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The European Commission has approved a €5.4bn support scheme for renewable power generation in Italy, considering that the measure was in line with EU State aid rules and did not unduly distort competition. Italy has approved a €5.4bn scheme to support electricity production from renewable sources (onshore wind, solar PV, hydropower and sewage gases) until 2021, through a premium on top of the market price that can not be higher than the difference between the average production cost per technology and the market price. The scheme includes a clawback mechanism: if market prices are higher than the average production cost for each renewable technology, renewable producers will not receive any premium and will have to give back the additional revenues to the state. For projects above 1 MW, the premium will be set through a technology-neutral competitive bidding process open. Smaller projects will be selected depending on a combination of economic and environmental criteria. The Italian policy should contribute to reaching the EU-wide binding renewable energy target of 32% by 2030.

In addition, the European Commission has approved the introduction of stringent CO2 emission limits in the Italian power capacity mechanism to be implemented later in 2019: only capacity providers complying with stringent CO2 emission limits will be allowed to participate in the auction. This criterion will prevent coal-fired power plants and other high-emission power plants from participating in the Italian capacity mechanism.

The Mexican oil regulator Comisión Nacional de Hidrocarburos (CNH) has cancelled the October 2019 auctions aimed at selecting joint-venture partners for Pemex in seven onshore areas, including oil and gas blocks in the states of Veracruz, Chiapas and Tabasco. These «farmout» auctions were expected to lure private investments and to help Pemex reverse the trend in declining oil production.

The European Council has adopted new CO2 emission standards for trucks in the European Union (EU) for the period after 2020. Under the new rules, CO2 emissions from new trucks will have to be 15% lower in 2025 and 30% lower in 2030, compared to the 2019 emissions.

Poland has decided to auction in 2020 49.52 million allowances that were not allocated in the period 2013-2018 of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), instead of providing them for free for the power sector. It will thus add these allowances to its general auction volume in 2020. The remaining left-over volume (including for 2019 allowances) will be auctioned in 2021. …

The government of Vietnam has approved a site survey license for an up to 3,400 MW offshore wind project at Ke Ga Cape, off Binh Thuan province in the south of Vietnam. The project, developed by Enterprize Energy Group, would be developed in phases.

Petroquímica Comodoro Rivadavia (PCR) has inaugurated its 126 MW Bicentenario wind project near Santa Cruz, in Argentina. The project, consisting of 28 turbines rated 3.6 MW each, was awarded by the Ministry of Energy through the RenovAr 1.5 Program in November 2016. …

Cheniere has started to produce LNG from the second train of its 13.5 Mt/year Corpus Christi liquefaction and export terminal project in Texas (United States). The first 4.5 Mt/year LNG train started production in November 2018 and exported its first LNG cargo in December 2018.

The French Ministry of Ecology and Energy Transition has selected a consortium of EDF, Enbridge and Innogy to design, build, operate and maintain the nearly 600 MW Dunkerque offshore wind project in northern France. The consortium offered a price below €50/MWh. The project will consist of around 45 wind turbines and is expected to be commissioned in 2026.