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Producción y mercados energéticos 14/02/19

Latest Energy News

14 February 2019

TOP STORY: Turkish wind power capacity nears 7.4 GW in 2018 According to a report released by the Turkish Wind Energy Association (TÜREB), the country invested US$650m in its wind power sector in 2018 and added nearly 500 MW of new capacity (+7%) during the year. As a result, the national wind capacity reached 7,369 MW. More broadly, the aggregate wind power capacity recorded a ninefold increase since 2009 (around 800 MW). Wind power generation rose from 17.9 TWh in 2017 to 19.8 TWh in 2018, averaging 6.8% of total power generation. In addition, 18 wind power projects are currently under construction with a combined capacity of 606 MW, most of which are developed by Akfen Enerji (243 MW), Ağaoğlu Enerji (125 MW) and Sancak Enerji (73 MW). This growth is likely to continue in the near future 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 ceiling price has been set at US$5.5c/kWh over a 15-year period and the power projects will each receive a 49-year power plant license.

Companies Saudi Arabian investment fund will raise stake in power generator ACWA Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has announced plans to raise its stake in the domestic power and water project developer ACWA Power from 25% to 40%. This moves comes at a time when the sovereign fund intends to diversify into solar power and electric vehicles, expand its activities overseas and become a global investor in renewable energies. Read more Policy & Regulatory European Commission labels palm oil as high-emitting biofuel crop In a move to take aim at deforestation-linked products, the European Commission has proposed a new directive, which defines the sustainability criteria for crop-based biofuels and classifies palm oil biofuels as unsustainable. It proposes to cap the use of biofuels such as palm oil at 2019 levels until 2023 and then gradually reduce their use to zero by 2030. Besides,… Read more Ontario (Canada) proposes amendments to carbon pricing scheme The Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks of Ontario (Canada) has issued draft regulations for its climate plan on large emitters and proposed to comply with the Canadian federal government’s mandate through the implementation of a carbon tax scheme to meet new environmental standards. Read more Energy Markets Kyushu Electric will decommission Genkai-2 nuclear reactor (Japan) Japanese power utility Kyushu Electric has decided not to restart the 559 MWe Genkai-2 pressurised water reactor (PWR) in the Higashimatsuura District of Saga Prefecture (Japan). The unit started commercial operations in March 1981 and has been remaining idle since being taken offline for periodic inspections in January 2011. Read more Renewables reached 17.5% of EU final energy consumption in 2017 According to Eurostat, the share of renewables in the European Union’s (EU) gross final energy consumption hiked to 17.5% in 2017, up from 17% in 2016, which is more than twice the 2004 share of 8.5%. Compared with the previous year, it increased in 19 of the 28 Member States. Read more LADWP will replace 3 Californian gas-fired power plants (2.9 GW) with renewables Californian utility Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) has decided to phase out of the 776 MW Scattergood, 1,739 MW Haynes, and 371 MW Harbor gas-fired power plants between 2024 and 2029. The three assets, which have a total capacity of nearly 2.9 GW, are located on the coastline and LADWP is required to eliminate the use of ocean water for cooling at the power plants by 2029,… Read more India’s grid-connected renewable capacity exceeded 75 GW in 2018 According to figures released by the Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), India’s cumulative grid-connected renewable capacity increased to 75,761 MW at the end of 2018, including 35.3 GW of wind, 24.6 GW of solar and 4.5 GW of small hydropower. However, capacity additions were lower than expected,… Read more Infrastructure & Investments Angola expects 2 GW Laúca dam to be fully operational in late 2019 Odebrecht Angola, the engineering and construction arm of the Brazilian conglomerate Odebrecht, plans to start operating the last two turbines of the 2,004 MW Laúca hydroelectric project on the Kwanza river (Angola) between June and December 2019. Construction works are currently 90% complete and the full commissioning is set to start by the end of the year. Read more