to the 2017 ones and hydro power plants accounted for 7% of the total domestic electricity production.

Chinese state-held utility China Three Gorges Corporation (CTG) has announced that it currently does not plan to build more hydropower projects in China, but will rather develop projects overseas. It plans to focus in particular on South Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America. The main driver behind this move is the rise of domestic costs,…

The 335,000 bbl/d Isla refinery on the Curaçao island (Dutch Caribbean) has resumed work again after eight months of interruption due to a dispute between its operator, the Venezuelan state-run oil and gas company PDVSA (Petróleos de Venezuela SA) and ConocoPhillips. The facility remained has been able to restart one of its crude distillation units and its thermal cracker.

Global oil and gas company BP has discovered two new oilfields in the US Gulf of Mexico (GoM) and has identified significant additional oil resources at the Thunder Horse deepwater field amounting to approximately 1 Gbl, which could create further development opportunities in the region.

According to the Queensland Resources Council (Australia), LNG exports from the port of Gladstone hit record figures in 2018, totalling 20.58 Mt, which is 2% above the previous record of 20.23 Mt set in 2017. These figures include the three LNG export facilities located in the neighbourhood of Gladstone: Australia Pacific LNG (APLNG, led by Origin-ConocoPhillips), Gladstone LNG GLNG,…

State-run Chinese group China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) has has completed the full-power demonstration test run of the Haiyang-1 AP1000 nuclear power reactor located in the Shandong province of China.

Russian state-held gas company Gazprom has commissioned the 2 Mt/year (2.7 bcm/year) Marshal Vasilevsky floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) in Kaliningrad (Russia) on the coast of the Baltic Sea. It can store 174,000 m3 of gas and is now connected to the existing gas pipeline near the Kaliningradskoye underground gas storage (UGS) facility.

The Public Utilities Commission of Nevada (PUCN) has approved NV Energy’s Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), which aims at bringing online 1,001 MW of renewable energy projects, of which 100 MW of battery storage capacity. NV Energy has signed Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with the project developers.

The Tanzanian National Environmental Management Council (NEMC) has approved the construction of the 2,096 MW (2,140 MW gross) Rufiji dam and the associated power plant in Stiegler’s Gorge, Tanzania.